We're touching PCs, iPods, iPhones, (soon-to-be) iTablets and now, video walls.
Does anyone in retail doubt that the masses are ready to interact? Touch technology is everywhere which gives retailers the opportunity to communicate with their customers with TWO-WAY interaction. (Commonplace on the internet. Unheard of on the retail floor.)
My concern used to be about whether or not modern technology could be used to effectively engage shoppers. Now I know the problem to be the retailers' unwillingness to invest in relationships - not the shopper's lack of interest in those relationships. But, as in any relationship, if ignored long enough shoppers will give up and go away.
Turn on the in-store network and prepare to be flooded with feedback which can help morph your retail presence into the store of the future. And by the way the store of the future will be dictated by shoppers. Not by corporate planners.
21.1.10
J.C. Penney's Investment in the Shopper Experience (SX)
Penney's began their internal project approximately 2 years ago.
Where does your firm stand in this 2-3 year process?
When are you going to care enough about your customers to invest in them?
Retail has already severed much of the product knowledge and customer service from the retail experience through repeated cost-cutting over the past decade. Investing in an in-store network is not a new investment. It is a replacement investment.
It is one thing to attempt to minimize customer support calls by pushing more traffic to automated email/chat systems to save money. It is quite another to fire a significant portion of your on-floor workforce and then do nothing to fill the resulting void.
There is not a better customer service representative than a well-trained human being. Because these are so difficult to build in retail (due to turnover, etc) interactive, avatar-driven lifelike experiences are the next best thing.
Your shoppers are willing to talk. Are you willing to listen?
Where does your firm stand in this 2-3 year process?
When are you going to care enough about your customers to invest in them?
Retail has already severed much of the product knowledge and customer service from the retail experience through repeated cost-cutting over the past decade. Investing in an in-store network is not a new investment. It is a replacement investment.
It is one thing to attempt to minimize customer support calls by pushing more traffic to automated email/chat systems to save money. It is quite another to fire a significant portion of your on-floor workforce and then do nothing to fill the resulting void.
There is not a better customer service representative than a well-trained human being. Because these are so difficult to build in retail (due to turnover, etc) interactive, avatar-driven lifelike experiences are the next best thing.
Your shoppers are willing to talk. Are you willing to listen?
Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures
Nokia really had no choice in this matter if they want to stay in the game.
Today Nokia announced that they would begin offering their location-based services for free. When Google speaks markets shake.
Suddenly much of Europe will begin enjoying the kind of location based services the U.S. has been enjoying for the past 12 months.
GPS / Location data has officially become a commodity.
Today Nokia announced that they would begin offering their location-based services for free. When Google speaks markets shake.
Suddenly much of Europe will begin enjoying the kind of location based services the U.S. has been enjoying for the past 12 months.
GPS / Location data has officially become a commodity.
In-store Customer Reviews
In-store product reviews are coming in many different forms.
Yesterday we discussed the forthcoming impact of mobile device apps.
Today is simply another point of validation about this direction of the brick and mortar marketplace. Shoppers find shopping "blind" with little to no product information unacceptable. Product details, comparisons and even reviews are an absolute necessity in the mind of today's shopper.
Providing this information in your store in a CONTROLLABLE format (vs. the format chosen by a mobile provider) requires the installation of an in-store network of touchscreen devices.
Whether you use 15" or 42" screens to interact with your customer is immaterial. Retailers MUST make a commitment to installing a network before content to be delivered on that network is worthy of discussion. Yes, the possibilities are endless but if a firm is not prepared to make the hardware purchases necessary to engage their customers in the manner shoppers desire they are making a loud statement about their interest in engaging (and retaining that customer).
Once installed this in-store network is not simply "digital signage". (Digital signage is little more than noise shoppers are forced to tune out.) An in-store network opens the door to interactivity with shoppers. The shopper's inputs are then captured and analyzed so the future shopping experience can be modified to better suit their needs.
In-store networks are little more than Direct Marketing for the new millennium.
Direct Marketing altered the playing field once. It is going to do it again using this new medium.
