Summer Retail Merchandising Strategies: The Customization Nation

Retail is changing - it is undeniable. Gone are the days when mom and pop shops ruled the roost and all shopping was done in store - none of this online nonsense. Ok, enough with the nostalgia, but really, thanks to a number of different factors, not least of which is technology, customer expectations and shopping habits have changed dramatically, and as a result retailers are finding that retuning their retail merchandising strategies has become a necessity.

These retuning strategies differ greatly, but some are clearly more effective than others. Check out this great discussion article from Retail Wire: http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/18046/the-rise-of-the-customization-nation. In the article, the author discusses a presentation at this year’s Food Marketing Institute Midwinter Conference during which the presenter (an author himself) discussed customization in the retail world and how it is impacting customer engagement.

Thanks in large part to technological advances and the growth and development of online shopping capabilities, consumers now take customization for granted and as a result expect it far more often. And the ability to customize and personalize has come to permeate every shopping experience - not just those taking place in the online sphere.

So what are retailers to do? Complete customization isn’t really practical, nor is it largely cost effective. The conference presenter’s advice: “success is based on reducing choices and curating the experience, which moves the retailer from the role of simply satisfying a need to a trusted advisor position that enables them to proactively sell.”

Additionally, the author notes that some grocery chains are recognizing this expectation and taking risks to challenge traditional retail merchandising strategies. Is it paying off? According to the article, “The reward is a distinct uptick in relevance to the shopper,” so clearly something is having an impact.

Is customization the way of the future? Perhaps, but perhaps it is one of the many innovative ideas that can be utilized, even in some small way, within the CPG industry to further drive sales and increase engagement.

Whether you stick to those tried and true traditional retail merchandising strategies, completely revamp and try customization on for size, or decide that your own custom plan which includes both approaches is the way to go, Storesupport can help get a plan nailed down. Call us today at 1 877 421 5081. 

Retail Disaster: Do These Images Represent a Positive Customer Experience?

In today’s retail environment, customer experience plays a major role in not only the perception of your brand, but also your level of customer loyalty. A happy customer is far more likely to both return to your store and purchase your product. They are also far more likely to recommend you to friends and family, or even to the world at large thanks to social media. Knowing this, how do you think these images work when it comes to customer experience? Do these represent a positive customer experience?

If your store is a mess, trust us, customers notice! No one wants to have to step over piles of stuff on the floor (nor are most willing to purchase items they deem dirty thanks to the mess). And not only does this impact your customer experience, it can turn into a legal hassle if someone gets hurt!

Long line ups are the bane of a shopper’s existence, and having to stand around makes people cranky - and can sometimes have a huge impact on customer loyalty. Continually having to wait in line inevitably leads to choosing a different store where the line ups tend not to be such a problem.

Target Canada had to deal with customer blow-back thanks to empty shelves - one could argue that this issue played a part in their ultimate demise - and we all know how this customer service issue impacts the overall customer experience. Shelves should NEVER look like this (and for most they likely don’t), but even a few empty spaces or the inability to find what one is looking for, or even an alternative, can have customers leaving the store in droves.

Don’t let a lack of people support impact the customer experience you deliver. Messy aisles, long line ups and empty shelves are all, for the most part, a direct result of not enough staff.

Feel like these issues only arise at particular points in the year, during the summer holidays for example? Don’t want to hire, train, and then lay off seasonal staff? Find a merchandising company that can offer trained, experienced, professional staff members, on a temporary basis, right when you need them. This not only saves you time and money, you can be sure these customer service issues are handled!

For more about people support that meets your needs and customers’ expectations, please call Storesupport today at 1 877 421 5081. 

Is Online Grocery Shopping Headed Our Way?

For many of us in the consumer packaged goods industry, the assumption that online shopping doesn’t pose the same threat to us as it does to some retailers is common, after all, not many online retailers offer milk or chicken. However, the looming threat of online grocery shopping, which seems to grow over time, if far closer to home than we might think.

Take, for example, this recent article from Buffalo News, “Dash’s Market launches online grocery shopping”: http://www.buffalonews.com/business/dashs-market-launches-online-grocery-shopping-20150224. According to the article, Dash’s Market, a grocery chain in Western New York, is the first in the area to offer online grocery shopping, giving customers the option to purchase online and then either pick up from the physical location or have the order delivered.

