Can Mobile Retail Cure Shopping Rage?
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Uncategorized on June 3, 2013
Think back to your last shopping experience, what was it like? Was it enjoyable, memorable, or did it leave something to be desired? If so, what made it that way?
I’d like to share a recent shopping experience that I had.
While I normally enjoy shopping online, for the mere convenience of it, I do make a point to go in-store and try on clothes to ensure the right fit. While shopping online is great, sometimes there’s no substitute for feeling the fabric in person and viewing how an item actually looks on – mainly because it may appear slightly different from how it looks on a 22-year-old model.
On one particular afternoon, I made a stop on my way home to do just that. I needed a new dress for an upcoming event and while I had browsed some options online ahead of time, I wanted to see what the dress actually looked like in person. Keep in mind, I live in New York and ‘shopping’ is more than just a casual experience. It can be brutal. Fighting through lines, tourists, and covering some serious mileage just to get from one store to another is enough to rethink any shopping outing. It’s not for the faint of heart.
Therefore, when I arrived at a particular retailers location one Thursday afternoon, I was on a mission. Like most consumers, I did some show rooming online and wanted to view and try on those items in person. I spotted an item I had eyed online and made my way to the dressing room. The fabric felt great, the dress looked good, but, alas, the dress in my size had a big makeup stain across the front if it. This just wouldn’t do and there were no other dresses in my size that I could find.
So, like the determined shopper that I am, I made my way to the checkout line. Which, I might add, was rather long. After waiting in line for over 20 minutes and slowly losing my patience, I finally reached the counter. I revealed the dress and explained the situation and asked if there were any other dresses in my size. The conversation went something like this:
Me: “Hi, I love this dress, but they don’t seem to have one in my size without a big makeup stain. Do you have anymore dresses in this size?”
Checkout associate: “Let me check.”
Off they disappeared for a good 10 minutes, I assume, searching for the dress. I began anxiously checking my watch. Finally, they reappeared.
Checkout associate: “No, we don’t have it, that’s the last one.””.
Crickets..
Me: “Ok, well can I still order it?”
Checkout associate: “I’m sure you could.”
Crickets…
Me: “Ok, well can I order it here and have you ship it to my place?”
Checkout associate: “You can’t do that here, you’d have to go online and do that from home.”
Really? Insert fashion rage here.
I was annoyed and frankly, surprised. How could such a larger retailer in the fashion capital of the world not accommodate such a simple request? Further more, I was irritated that I had already waited in line, then waited again at the checkout station for them to search through items in the backroom looking for the dress I wanted to purchase. After all of that effort and time wasted, I couldn’t even leave the store with the item I wanted to purchase.
Granted, could I easily shop this online? Sure, but it’s the principle of the thing. My time is valuable and now I feel inconvenienced by the retailer. Think of the cost. The retailer didn’t just risk the sale, but they risked losing a customer. The thing is, I’m not alone in this expectation.
Imagine how my shopping experience may have been different had mobility been in use:
1. I wouldn’t have had to wait in line to visit an associate. A mobile associate could assist me immediately.
2. I wouldn’t have to wait in line for an associate to check the backroom for the merchandise. They would be able to check inventory levels immediately on the store floor where I was standing.
3. With mPOS and omni-channel capabilities, I could have purchased the out-of-stock item immediately and had the item shipped directly to my home.
4. I would’ve completed the purchase on my mobile device and been a happy, satisfied customer.
These major differences would have unquestionably saved time, completed the sale, and left me satisfied and delighted with my shopping experience. These subtleties add up and retailers need to seriously think about what kind of impression they’re making with their customers and the long-term implications that their in-store experience creates.
Do Your Customers Ship Their Pants?
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Uncategorized on May 7, 2013
Do Your Customers Ship Their Pants?
Unless you’ve made your nest living under a rock the past couple of weeks, you’ve likely come across Kmart’s viral “Ship My Pants” video. In the video Kmart customers gleefully talk about how they were able to ship their pants, drawers, bed and more, conveniently while they were in the store. They all say this with a devilish grin that makes you think wait, WHAT did they do to their pants?
The play on words is funny, but the message also hits home. It’s how Kmart is letting their customers know what the industry buzzword “omni-channel retailing” really means for them. It means they can come into the store and order products that they can’t find in stock, or even in their size, and easily have it sent directly to their home. It’s easy, convenient and enjoyable shopping. Obviously, as the video ends in a group hug with a store associate.
Seriously though – consumer demands are changing. We all know this. According to a new study by Accenture, 49 percent of consumers want retailers to integrate in-store, online and mobile shopping channels while 89 percent want the choice to be able to shop for products using whatever channel is easiest for them. Retailers, like Kmart, are listening and integrating these channels to create accommodations as a result, like pant shipping. After all, if a customer takes time out of their busy day to come all the way to your brick and mortar store, why should they be punished if the item they were seeking is out-of-stock? Omni-channel retailing alleviates that aggravation and as a result, builds additional loyalty between consumers and your brand.
