Selling smarter using technology

Staying ahead of consumer expectations on the web and in-store.

Online and mobile shopping has changed retailing dramatically over the past decade. Consumers have taken to the internet, social media and mobile technology to help in their buying decisions, and now have high expectations of what’s available, at what price, and how quickly. The upshot? Retailers have no choice but to keep up with consumers in the new online world.

The NZ Retail Show in Auckland at the beginning of April gave real insight into how retailers understand and keep up with these changes. During the two days, they could attend seminars on topics ranging from customer relationship management to inventory management and converting e-commerce websites.

Intergen’s two seminars looked at the customer journey and web strategy, and how suppliers are using mobile devices to improve category management and restocking, or ”competing at the shelf”, as we like to say. We deliberately covered online and offline topics because retailers need to look holistically at the customer experience – to consider the whole journey, not just the transaction.

Customers may want to buy online, or they may want to research, compare and even order online, then make the actual purchase in store. The high numbers of retailers attending our web strategy seminars showed that getting to grips with online is a real priority. They understand the idea of a customer journey, through different routes, to buying – and they understand what roadblocks may stop them getting there.

Intergen’s recent Engaged Web Study (see page 3), the “Shopping & Classified” analysis showed most NZ retailers understand the importance of an effective online presence – the sector was among the top three in several measures of online engagement. But in some, such as use of social media, the sector still has a long way to go.

Customers no longer relate to retailers simply as bricks-and-mortar stores that can provide the goods they want when they want them. They can travel multiple channels, taking various routes before they purchase. To keep them, across all those channels, retailers need to create loyalty, provide what customers want, when and how they want it, and through an experience they want to repeat.

To do this you must know how customers operate online, and how they want to interact with you. For some smaller retailers, creating a website may be their first step into the online world. The idea is to engage with your customers, to build loyalty, to give them a reason to end their journey with you.

Your online presence may start with third-party sites such as Trade Me or GrabOne. It

may also, and probably should, involve social media such as Facebook and Twitter, which just a minority of those attending our seminars are exploring. Using social media such as a Facebook or Twitter does not cost a lot, or even any, money; it just requires time and a willingness to engage.

Social media provides a great channel for building relationships with prospective customers, finding out their preferences, their habits, and gaining their loyalty. The key is to realise these are not old-fashioned marketing and promotional channels – if you engage in advertising or hard selling you will lose customers. Instead, social media success involves getting customers talking to you, getting them to “like” you and “retweet” you and recommend you to their friends.

Eventually, you will need a website. A Neilsen survey last year showed 45% of New Zealanders now shop online and more than 1.4 million bought online between April 2009 and April 2010. You can’t afford to not have a presence.

The increasing popularity of mobile devices such as smart phones, iPads and tablets means most retailers also need to think about how they are going to use mobile channels to build their brands.

Applications such as Foursquare, which allows users to “check in” when they are at your premises and provides you with ways of rewarding their loyalty, are possibilities. But there are more – if a prospective customer is in a competitor’s store and wants to check the price of an item via their smart phone before buying, can they check your prices? Can they buy online via their mobile?

Online technology has changed the retail world forever, and retailers today must in many ways adopt a different mindset from retailers of a generation ago. But, in one important aspect, the mindset is the same – it’s all about the customers, what they want, how they behave and how you can meet their needs. If you start from that basis, keeping up online becomes a much easier task.

daniel.munns@intergen.co.nz