The trend being adopted by stores such as Dash’s is becoming quite common in the face of changing customer expectations. Store downsizing, rightsizing, even the move of previously online-only retailers to physical locations are all other examples of this trend to meet the growing needs of today’s consumer. And that’s not all. If you think that online grocery shopping isn’t really going to materialize, and that it really doesn’t pose much a threat, the fact that it is expected to become a $17.2 billion industry by 2019 may just cause you to reconsider that line of thinking.

And while Dash’s is the first in Western New York, two other top chains have already started the research to implement it in the area. Clearly this trend is picking up speed, and although it is across the border, it is just across the border. Really, how long before our major chains are taking a page out of their book?

This isn’t all bad news. It may be a threat, but does it mean that all consumers are going to switch? Of course not. As with all retail shopping, the customer experience is key, and since other retailers find that online shopping still can’t compete when it comes to that (and therefore a desire to shop at a physical location remains), it is pretty safe to assume that it will be no different for CPG. All of this being said, it does mean a further rise in competition, one that will need to be met head on.

Are you ready to compete? Storesupport has the strategies to make you more competitive, even when it comes to online grocery shopping. Call us today at 1 877 421 5081. 

Cashing In: Merchandising Strategies to Increase Customer Loyalty and Engagement

As a retailer, your job involves a number of complex moving parts. Having every aspect of your store run smoothly can be a major challenge - and this doesn’t even take into consideration a plan for improvement. When it comes to customer loyalty and customer engagement, the best way to improve is by beefing up those merchandising strategies and making people even happier.

Some of these may seem like pretty common sense advice, but the reminder won’t hurt.

Firstly, start with a plan - don’t dive right into the deep end and expect results to float right to the top with you.

On the store floor, create displays that pair like items, or create a theme to encourage more interaction and sales. Take advantage of seasonal opportunities - summer is a big one and it is right around the corner! Pull on those heartstrings - create an emotional connection and consumers will feel a sense of attachment.

Experiential marketing is another great tactic, especially coming into the summer, to get customers thinking about what you are offering and to create a connection as well as to engage. For example, think about BBQ season and everything that comes with it - major upsell opportunities here.

People make a difference - you know this. Hiring the right employees, those who can demonstrate knowledge about your brand, and who display dedication and a commitment, are the ones who will be recognized by shoppers. This can help build a relationship with a customer when shopping, and encourage loyalty. That being said, when it comes to your busy season, or even those odd days that require extra staff, hiring a handful of employees might get the job done, but a merchandising company that offers people support can get the job done quickly and efficiently, so this might be an alternative to consider.

Keep the store clean. Another common sense tip, but we mean clean, organized and well stocked. Customers notice everything, really, and if they feel uncomfortable this registers and can impact their choice to return. Empty shelves have the same effect - think about the big box retailer that recently vacated Canada after just 2 years in business…

Perhaps not technically a merchandising strategy, but one that belongs on any customer engagement and customer loyalty list, is social media engagement. If customers are talking on social media, respond - never ignore a review, whether positive or negative. Engaging online shows your customers that you care and are committed and this goes a long way towards building customer loyalty.

When it comes to customer loyalty and engagement, merchandising strategies can go a long way towards improving your numbers. Want to get a plan in place? Call Storesupport today at 1 877 421 5081.

Forbes: Brands with the Most Customer Loyalty

We are all well aware that customer loyalty is critical in every aspect of the retail world - last week we even discussed it with regard to the social online environment - but some undeniably do it better than others. Forbes’ recent article “2015's Brands With The Most Loyal Customers” demonstrated this by giving us a look at those top brands that have managed to beat out the competition when it comes to customer loyalty.

Check out the Forbes article here http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertpassikoff/2015/02/16/2015s-brands-with-the-most-loyal-customers/.

This list, actually called the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, done annually by Brand Keys, is created by rating brands based on their ability to meet customer expectations compared to the competition. A total of 540 different brands, in 64 different categories, were analyzed. What kinds of categories are we talking about here? Everything from airlines to fast food restaurants, car manufacturers to hotels, search engines to insurance.