Ok, so you know omni-channel retailing is important. Now what? Here are the 5 Golden Rules that we’ve learned after 60 retail mobile deployments worldwide to make omni-channel retailing a success.
- Know your goals! Set definitive measurable goals so that you’re clear on what you want to accomplish with omni-channel retailing. Are you trying to improve your overall customer experience? Do you want to just sell more? Know what your goals are and how you plan to measure your results. Continue to re-evalutate and assess your progress every 6 months.
- Make it easy. Omni-channel retailing is all about making shopping more convenient for customers. Train associates on how to deliver the option effectively and think about how you’re going to deliver the experience to customers. You want to make a lasting impression that will have them coming back for more.
- Take advantage of what you already have. There’s no need to create a complete overhaul of your entire retail management system, leverage the investment you’ve already made. Omni-channel retailing basically means the integration of all of your existing retail channels (in-store, online, mobile and more). The best approach is to setup a system that connects all of these so you don’t have to manage multiple different systems to deliver a seamless experience to customers.
- Choose your partner wisely. To setup omni-channel retailing successfully and take advantage of systems you already have in place, you need to select your solution provider carefully. This includes understanding your goals and the systems you want to incorporate first (see rules 1 & 3).You want to build a solution not just for your needs today but for what will support your store growth and technology needs tomorrow. Think of the big picture.
- Inform your customers. A lot of retailers have omni-channel retailing available but very few really let their customers know that it exists and what it means for them. They just assume they’ll figure it out. Don’t assume. Consumers are savvy, yes and their expectations are growing. However if you don’t let them know what’s available they will go to competitors that make it obvious. Marketing always has it’s place, you have to remind customers of why you’re different and why shopping is easy and convenient with you. Take a cue from Kmart and invite them to start shipping.
There you have it. GlobalBay solutions have enabled this model to successfully deploy mobility and omni-channel capabilities for high-profile retail brands all over the world. So, are you ready to ship some pants?
Sleeping with your mobile? You’re not alone.
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Digital Trends, Marketing on September 10, 2012
In my current profession I study the use of mobile devices and how we can readily interact with one another to spread messages, incorporate branding and facilitate social change. As a result, I came across an article in CNN that really made me think. As a society, we are incredibly dependent on our mobile phones.
More than 88 percent of U.S. adults own cell phones and over half of all U.S. adults are smartphone owners. That means half of our society can pay their bills, check-in to locations, update their Facebook status, play with the stock market and more, directly from their mobile device 24/7. The result is making us an incredibly connected society and it’s changing everything from how we do business, how we make purchasing decisions and even how we date. In fact, 68 percent of us are so connected to our phones that we sleep with them at our bedside. With all of this hyper-connectivity at our finger tips, it sort of makes you wonder. How is this affecting our daily lives?
CNN is suggesting that the use of our smartphones is indeed making us smarter, more productive and what some would call even “superhuman”. This is the first time in history that we have been this connected and had everything we could ever imagine, accessible at our finger tips. With over 6 billion phones now on the planet, one for nearly every person on earth, in some third world countries people are more likely to have access to a mobile device than running water. So, in some ways, we have to wonder if there are negative consequences to such connectivity.
Of course, there is a downside. There is now a “phantom limb” association with cell phones. When you don’t have your phone around you, you’re constantly thinking about it and wanting to check your updates. Ironically as well, people may tend to hide behind their phone and not really be present and live in the moment. How many times have you been out to dinner with friends or at a sporting event and felt compelled to take a picture, instagram it and share it on Facebook with 500 of your closest friends. While you’re busy waiting for the spinning wheel of death to connect to your favorite social channel or determining if sepia is the best color for your latest photo, you may actually be missing the final score of the live match you paid tickets for or the punch line to your friends joke. So many of us are busy updating our status and sharing the interesting moments of our lives that we fail to be present and actually experience them. Ironically, our drive to be constantly connected can actually lead to more feelings of isolation.
Yes, whenever a new technology is introduced in society that disrupts our previous way of life, it does take some time to adjust and experience the downfalls. Yet, when used appropriately, it’s also a way to improve our daily lives and set forward into motion political and social movements. In fact, it was a mobile phone that recorded Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire, which initiated a wave of Arab Spring demonstrations. Being able to instantly record and share scenes around us has been able to bring awareness to issues that may have previously gone unnoticed. I relate it a lot to how the emergence of photography helped to spur the American Civil War. Yes, people had heard of slavery and knew of the mistreatment of other human beings, but when it became visible through photography, it somehow became more real. As a result, it helped to spur activism and a call for change.
