Marketing at Retail - December 2008 - (Page 6)

Sustaining the Brand Experience Managing Retail Evolution in an Era of Economic Challenge B Y L A U R A DAV I S - TAY LO R [6] As we begin 2009 planning, consumers are demanding more from retailers and retailers are being pressured to crack down on spending. We’re at a crossroads regarding “what’s next” and many retailers face a very challenging year ahead. We asked our stable of retail experts and industry stars to dive into some possibilities for not just surviving this climate, but building market share. WHAT DO WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR STRATEGIC DECISIONS ON IN THE YEAR AHEAD? As we probed this question, a clear theme emerged: there has never been a more polarized retail landscape. Leaders and followers are shockingly apparent, with the gap between them widening quickly. The leaders have clearly prepared for unforeseen market turns such as this and, in some cases, are actually taking advantage of the situation. They are pouncing on the weaknesses of those that have dragged their feet and making smart decisions that make these weaker brands even more unattractive to shoppers. It comes down to this: think with a clear head and use common sense. It’s time to finally, finally focus on what matters. Build those cross-channel bridges. Get serious about customer service. Do ethnography to find out what’s going on from the shopper perspective and use data, innovation and a spirit of internal cooperation to do something about the problems it unveils. Stop relying so hard on traditional advertising to make brand promises that may or may not get fulfilled in the store. Rather, put some of that money into the store itself and let the experience create the brand expectation. back. If you can focus on things other than price, you’ll be much better off in the long run. I believe that we need to embrace that retail is not about brand communications anymore; it’s about brand experience. It’s this side of things that holds the most opportunity. A positive retail brand experience never feels like a chore there’s a sense of discovery, of shoppertainment. Invest in this and you’ll stay ahead of the game. —John Greening, Sector Head, Advertising; Associate Professor, Medill School at Northwestern University The most interesting trend in my mind is the renewed focus on smaller formats, like Target’s Bodega trials in New York City, or Starbucks’s tiny new microstores that offer minimum eye candy, but maximum appeal to the brand’s most loyal core shoppers. Best Buy is currently testing smaller stores, Wal-Mart has several new formats on the way, and when Tesco decided to cross to this side of the Atlantic, they did it with a relatively tiny Fresh-n-Easy format, instead of their typical Wal-Mart-esque megastores. —Bill Gerba, WireSpring Technologies, Inc. The result of the current economy is a trend in “forced” migration of shoppers to different price channels (i.e. Whole Foods to Kroger). Up-market retailers need to be focused on customer retention while down-market retailers need to welcome new shoppers and create a level of “stickiness” so that they stay with the brand after the economy recovers. — Kevin Kelly, President, Service Retailing, Miller Zell Consumers increasingly have access to any information at any time. whether online, via mobile devices, or other digital tools. The expectation of “complete, transparent information” will extend to their interactions with retail personnel. Thus, smart retailers will continue investing in systems that allow their front-line staff to advise and inform consumers in a skilled, thoughtful fashion. Providing systems to support their ability to do so will be a differentiator and will provide Data is the key to surviving and thriving. Retailers who have been collecting data and doing nothing with it need to get smart and strategic about understanding which customers make them money and which customers cost them money. Only through turning data into analysis and insight will they be able to get on profitable footing. —Lisa Bradner, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research There’s an old saying we should be deferring to right now: “Incent the behavior you want repeated.” The practice of price as a weapon may work every time, but it’s not a longterm strategy and can be like a drug to shoppers. And you can never build loyalty on the basis of price alone — you can go to far and compromise things that are very hard to get M A R K E T I N G AT R E TA I L

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marketing at Retail - December 2008

Marketing at Retail - December 2008 Contents Letters from the Editor Sustaining the Brand Experience Digital Signage Providers Producer/Providers - U.S.A. Arizona, California, Colorado,Connecticut, Florida, Georgia,Iowa, Illinois Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,Massachusetts, Michigan,Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada,New Jersey, New York,North Carolina, Ohio Oregon, Pennsylvania,Rhode Island, Tennessee,Texas, Washington, Wisconsin Producer/Providers – Canada International Directory Argentina Belgium Brazil Chile Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador England Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Japan Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Ad Index Sweden Switzerland Turkey

Marketing at Retail - December 2008

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