StORES Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 56)

ONLINE MARKETING Some people do, however. Neiman suggests that if you want to test, you need to be ready to act on the results — even if they appear to run counter to your initial expectations. Best practices from Right Start and other RightNow clients such as Cabela’s, drugstore.com, Hallmark.com, Sharper Image, Snapfish and Ulta were incorporated into a new sales and marketing solution called RightNow Retail. With options like pre-configured surveys, the solution is one of a handful of industry verticals that RightNow has launched in recent months. Others are tailored to federal government, consumer goods and higher education. Starting fresh Officially launched in May, RightNow Retail is intended for new customers; to override systems already up and running wouldn’t make sense, Wanderer says, because most retailers have modified it to meet their specific requirements. In a Harris Interactive survey sponsored by RightNow, 68 percent of respondents said they were prompted to browse a website after receiving an email from a retailer. Neiman says internal surveys show more than half of Right Start’s shoppers use more than one of the company’s channels. Understanding that is vital to business, she says. In June, Neiman sent out an e-mail promotion about the Quinny Buzz — a hydraulic lift-equipped stroller that, she says, is all the rage in Europe. Her e-mail blast about that big-ticket item included information on a deal by which a shopper who bought something in June could get a 10-percent-off coupon to use in July. Because the offer was for in-store purchases only, Neiman thought briefly about sending it only to those who live near a store. “But we opted not to do that … because, with it being summer, so many people travel,” she says. “They may actually be going somewhere that does have a store.” Wanderer says paying attention to a 56 STORES / AUGUST 2007 shoppers. Some want clothing, for instance; others want toys. Shoppers in some areas of the country tend to be more about image and never want to lay eyes on a clearance rack. In other regions, parents are primarily interested in price and wish to be the first to learn about sales. And some shoppers are fanatics for pink. Right Start recently added a “Think Pink Shop” to its website where girly-girl shoppers can see pages of items — plastic shoes, piggy banks, bed rails – that come in various shades of their favorite color. Responses to e-mails have helped determine which products are of particular interest to individual shoppers multitude of demographic factors has helped Right Start execute some effective campaigns. “I’m impressed with the lengths that they go to to segment.” Responses to e-mails have helped Right Start determine which products are of particular interest to individual Getting specific Neiman says RightNow’s technology makes it possible for all marketing messages to be handled by herself and one of her staffers. That lean and centralized method can handle quite specific needs: For instance, “help wanted” e-mail messages sent from Neiman’s office to ZIP code-specific groups have helped fill store job vacancies. This summer, artist Emily Green (whose work is seen on some products carried by Right Start) appeared at the retailer’s store in Santa Monica, Calif. Right Start partnered with a local food bank, then let area shoppers know they could attend the Emily Green event if they brought a food donation. When a well-known potty training expert was set to speak at the Carlsbad, Calif., store, Neiman alerted shoppers within a one-hour driving distance. “The speed with which we got responses to that and the number of responses we got were truly off the charts,” she says. So was the influx of e-mails she received after sending out a request to a small subset of best customers in hopes of collecting some quotes for the catalog. “I had to cut that off sooner than I planned because the number of responses totally shocked me,” Neiman says. “The level of response reinforced for me how involved [customers] are StORES with us.” Rebecca Logan is a Fort Leavenworth, Kan.-based writer. WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of StORES Magazine - August 2007

Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Upfront NRF News Retail People Concept2Watch Supermarkets Cover Story Online Marketing In-Store Marketing RFID Data Management Payment Systems Software Loss Prevention E-Commerce Risk Management Communications Loyalty Marketing Human Resources Mobile Commerce Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View Advertising Index Retail Industry Calendar

StORES Magazine - August 2007

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