So yes, at times, the mobile wave and revolution can seem scary in terms of all that it is uncovering. But I’m sure every age had its own concerns and fears for people living in them at the time, like the Industrial Revolution. The truth is there are positives and negatives that can be identified in each new age. The trick is to use this time to do more good with what we’ve been given and view the use of our constantly evolving mobile devices as more of a tool than a crutch. It’s helpful, yes, and it certainly makes us more productive. Yet it doesn’t mean we should shut off our brain or become disengaged with the world around us. It’s an enhancement to our daily lives, not a replacement.
Do you think we’re becoming too dependent on our mobile phones? I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line at Elizabeth@ElizabethHoffman.org.
What Open Data REALLY Means For Cities
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Digital Trends on August 15, 2012
The call for cities to embrace open data is getting louder and louder. The recent White House Digital Strategy Initiative is proof of one such example in which they call for all Federal Agencies to be accessible via mobile and have information readily available to the public anytime from any device. Philosophically, we love talking about open data and the concept behind it.
Using Technology to Respond to Climate Change
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Digital Trends on July 24, 2012
Feeling a little warmer than usual? It’s not your imagination. This summer has already been a scorcher, with most of the country seeing temperatures of over 100 degrees and multiple states breaking several records. The NOAA also recently reported that the first 6 months of 2012 were the warmest months on record ever in the history of the United States. Whether you attribute that to climate change or just coincidence, the fact of the matter is several cities and regions throughout the United States and the World are seeing more extreme weather related events and as a result, are taking steps to plan accordingly.
Why I’m Still Using Facebook Advertising – And How I Make It Work
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Marketing on May 18, 2012
The other day I was crafting a targeted advertising campaign to take place on Facebook. Just as I was adding the final touches, I saw a story come up in my newsfeed announcing that GM was pulling its ads from the platform stating that they were ‘ineffective’. Immediately the social sphere buzz ensued, questioning everything from the platforms advertising effectiveness to its seemingly overblown IPO offering.
This isn’t a
nything we haven’t seen before. Yes, the presence of Facebook and its popularity is undeniable, but traditional marketers have long questioned the value in actual advertising on the platform. Unsurprisingly, even now when Facebook boasts close to a billion users, it can’t touch Google’s popular advertising platform. When push comes to shove, companies still prefer Google to Facebook for digital advertising. Partially, it’s because companies better understand how to use it and the goals are more definitive and digestible.
Google’s adverting popularity is strongly linked to its ability to up your SEO factor, a very clear and tangible goal which is certainly important. However, in order to use Facebook advertising in a successful matter, you can’t let your SEO ranking be your determining factor or the idea that you want to just link someone to your website. Different digital platforms require a different approach in order for you to find success. You have to have clear goals and understand how the unique platforms you’re using can help you get there. I have to wonder if this is something GM thought through thoroughly.
Personally, I have found a lot of success in using Facebook advertising. Last month alone I doubled the fan base of a business page and increased their level of engagement (number of people talking about them) by 40 percent. So yes, I still find Facebook advertising to be effective and I’ll continue to use it in the future. Here’s a simple set of guidelines that I use and that you can follow to find similar success:
1. Define Your Goal.
Is your goal to just build awareness? Do you want people to link back to your page, buy a product or go straight to your website? For businesses just beginning to grow their Facebook presence, a clear goal can be to add new fans to your page.
2. Target Your Campaign.
The power of Facebook is in its targeting. No, you’re not putting in key words that people are searching for to grab their attention and introduce your product or service; you’re targeting your actual customer. So, to start, this means you need to TRULY know who your customers are. You can narrow down who you want your ad to target by their age, geographic region, gender, and education level. If you want to be even more targeted, you can list businesses they may work for, other products they like and other interests that they have keyed in as part of their profile information.
For example, if you are promoting an event that will feature rock music, you can target your ad to reach users that list that type of music as music they enjoy. You can also segment your reach to target fans, friends of current fans, and overall nonfans. This can further align with your overall goal to either reach new people with your ad, or reach people that are already connected to you in some way.
3. Define Your Call to Action.
I don’t like to put up ads just to say “hey, like my fan page” or “buy this product” with a bland logo. That’s boring and cements that no one will click on your ad. Make them WANT to click on the ad or like your page. What’s in it for them? Have a clear, enticing call to action. To do this, I like to conduct ads as part of another promotion.
