Retail marketing - the process of promoting awareness and interest around your goods - has become increasingly important as more retailers open up shop. When done effectively, it can mean the difference between standing out from the crowd or disappearing in it. To get it right, you need to consider today’s fast changing retail marketing landscape.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about those three factors that are driving the change:
1. The way your message is delivered has changed
It can be argued that as recently as 25 years ago, delivering your marketing message to your customers was an uncomplicated exercise. That’s because there were fewer channels for you to use. Your main mediums were television, radio, and print and that was about it. And if your customers ever wanted more information, they had to come to you.
Of course, the retail marketing landscape has since evolved to become quite complicated today. The introduction and increased use of email, mobile, social media and even content marketing, for that matter, means you now have multiple opportunities to deliver your message.
Instead of viewing that as daunting, you should be embracing it.
Let’s take social media as an example. As Anna Johansson, CEO of Johansson Consulting points out in an article she wrote for The Huffington Post, “social media gives marketers access to incredible amounts of data and insights that previously went undetected”.
Today, you’re able to study your customers over long periods of time, she adds, and ultimately, all of that information that you gather can help you to develop and deliver highly-targeted campaigns.
That said, you do need to be careful about which delivery method to use. If your customers are more prone to engaging with you via email as opposed to social media, then email is the way to go.
It’s also worth noting that just because there are multiple delivery methods at your disposal, that doesn’t mean you should attempt to use all of them. You need to rather look at which delivery methods suits your brand as well as your overall goal.
For example, if you’re selling Coca-Cola, you’re shouldn’t use LinkedIn to sell it to consumers. Facebook, Twitter or Instagram would be a better bet. If, however, you’re attempting to attract retailers to sell Coca-Cola on your behalf, you’d pick LinkedIn first.
2. More customers are tuning your messaging out
While technology has changed and improved the way in which you can deliver your marketing message, it has also given your customer more power.
That power comes in the form of choosing when and how to listen to your message. When it comes to anything online, it takes the shape of ad blockers. If they don’t want to listen to you, they can simply block you out. And it’s happening more often than before.
Of course, it’s not just online advertising that is tuned out. It’s any form of interruptive advertising. That includes fast-forwarding through adverts on television or even evading people who hand out pamphlets on the sidewalk or at shopping centres. If it’s not asked for, don’t expect your customers to willingly accept it.
Why? It’s because the advertising and marketing messages that you are putting out there are product-centric first. In other words, it’s all about your retail business, and not enough about your customer.
If you want to change that, it’s simple: you need to ensure that each and every message you put out into the world is consumer-centric. Notice, we didn’t say do away with advertising altogether. Advertising certainly has it’s place. However, you need to provide them with value before you ask them to buy your product or service.
For example, don’t just tell your customers about the new product that you just launched or how great you are. That’s not worth their time. They’ll thus tune you out without much thought. Instead, provide them with information that they need and that can help them to make an informed decision. You could provide them with helpful content if your retail marketing strategy includes content marketing.
If you can provide value to your customer first and foremost, you can shift any bad perceptions around your brand. And in so doing, get them to pay attention to you and what you’re selling.
3. Your retail marketing needs to keep up with your consumers
When it comes to deciding your marketing platform and the message that you want to put out there, you also need to consider your target market. That’s fairly obvious. But to ensure your marketing always hits the right note, you must know exactly who makes up your target market.
Why? Because within your target market, you’re bound to have one or more different generations. And each generation has it’s own unique personality.
For example, your target market might be anyone within the Silent Generation (people born between 1930 and 1945). If that’s the case, and you’ve done your homework, you’ll know that they base their behaviours on experiences from difficult times. They also dislike change, technology, and wasting money.
With that in mind, social media wouldn’t be the best platform on which to deliver your message. They’d prefer your traditional advertising platforms such as print or radio.
Compare that to Generation Y, otherwise known as Millennials. They grew up with the Internet and are individuals who are both sophisticated and technologically savvy. This generation also craves immediate gratification and long-term planning isn’t high on their list. Social media would be the perfect platform for your marketing message, and placing an advert in print would be a waste of money.
Mary Lister, content marketing and social media specialist for WordStream has written a highly informative piece on generational marketing on how to target certain generations, from Millennials to Generation X and Baby Boomers.
Conclusion
When it comes to ensuring that your retail marketing efforts are effective, you need to consider that the landscape is ever-changing. What worked yesterday won’t necessary work today or tomorrow. But if you put your customer first, you’ll stand a good chance at developing a reputation as the go-to retail brand.