Yesterday we discussed the forthcoming impact of mobile device apps.
Today is simply another point of validation about this direction of the brick and mortar marketplace. Shoppers find shopping "blind" with little to no product information unacceptable. Product details, comparisons and even reviews are an absolute necessity in the mind of today's shopper.
Providing this information in your store in a CONTROLLABLE format (vs. the format chosen by a mobile provider) requires the installation of an in-store network of touchscreen devices.
Whether you use 15" or 42" screens to interact with your customer is immaterial. Retailers MUST make a commitment to installing a network before content to be delivered on that network is worthy of discussion. Yes, the possibilities are endless but if a firm is not prepared to make the hardware purchases necessary to engage their customers in the manner shoppers desire they are making a loud statement about their interest in engaging (and retaining that customer).
Once installed this in-store network is not simply "digital signage". (Digital signage is little more than noise shoppers are forced to tune out.) An in-store network opens the door to interactivity with shoppers. The shopper's inputs are then captured and analyzed so the future shopping experience can be modified to better suit their needs.
In-store networks are little more than Direct Marketing for the new millennium.
Direct Marketing altered the playing field once. It is going to do it again using this new medium.
20.1.10
Find Discounts. Share Deals. Save Money. ___ IN THE STORE. TODAY.
The concept of Postabon is not surprising. People have been comparison shopping for hundreds of years.
But in the not so distant past less than 7% of shoppers (don't ask me from where I pulled this statistic - perhaps Malcom Gladwell's 'Tipping Point') regularly dove into the details of product, brand, price, etc. But this influential 7% only shared their opinions with their immediate and relatively small circle of friends and family. Rarely did this information go viral.
Thanks to Postabon viral dissemination of this information is no longer going to be the exception but the rule.
Innovative apps such as Postabon, rapidly improving location-based technologies (also integrated in the Postabon experience) and exploding social networks are combining to spread shopper knowledge across huge percentages of the population.
Retailer are going to be forced to find innovative ways to engage and retain their customers (build relationships) or persistent price wars will drive many of them out of business.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Retailers don't have 10 years to ponder this coming reality. Product information in-store has been grossly inadequate for decades but certainly for the past 5-10 years when customer reviews on internet shopping sites became the norm.
Amazon has been in business for over FIFTEEN YEARS and yet no brick and mortar retailer has brought shopper opinions to the retail floor. FIFTEEN YEARS! How long do retailers need to react? Shoppers trust online retailers because these retailers give their shoppers a voice.
In-store shopper marketing networks are complicated. They are expensive. And they are essential. Well, essential if you still want to be in business in 2020.
But in the not so distant past less than 7% of shoppers (don't ask me from where I pulled this statistic - perhaps Malcom Gladwell's 'Tipping Point') regularly dove into the details of product, brand, price, etc. But this influential 7% only shared their opinions with their immediate and relatively small circle of friends and family. Rarely did this information go viral.
Thanks to Postabon viral dissemination of this information is no longer going to be the exception but the rule.
Innovative apps such as Postabon, rapidly improving location-based technologies (also integrated in the Postabon experience) and exploding social networks are combining to spread shopper knowledge across huge percentages of the population.
Retailer are going to be forced to find innovative ways to engage and retain their customers (build relationships) or persistent price wars will drive many of them out of business.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Retailers don't have 10 years to ponder this coming reality. Product information in-store has been grossly inadequate for decades but certainly for the past 5-10 years when customer reviews on internet shopping sites became the norm.
Amazon has been in business for over FIFTEEN YEARS and yet no brick and mortar retailer has brought shopper opinions to the retail floor. FIFTEEN YEARS! How long do retailers need to react? Shoppers trust online retailers because these retailers give their shoppers a voice.
In-store shopper marketing networks are complicated. They are expensive. And they are essential. Well, essential if you still want to be in business in 2020.
14.1.10
Give Your Customers What They Want
Or they WILL run for the exits as soon as a better option arrives.