For example, if I’m having an event, my call to action is to RSVP for the event and then I link them to our page where they can find out more details. Or, I tie in another promotion such as a Facebook poll or quiz where participants have a chance to win a prize (something tangible). But there’s a catch, to view or participate, you have to like the page first. There is a question if people will just like the page first to participate and then leave. Yes, that can happen, but it doesn’t have to. Given my specific customer targeting and my constant list of incentives to engage people in the page, over 99 percent of new fans acquired this way end up staying fans and continue to stay engaged. Which leads me to my next point…
4. Don’t Get To Comfortable – Keep Things Interesting!
Once you get people to like your page (if that’s part of your call to action), don’t just sit there! Keep things interesting. Post new content, photos, quizzes, and continue to engage with and respond to your fans. Make it worthwhile for people to continue to check back with you.
5. Try New Things
Facebook advertising is just like playing around with new key words on Google. You have to try some strategies and fail to see what works for you and what doesn’t. Don’t be scared to try something new! You might be pleasantly surprised.
6. Understand Facebook Ads Don’t Work for Everything
There are cases where Facebook advertising may not make the most sense. Approaching Facebook like you would the classified section in a newspaper simply just isn’t effective. Think about it. When people scan the classifieds for a car, they are more than likely in the market for that item, so those ads speak to potential customers directly. That’s not the case with Facebook. People don’t go there to BUY stuff. People go on Facebook to engage, to communicate with their friends, to pass the time and much more. Therefore, you have to speak to someone who is already in that frame of mind. That’s why more calls to action for say quizzes and sharing stories and photos, are much more successful.
Facebook advertising goes along with your reason for having a Facebook page, it’s about brand building. You have to approach advertising on Facebook as you would a relationship. Many times, it’s your first introduction to your fans on the platform. One of my main goals for conducting Facebook ads is to connect with others that are on the platform and have them engage with our page, so that we can continue to build that relationship. Connectivity, sharing and relationship building is what Facebook is good at and where its success lies, which can be very powerful for brand building. If you’re using Facebook advertising with that focus and to build long lasting, meaningful relationships with your fans, you should find success with it as well.
Good luck!
What Your Degree Didn’t Prepare You For
Posted by Elizabeth Hoffman in Marketing on April 30, 2012
So we all know our economy is in a bit of a slump. You can’t turn on CNN or even browse the internet without hearing about how many millions of Americans are still out of work or underemployed. Yet, if you are in a company that is hiring, you may still find that there is a talent shortage out there.
Our economy has changed drastically in the last ten years and we haven’t trained enough of our workforce to compete in it. Ultimately, this is slowing our national economic recovery and having an effect on us as marketers.
Ten years ago there was no Facebook, no Twitter, no iPhone and no billion dollar acquisitions for fast growing start-ups like Instagram. The social movement and explosive tech advancements have changed the landscape in which we communicate with one another, market our product and essentially grow our business. While a lot of us know how to play in these arenas as users – there aren’t enough of us out there that truly understand how to interpret the data, create a successful marketing campaign, or how to actually code and design these social tools.
In fact, in my own company we’ve been looking to add to our team and we’re discovering that good talent is hard to find. We aren’t the only ones having this problem. It’s surprising that as a society, we haven’t modified our collegiate courses enough to keep up with the changes in our marketing field and economy. Sure, nearly every college graduate has a Facebook page and has probably engaged in some kind of social promotion in one way or another, but not nearly enough of them know about the KPI’s associated with social media or how to integrate that with a successful lead generation strategy. New marketing focused grads are then surprised to learn that it takes a lot longer to nail down that entry level job. Even though they’ve paid for that coveted college degree, they may still be lacking the real education required to make it relevant in today’s world.
So, I have some advice for college students, new grads and even seasoned professionals out there. Even though you may not be forced to learn or work closely within the digital marketing space, make it a personal goal of yours to learn at least one new thing each week about it. Even if the digital realm is not your main focus, it’s becoming vital to at least have some kind of understanding of SEO, social media engagement strategies and the digital space. As many marketing pros will tell you, marketing is about wearing many hats at any given time. Especially when an economy is tight, you’re forced to do more with less and the more tools you have in your toolbox, the more effective (and employable) you’ll be.
Not sure where to start? That’s ok. Scout out some of my favorite resources that don’t require a huge time commitment.
Skillshare – Discover classes taking place in your city and even online that are relevant to you. You can search by subject matter, area of interest and even receive alerts when a class is ready that you may be interested in.
AppSumo – Online classes that highlight new areas, programs, SEO strategies, emerging apps and more. Typically classes last anywhere from a half hour to an hour and some are even free. They don’t always have the most polished courses, but it does give you a good overview on important areas and programs if you need a quick tutorial.
AMA – If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you sign up for the American Marketing Association. Annual membership is $47 for students, $105 for young professionals 3 years following graduation and $210 for professionals. It may seem pricey at first, but you get access to resources, job boards and free, awesome online courses that you can later download and access at anytime. I highly recommend it.
Have another tip? I’d love to hear from you! Email me at elizabeth@elizabethhoffman.org.
