Selling At Retail: 2015 Retail Leaning Heavily Social Media, Proximity Marketing & Beacon Technology
March 13, 2015
In 2014, we saw more merchants venture into omnichannel retailing and try in-store marketing solutions such as beacons to enrich the shopping experience. In 2015, we anticipate stores to double down on these strategies and continue to find ways to bridge the gap between offline and digital channels.
In addition, we expect platforms such as social media and mobile to play bigger roles in people's shopping experiences.
Many retailers leveraged social to engage users and influence their merchandising decisions this year, but in 2015, we’re anticipating companies to go beyond that and use social not just to showcase products, but to actually sell them.
The same goes for mobile. Companies won’t just use the small screen to “get in front” of customers (i.e. through geo-fencing and mobile-enabled sites). In 2015, retailers will step up their efforts by incorporating mobile into other parts of the customer journey, including order fulfillment, payments, and loyalty.
Marketing has become an incredibly clever form of publicity - after all, it seems that no matter where we turn, there is advertising of some sort or another. Whether it be television adverts, bus ads, magazine adverts, online banners, social media and sponsored ad, it seems to be never ending.
And yet more traditional forms of advertising, such as Promotional Products - are still going strong.
Among the many great qualities of entrepreneurs is their ability to look at things long term. It’s called vision, and it’s a powerful thing. You also need to crush your short-term objectives. I recommend using the scrum methodology to help you manage your work. A more simple approach is to set seven-day goals. As quickly as possible, knock out all the short-term goals that lead you to your long-term vision.