Microsoft, Nokia and even mighty Apple may one day struggle in the mobile device market (and I'm not only referring to smartphones - I'm talking about the plethora of newly intelligent devices which are soon to hit the markets.)
Why? Freedom vs. Control. Android lets you do it YOUR way. Just as the Internet lets you shop YOUR way.
Shoppers won't put up with a dearth of product information and reviews on the retail floor forever. Your customers are currently not buying in-store because they like to go home and read reviews first. (And then frequently buy their devices from an online retailer costing the brick and mortar firm the sale.)
Retailers and brands MUST move product reviews and recommendations and engaging interactive device tutorials in-store ASAP or risk going the way of the Dodo.
Microsoft, Nokia and even mighty Apple may one day struggle in the mobile device market (and I'm not only referring to smartphones - I'm talking about the plethora of newly intelligent devices which are soon to hit the markets.)
Why? Freedom vs. Control. Android lets you do it YOUR way. Just as the Internet lets you shop YOUR way.
Shoppers won't put up with a dearth of product information and reviews on the retail floor forever. Your customers are currently not buying in-store because they like to go home and read reviews first. (And then frequently buy their devices from an online retailer costing the brick and mortar firm the sale.)
Retailers and brands MUST move product reviews and recommendations and engaging interactive device tutorials in-store ASAP or risk going the way of the Dodo.
13.1.10
Engagement - the CPM Killer
PODO has been pushing the concept of "Engagement" pricing for several years. (No, we don't expect our little company to transform the world's current advertising business model. Yet.)
CPM is grossly outdated. We are a TIVO nation and we're quite adept at walking by digital signage screens in a mall without even a glance.
VideoEgg (by their estimation) is converting 33 to 100 times more traffic into shoppers. I would argue that Podo's solution is even more valuable because our experience is FUN and will trigger return trips to the retailer AND the ever-important "word of mouth" marketing which truly drives companies.
Traffic vs Shoppers. Why do most marketers treat them as one and the same? Because it suits the established business model.
We all know 1-to-1 human contact is the best sales tool but this is cost prohibitive for many products/markets. Interactive technology will allow this concept to scale at an acceptable cost level.
Suddenly "traffic" is ignored and "engagement" takes over.
And with engagement? The opportunity for a RELATIONSHIP!
(Sidenote: PODO has captured over 5,000,000 shopper experiences in our footwear solution and anticipate this number being rapidly dwarfed by our Mobile Device solution.)
CPM is grossly outdated. We are a TIVO nation and we're quite adept at walking by digital signage screens in a mall without even a glance.
VideoEgg (by their estimation) is converting 33 to 100 times more traffic into shoppers. I would argue that Podo's solution is even more valuable because our experience is FUN and will trigger return trips to the retailer AND the ever-important "word of mouth" marketing which truly drives companies.
Traffic vs Shoppers. Why do most marketers treat them as one and the same? Because it suits the established business model.
We all know 1-to-1 human contact is the best sales tool but this is cost prohibitive for many products/markets. Interactive technology will allow this concept to scale at an acceptable cost level.
Suddenly "traffic" is ignored and "engagement" takes over.
And with engagement? The opportunity for a RELATIONSHIP!
(Sidenote: PODO has captured over 5,000,000 shopper experiences in our footwear solution and anticipate this number being rapidly dwarfed by our Mobile Device solution.)
iPhone Recommendation Apps for Shoppers
How long will it be before a large majority of your shoppers are carrying their own version of "Consumer Reports" with them into the store?
Not long.
This is good in that bad products will die faster and good products will sell more (helping the good products reap higher profits and correspondingly develop even better products).
The proper retail response? Put your best salesperson in front of every shopper.
How many more phones or cameras or widgets would you sell if you had one of the nation's top salespeople pitching your products every time? 10%? 20%? 50%? (Podo's unscientific (reported from customers) sales lift in footwear has been 12-19%.)
No one knows the answer for Consumer Electronics. Yet. A time is coming when the perfect pitch will be displayed before every shopper every time.
