StorefrontBacktalk: Making the Case for Pushing Social Media in Stores
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from StorefrontBacktalk, a site tracking retail technology, e-commerce and mobile commerce.
How's this for ironic? Retailers complain about how difficult it is to get shoppers to explore their social media efforts. And yet these same retailers have the almost undivided attention of these shoppers, often for hours every month, in an environment where the retailer has complete control of the surroundings, the store layout and the staff.
What about using in-store technology and even the sales associates to start or enhance those digital conversations?
In my mind, I can see the CEO's face as the marketing chief explains that he wants to grab some of the consumers' attention while they are in the store to "build a deeper relationship with them online." I have to imagine that is about as close to heresy as it gets in traditional retailing. "Wasting" precious time and attention of a shopper and "distracting" them with things that do not involve a sale in that very moment, at the point of purchase!
But if you think about it from the customers' perspective, they don't understand or care about the different channels a retailer has. They want to interact with the brand across all of the channels in a convenient and consistent way.
On the other side, the digital marketing folks struggle to even start a conversation with their consumers online, lost in the noise that is the social web. The folks on the ground have a relationship, or at least consumers' attention, but they fail to capitalize on that after the transaction. How crazy is it that both organizations work for the same company, each one able to help the other with a significant problem, and yet most retailers haven't done it?
Here are a few ideas for you to test to bridge this gap:
- Place LCD TVs in the store that are tied to the company Facebook page, with clear directions printed on the screen that show customers how to engage online.
- Have the sales clerk's e-mail address printed on the receipt, with a note that says, "E-mail me with any questions."
- Place screens around the store that show Twitter activity about your brand. When someone tweets to or about you, follow that person and engage them.
- Sit down with your associates once a month and ask them what are the most common questions they get. Start a blog, and answer all of those questions. Choose different associates to provide each answer used on the blog.
I think what is important is to figure out how to shed the "old-way" thinking and how to break down the multi-channel barriers. It's time to start a relationship with your customers, across all forms of connection, because the benefits are worth it.