Until a few years ago, we expected all retail stores to either shut shop or migrate online to compete with other . However, nowadays we see more and more successful opening brick and mortar stores to cater to their TG. Apart from that, many multichannel retailers have realized they can leverage online content to increase their offline sales. Here’s how they’re doing it:
- Understanding your target audience
One of the plus points of having a strong online presence is that you can collect valuable data regarding your customers like age, sex, geographical location, shopping behaviors, interests, product requirements, etc. These can be used to create targeted campaigns to drive more offline sales.
- Targeting customers correctly
Targeted campaigns are successful since they target individual segments of users with specialized content. Factors like placement, timing, and location can be factored in to better predict the shopping behavior of your TG and how likely they are to shop offline. Therefore, call to action buttons, early bird offers, sales, and discounts, etc, all perform better with targeted campaigns.
- Creating useful content
Clever content curation can significantly improve customer engagement on online platforms. Ensure everything you say online reflects your company’s values. Also, use data to provide specialized content to the different customer personas in your TG. Try various types of content like blog posts, videos, GIFs, downloadable infographics and audios to connect with the customer.
- Consistent brand building
Think of your end users as your brand advocates. Work on building trust. Make sure that the branding of your offline stores is in sync with the tone of your online channels. This way, your customers will come to expect a seamless shopping experience and spread the word.
- Focusing on customer relations
Most customers switch companies owing to inferior products or terrible customer service. Use social media platforms to complement your customer relation activities. Ask for reviews and address negative reviews instantly to show that you care. This will further increase faith in your product and your company.
- Tracking offline results
Measure offline results with offline conversion tracking tools such as offline events or Bluetooth Beacon by Facebook. Optimize your targeted campaigns to make them measurable. Similarly, Google AdWords can help you keep tabs on in-store conversions of your campaigns.