So what do these brands have that you don’t, besides a spot on the list? Brands that top the list are those that do a number of different things, really, really well.  Check out the list here: http://brandkeys.com/portfolio/customer-loyalty-engagement-index/.

According to the article, “In a marketplace where brands struggle to create meaningful differentiation and engagement, those who can able to identify customers’ expectations and address them via authentic emotional values, will see tangible bottom-line results, which come in the form of higher engagement power, more loyal customers and, axiomatically, greater sales and profits.” Clearly brand identity is intrinsically linked to customer loyalty, as the brands on the list have come to recognize.

Since consumer expectations seem to grow every year (according to the Forbes article, customer expectations increased by 28% this year), brands need to continually recognize and adapt, making new expectations a priority alongside traditional ones.

If you need to revamp your customer service and customer loyalty strategy, Storesupport has the tools to help. Give us a call today at 1 877 421 5081. 

Social Customer Service - Building Loyalty One Click at a Time

In any retail environment, good customer service is the key ingredient in the recipe for success. Providing customers with a positive experience in store is crucial in building loyalty and keeping it. Fully stocked shelves, reasonable line ups, and knowledgeable staff - these are all things that go into providing that service that stands out.

However, customer service in store is no longer the only service you need to worry about. Social customer service - or the service you provide in the online social sphere - has become as important as the service you provide offline.

Want to know how and why it is so important in building loyalty? Check out this great infographic from The Drum:

According to the infographic, “by leveraging social engagement, you can build brand loyalty and turn users into advocates,” and we wholeheartedly agree! 

Here are some stats from the infographic that may just make you rethink your social customer service strategy:

• 33% of customers would rather contact a company through social media/online than over the phone.
• Over half of all social media users will engage with a brand several times a month, and 9% will engage daily!
•  42% of Twitter users expect a response to an inquiry within one hour.
• 70% of those helped through social media returned to shop in the future.
• 71% of users who have a positive experience via social media will recommend that company.

Think about it this way, if you have the chance to right a wrong online, why not take it? Ignoring a negative review or not responding to a question via social media can mean lost sales, and not just from that one customer. On the other hand, responding quickly and solving a problem shows customers that you genuinely care about their business - a sure way on the road to building customer loyalty.

For more about in store and social customer service please contact Storesupport Canada today. We have the strategies that yield real results. Call us at 1 877 421 5081. 

Marketing to Baby Boomers: Closing the Generation Gap

We all know that not all shoppers are the same, so why, when it comes to age, do we market to them as though they were? In the retail world, as with almost every industry, the generation gap has created quite a stir in recent years, but surprisingly a fair number still refuse to acknowledge that age matters.

If you’ve come to realize that your marketing needs an overhaul, but find that most advice tends to cater more to a younger crowd (read: Millennials), you are not alone, but we can help. Check out this great article from Magic Online: http://magicblog.magiconline.com/content/4-ways-to-market-baby-boomers-2015.

The article, “Four Ways to Market to Baby Boomers in 2015,” gives some great information about why and how to market to baby boomers.

The why? It is simple; according to the article, over the next several years, “it is estimated that the Baby Boomers population will more than double to 161 million people. Right now, less than 5% of all advertising dollars are spent on Baby Boomers, a large, growing, wealthy and winnable demographic.” Do you really need a better reason? We doubt it.

The how? Here are the 4 tips:

1. Know that Boomers are tech savvy - get rid of the notion that only Millennials are using their devices to shop, compare, read reviews.
2. Target Boomers, but don’t ignore everyone else - in your effort to capture these consumers, don’t then alienate other groups.
3. Stay transparent and recognize that trust is everything - Boomers are as loyal as they’ve always been, but this comes when they trust a brand. Ignore this fact and lose their loyalty. 
4. Don’t market to them as if they’re old - they are well aware of their age, but no one wants to be reminded of the fact that we are aging.

Finally getting the picture that marketing to Baby Boomers specifically is a need that can no longer be ignored? Use these four tips to create a strategy that meets their needs, and therefore yours.

For more about targeting and marketing to Baby Boomers, please contact Storesupport Canada today. We’ve got you covered when it comes to the generation gap in retail: 1 877 421 5081.