Retail Convergence: It’s still about the customer experience
Before, consumers have limited access to a product or service information and businesses reach out to consumers through mass, non-targeted sales tactics.
But with the advent of the Internet, consumers now have access to a wealth of information. From online reviews to a company’s social media page, consumers can now make extremely informed decisions prior to any purchasing. According to Scott D. Cook (Chairman of Intuit, Director of eBay and Procter & Gamble), “A brand is no longer what we tell the customer it is — It is what consumers tell each other it is.” Technology has really changed consumer behaviour and expectation.
With that, retailers also spent time investing in their online presence. More recently, online retail brands have started to open brick-and-mortar stores as well.
It clearly shows that the key is to give the consumers the choice.
So it’s only right that our marketing and sales strategies change too. Retailers and brands of all kinds need to strengthen their relationships with their customers. And the challenge is to connect emotionally with people the same way online as they can in their own physical stores.
How? This is where Retail Convergence comes in.
Retail Convergence is the ability of a marketer to establish a relationship with their consumers and persuade them to purchase our products/service by creating engaging omni-channel experiences. By omni-channel experience, there must be a multichannel sales approach that provides the consumers with an integrated shopping experience.
There are four components in Retail Convergence:
MARKET ANALYSIS: Understand the needs and behaviour of our consumers to create relevant content that touches the heart of the Filipino people.
KNOW YOUR CORE BUSINESS: It’s important to remember to focus on your core business to produce a high quality product/service.
EXTENSIVE PROMOTIONAL TOOLS: Review the consumer touch points and create a cohesive integrated marketing communication plan after anaylzing the market needs to promote our products and establish a strong connection with our consumers.
OMNI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE: Create an ecosystem that is focused on retail convergence (converging of the physical & online store)
At the end of the day, to better serve each customer, every channel must work together to deliver the best customer experience.
