Ready, set, sell: 5 top tips from the ultimate retail marketing playbook
Are you sitting comfortably? Kick off those office shoes and cradle that cuppa, for the retail marketing wisdom you're about to uncover is your blueprint for success. We'll reveal the sneaky secrets that will change the game for your campaigns.
TL:DR (Too Long: Didn't Read - if you like us you had to google this)? Offer real-world experiences; say goodbye to the generic; and never underestimate the power of data.
make it made-to-measure
No one really cares about boring, off-the-shelf retail marketing. It's a scattergun approach; you'll take anyone's money, as long as they bite, and people can feel that impersonality in your comms. If you really want to reel them in, a bespoke approach is always superior.
Made-to-measure retail marketing hugs the very soul of your shoppers, making them feel understood and catered for. If you can show up right when they need you, solve their problems in just the way they always wished for, of course you'll get better response rates.
But what sorcery is this, that can achieve such wonders? Answer: It's all in the data. From clever cross-selling to customised communications, the latest personalised marketing trends all rely on a data driven approach that enables fine-tuned, laser focus.
whip up a walk-in wonderland
If you have physical stores, you're sitting on more than just a prime piece of real estate. Retail marketing thrives on reach-out-and-touch experiences, so get out and grab your real-world visitors with all the sensory input you can. This is your "unfair advantage" over every online competitor: the ability to engage your customers in three dimensions.
However you engage, your interactive, IRL retail marketing should be emotive and memorable, making the visit into an event rather than just another transaction. Smell the coffee, taste the rainbow, see the light and -inevitably- see the ROI.
go double bubble, and find those unicorns
Ever wished you could clone your most loyal customers? Think of the god tier of consumers in your database, those top fans who snap up your wares, love your stuff and keep coming back for more. Retail marketing is always more successful when targeted to a responsive audience: if only you could reach out to more people like them.
Well, hello Dolly - with the clever use of data, you really can. By analysing the habits of your best customers and matching it to other "unicorn" shoppers in different shopper pools, you can attract their lookalikes, getting a better ROI and making your marketing efforts far more effective.
go back in time, to a simpler age
If you were a time traveller from the 1980s - a time travelling retail marketer, let's say, who liked to tinker with the space time continuum on your day off - you'd be awestruck by the opportunities that digital marketing in the 2020's can offer. Just a few decades ago, physical mail was the main form of direct marketing, and a banner ad was just a billboard, not an annoying pop-up.
But there's no denying that being bombarded by digital messages isn't always fun, and the sheer noise of our online lives can inure us and dull our responses. that's where old-school print marketing can cut through and make an impact. Posters, postcards, brochures and letters are all old-school ways to get tangible results.
intergrate to accumulate
Perhaps it's not really about going all the way back to the pre-digital age, but rather about getting the right balance between then and now. To do that well, it's really important to present a unified message throughout your online and offline retail marketing channels.
Yin and Yang, cheese and pickle, Ant and Dec. Like these classic pairings, your physical media should fit hand in glove alongside your online campaigns, seamlessly integrated and perfectly in tune. Your printed promo materials will cue digital activity, so keep the branding united across media to ensure a smooth and productive user journey.
time to put your retail marketing plans into action?
You've got the inspo; now let's bring those ideas to life. At Precision Proco, we support some of the UK's best-known retailers to deliver eye-catching, targeted marketing communications.
Want to know more? Contact us today.