It is simply a matter of which retailers and brands recognize this reality and react first. The early bird will get the worm. The bureaucratic, inflexible, risk averse bird/retailer will slowly perish under the weight of their own irrelevance.
Not long.
This is good in that bad products will die faster and good products will sell more (helping the good products reap higher profits and correspondingly develop even better products).
The proper retail response? Put your best salesperson in front of every shopper.
How many more phones or cameras or widgets would you sell if you had one of the nation's top salespeople pitching your products every time? 10%? 20%? 50%? (Podo's unscientific (reported from customers) sales lift in footwear has been 12-19%.)
No one knows the answer for Consumer Electronics. Yet. A time is coming when the perfect pitch will be displayed before every shopper every time.
It is simply a matter of which retailers and brands recognize this reality and react first. The early bird will get the worm. The bureaucratic, inflexible, risk averse bird/retailer will slowly perish under the weight of their own irrelevance.
12.1.10
Elvis Has Entered the Building
In yet another expected progression of the in-store and shopper experience space Microsoft and Intel are pushing the concepts of shopper recognition, shopper feedback and coupons,
How much longer are retailers going to sit idly by and watch their sales move online? Shoppers enjoy shopping but they currently have no motivation to shop in-store. The list of reasons not to is extensive.
The technology is here. PODO has been doing these things for years.
Your shoppers are shifting. Your shoppers are no longer reading print advertisements and they're no longer watching television commercials. You'd better move your market budgeting to in-store while you still have one.
How much longer are retailers going to sit idly by and watch their sales move online? Shoppers enjoy shopping but they currently have no motivation to shop in-store. The list of reasons not to is extensive.
The technology is here. PODO has been doing these things for years.
Your shoppers are shifting. Your shoppers are no longer reading print advertisements and they're no longer watching television commercials. You'd better move your market budgeting to in-store while you still have one.
11.1.10
Android Dominance Forthcoming
Are we nearing a time when the will be only 3 major players in the mobile device OS market?
iPhone and Blackberry have established themselves but suddenly Google appears on the scene and in less than 24 months expects to take over the #2 spot from RIM.
How? Word of mouth. It does not matter how much you "advertise" if you aren't telling the truth. Don't tell your customers you have the "best" mobile OS if you do not. Customers won't easily forgive your deception. If you software is lacking fix it. If you are forced to hop between operating systems until you've had time to develop your own so be it (as Samsung has done.)
Simple as that. People want honesty. Word of mouth works because people trust the people they have relationships with. In Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" he discusses the immense influence of "mavens". Mavens have this inordinate ability to influence people due to the information they absorb. A modern in-store experience could and should flood shoppers with information IF they so desire. Today in-store shopping is typically an exercise in frustration.
Why aren't you transmitting word of mouth advertising directly to your retail floor? Are you afraid of what shoppers might say about you? Better to listen and change than stick your head in the sand and get hit by the Google Express.
Amazon is pushing ratings and comments to their "retail floor" (in your home). Is there any reason why you're not sharing this same information? Is is just data. It is possible today.
iPhone and Blackberry have established themselves but suddenly Google appears on the scene and in less than 24 months expects to take over the #2 spot from RIM.
How? Word of mouth. It does not matter how much you "advertise" if you aren't telling the truth. Don't tell your customers you have the "best" mobile OS if you do not. Customers won't easily forgive your deception. If you software is lacking fix it. If you are forced to hop between operating systems until you've had time to develop your own so be it (as Samsung has done.)
Simple as that. People want honesty. Word of mouth works because people trust the people they have relationships with. In Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point" he discusses the immense influence of "mavens". Mavens have this inordinate ability to influence people due to the information they absorb. A modern in-store experience could and should flood shoppers with information IF they so desire. Today in-store shopping is typically an exercise in frustration.
Why aren't you transmitting word of mouth advertising directly to your retail floor? Are you afraid of what shoppers might say about you? Better to listen and change than stick your head in the sand and get hit by the Google Express.
Amazon is pushing ratings and comments to their "retail floor" (in your home). Is there any reason why you're not sharing this same information? Is is just data. It is possible today.
