In general, brick and mortar store owners don’t expect big results from online marketing. Many misunderstand online marketing as strictly an online business strategy, while others view it with great skepticism.
So, is online marketing influencing in-store sales? Yes. According to studies by Forrester Research, Yahoo and comScore, nearly 92 percent of purchases take place offline as a result of online consumer activity. A study by Accenture showed a similar trend.
The right digital marketing strategy can put your products in front of your customers and prospects when they are trying to find out about the products they want to buy online. It can help you grab the attention of your customers thereby increasing your offline sales.
Here are some tips for boosting in-store sales using a digital marketing strategy:
1. Use data to understand your customer
Collecting and analyzing data can help you determine the behaviors, preferences, and demographics of your key audience segments. You can assimilate data from a wide variety of sources including research, social media, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and third parties.
Analyzing relevant data will not only help you understand how customers perceive your brand, but it will also bring out the level of engagement you currently have with your customers. This will help you develop campaigns targeted at user behaviors, the type of content they find interesting and where they choose to interact.
2. Focus on branding online
Your physical store might be a popular destination for shoppers, but is your offline popularity reflected in your online presence? Otherwise, you need to rework your online branding efforts.
Use social media to channel your authenticity and all those qualities that make you popular offline. It is very important to maintain a consistent image in the online and offline landscapes in order to gain the trust of your customers.
3. Create a brand community
A brand community is essentially a community built on the basis of a shared loyalty to a particular brand. You can build a community for your brand by using a social space to engage users. You can discuss the latest products, announce product launches, talk about your future plans, or even ask users about their experiences with your products.
Remember, the key to building a brand community is having an honest voice and a genuine willingness to engage with your audience and seek their opinions, whether good or bad.
4. Improve your in-store technology experiences
Technology has invaded our lives to such an extent that almost everything is assisted by technology. Mobiles and smartphones have changed the way people shop and your offline store needs to support these changes to provide your customers with a more meaningful experience.
In-store technologies like price comparison apps or island checkouts can effectively bridge the gap between your customers’ online and offline experiences with your brand.
5. Manage the online customer relationship
Not just phone calls or emails, you can treat Facebook or Google+ as a means of responding to customer comments.
Today, most consumers like to express their opinion about the products or services they have used on social sites. You need to join the conversation by closely monitoring your social pages and responding to users. Review sites are a great way to reward your most loyal customers, while also being able to help you troubleshoot those who dislike your brand.
If you don’t know how much your online efforts will earn in terms of offline sales, you must remember that online users are your real customers and can greatly influence your offline sales. All you need is a well-planned, comprehensive digital marketing strategy, and you’ll start to see the positive impacts sooner rather than later.
[Photo Credit: George Redgrave]
