The new rule of retail engagement 14 – 10 -3 How do you make proximity matter, by understanding the activity associated with each pha.se of shoppers journey
But location is so much more than a one-off engagement. And for the national marketer/advertiser getting “local” is more than groupon, facebook, and foursquare. “getting local” means shopper engagement across both the virtual and physical plane across time and “place”.
Location offers access, discovery, and efficacy (am I serving you with the information that is desired at that moment) driving them to the point of sale. For a marketer understanding where your customers are throughout the course of their day is as important as deciphering how they consume media and the psychology behind their buying behaviors. Mobility, not Mobile, becomes the cornerstone of the planning process. “ Retailers will need to harness [the power of local] to connect and convert this new media-savvy shopper who is comfortable using mobile, social and digital means to get the best deal.” – John Ross
Consumers are now adopting new behaviors based on where they are and their use of technology leading to two new trends surround location and mobility – pricing pandemonium and social shopping. Emerging digital and mobile channels enable consumers to “crowdshop and compare” purchase possibilities. “ Mobility will have a transformative effect on the media and advertising market, as both traditional and digital media adapt to an increasingly mobile audience that consumes media on a progressively broad range of portable, personal devices such as laptops, smartphones, kindles, gaming devices, netbooks, etc.” David Courtney, imedia connection http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2009/12/21/four-ways-consumer-mobility-will-reshape-digital-advertising-in-2010/
Its all about “what I want”, “when I want it”, “How I find it”, “where I may buy it”
Location helps breakdown these silos, bring all the players together to create new and innovative opportunities for engagement that strategically leverage data to customize content / messaging, define reach and responsiveness, and strategically driven intent across time and space. In today’s marketplace location lies at the intersection of your business objectives and these core principles. Real opportunity presents itself through vendor / client COLLABORATION, not dictation.
From a retailer perspective – innovation is needed around behaviors, NOT the adoption of new one-off shiny objects. Audience based media & marketing strategy must be defined by how your customer consumes and uses media & technology across time and space. Location, much like digital and mobile, must fully integrated into the marketing funnel.
So I know you are wondering: Given these silos - How and where do I begin to connect the dots for myself/my brand? It is true that one has broken the code for how connect these dots, but we know that location can help us get their. The first step starts with understanding…connecting, and listening to your customer. The data you have on hand is painting a compelling story about your customer, when they purchase, what they purchased, how, how much, and at times for whom. It tells you where they live, where they work, and what they value. Through this information we can draw a number of logical conclusions about their behavior, needs, and desires. All of these insights translate across different levels of media consumption and receptivity across markets and should be used as the fuel empowering your communication strategy. As your media communication strategy and creative go hand in hand, integrating your data, media and distribution opps, and tech solutions is critical to fueling marketplace success. As your media communication strategy and creative go hand in hand, integrating your data, media and distribution opps, and tech solutions
How does location and mobility impact the customers decision making process in the last three feet of retail?
O – Opportunities become Data-enabled Now that you have this information – what do you do with it and/or where should you start in your data collection to build your location strategy? Beware of the mass local phenomenon Loyalty becomes a Social Currency (You should be capturing trials AND loyalty)