Post-production Content Management
If your company is not utilizing current technology to deconstruct your existing content money is being left on the table/disk.
All major brands have an immense infrastructure built to create content for different mediums but a substantial challenge remains in the ability to rapidly and easily move this content to and from all the different marketing opportunities which are possible today (internet, print, TV) and tomorrow (in-store and mobile).
Companies such as RAMP appear to be headed in the right direction. If your firm isn't actively considering the best options for your content (and correspondingly innovative avenues for displaying this content such as Shopper Experience networks) you are falling behind.
All major brands have an immense infrastructure built to create content for different mediums but a substantial challenge remains in the ability to rapidly and easily move this content to and from all the different marketing opportunities which are possible today (internet, print, TV) and tomorrow (in-store and mobile).
Companies such as RAMP appear to be headed in the right direction. If your firm isn't actively considering the best options for your content (and correspondingly innovative avenues for displaying this content such as Shopper Experience networks) you are falling behind.
5.1.10
Honesty in Retail
Your shoppers have transitioned to customers. But 32 days later they aren't happy.
Why? Because they purchased a phone with an OS which is bloated, slow, and difficult to use.
Rather than simply avoid the reality of the fact that you are willingly selling your shoppers an inferior product why not embrace your shopper's opinions about these devices?
If Microsoft is unable to produce a mobile OS which is competitive shouldn't you be sharing this with your shoppers?
Uneducated shoppers see a name brand and assume competence but when they get home and unbox a "only-slightly-more-functional-than-a-brick" their frustration isn't only directed at the OS-developer and the firm who built the product. They are frustrated with the retailer who was willing to sell them garbage in the first place.
Let the market dictate your product selection. AND provide this knowledge on your retail floor.
There is no reason every retailer is not providing "Amazon"-type reviews in their stores so customers can confidently make purchases just as they currently do in their homes.
Are you afraid of what your customers might say about the product selection you're offering? You should be. BUT if you allow your customers to share with you, even though the truth hurts, you WILL gain relevance and credibility in their eyes.
If a shopper could tell a friend "Yes, just visit the Verizon/Sprint/Orange store - they've got all their phones rated - just don't buy anything with less than 3 stars" how much traffic would this drive to your store?
Currently retailers act as though every product they sell is a wonderful product. And they wonder why shoppers don't trust them.
Once again, an opportunity to build relationships with shoppers is being squandered by ignoring that shoppers do not trust retailers and are therefore seeking product advice and reviews elsewhere.
Retailers have less than 5 years to right this wrong.
Why? Because they purchased a phone with an OS which is bloated, slow, and difficult to use.
Rather than simply avoid the reality of the fact that you are willingly selling your shoppers an inferior product why not embrace your shopper's opinions about these devices?
If Microsoft is unable to produce a mobile OS which is competitive shouldn't you be sharing this with your shoppers?
Uneducated shoppers see a name brand and assume competence but when they get home and unbox a "only-slightly-more-functional-than-a-brick" their frustration isn't only directed at the OS-developer and the firm who built the product. They are frustrated with the retailer who was willing to sell them garbage in the first place.
Let the market dictate your product selection. AND provide this knowledge on your retail floor.
There is no reason every retailer is not providing "Amazon"-type reviews in their stores so customers can confidently make purchases just as they currently do in their homes.
Are you afraid of what your customers might say about the product selection you're offering? You should be. BUT if you allow your customers to share with you, even though the truth hurts, you WILL gain relevance and credibility in their eyes.
If a shopper could tell a friend "Yes, just visit the Verizon/Sprint/Orange store - they've got all their phones rated - just don't buy anything with less than 3 stars" how much traffic would this drive to your store?
Currently retailers act as though every product they sell is a wonderful product. And they wonder why shoppers don't trust them.
Once again, an opportunity to build relationships with shoppers is being squandered by ignoring that shoppers do not trust retailers and are therefore seeking product advice and reviews elsewhere.
Retailers have less than 5 years to right this wrong.
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