Even with the rise of online commerce and e-commerce platforms like Amazon, the retail industry is still as relevant as ever. According to The Balance, retail sales have hit a new record in 2017, with $5.7 trillion spent across the globe.
This showcases that the retail market is still healthy and ripe for picking, especially with the right marketing strategy involved. However, opting for the right advertisement strategy to market your retail stores can be difficult. Let’s take a look at several effective, actionable strategies which can easily lead to your retail success.
1. Audience Segmentation
Unfortunately, no two customers will have the same mindset when it comes to needs and expectations. This means that you will have to segment your marketing content into different categories based on the type of people you want to attract.
For example, a retail shoe store should review their product catalogue and draw parallels between the types of people who would be willing to wear their shoes. Placing these customer profiles front and center in future marketing content would raise your attraction and retention rates considerably.
2. Staff Development & Showcasing
What matters most in terms of marketing a retail storefront is the staff that works there. If your staff members are unmotivated, lack positivity and general knowledge of your products, the customers won’t be likely to return. Likewise, word of mouth travels fast thanks to social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram.
In order to maintain a positive image and internal culture, it’s good to invest in staff training and additional seminars and conferences. These will increase your staff’s productivity, retention rates and overall expertise, ensuring a positive and fruitful experience for the customers.
3. Content Channel Prioritization
No two channels of communication are alike and this goes double for retail marketing content. However, you will be hard pressed to cover all the available bases if you opt for in-house content marketing. Channels such as social media, paid online advertisement and local print are only some of the options at your disposal.
Depending on your budget, targets and campaign length, you should set realistic, attainable goals for your channel prioritization. There are plenty of tools that can help you retrofit existing content for different channels since Twitter and Instagram vary drastically in content types. Choosing the right channels for your specific brand and products is just as important as choosing logo design for your company. It can help you narrow the message down to a specific crowd and attract them to your retail stores.
What is more, start investing in videos for your products. Customers are busy people. They want to “see” not “read.” Creating a product tutorial in video format will certainly boost sales, reduce cart abandonment, grow new customer and old customer revenue, prevent churn, and increase website traffic.
4. Discounts, Freebies & Bundles
What usually separates one retail chain from another is the plethora of special offers available at any given moment. Brands without any semblance of discounts, special offers or bundled items will hardly find success in the increasingly competitive market. In order to amend that, you need to make sure that your retail storefronts offer some form of customer loyalty program to increase the appeal of your products. You can easily bundle items and offer them at discounted rates or spice expensive products up with a free gift at the register.
These small but significant signs of appreciation will go a long way in making sure that the customers come back for more and bring their friends with them. Being stingy about your sales practices will rarely bring you long-term success, especially if you are a new player on the Australian retail market.
5. The Storefront Matters
One of the best things that can happen for your retail storefront is for a passerby to walk in and make a purchase. In order for this to happen, however, your stores need to reflect your marketing intentions. Make sure that any currently active retail campaign is visibly present from outside of your storefronts.
This can be done in several ways, including the direct branding of your window panels or doors, banner ads, posters or even fliers. Even if someone came to the vicinity of your retail store due to online presence, they still need to find the shop itself and be convinced enough to make a purchase. Brand your stores according to the overall campaign you are currently running in order to make the best impression on the customers.
In Conclusion
The most effective marketing strategy in the Australian retail industry usually falls down to the types of products you sell to the customers. Make sure to take all factors into consideration when planning your next campaign, including its length, goals and the overall message.
Build long-term satisfaction and customer retention instead of opting for short-lived success. That way, each following campaign will be met with praise and anticipation by the public, ensuring your retail success in the long run.
Marie Fincher is a content writer at TrustMyPaper.com with a background in marketing, technology and business intelligence. She frequently writes about data science, BI, new marketing trends and branding strategies. Marie gradually changed her focus from working in marketing to writing about it.
