The document discusses how the retail industry is undergoing significant changes as consumers now expect engaging experiences from retailers and brands. It emphasizes that retailers should focus on building relationships with consumers by creating meaningful encounters rather than just focusing on single transactions. This can be done by courting consumers and adding social and emotional value through experiences. When retailers make investments in relationships by creating engaging experiences, it leads to stronger relationships, more positive word-of-mouth, and ultimately more and better customer transactions. The document uses various case studies and examples to illustrate this approach and how some retailers are successfully implementing it.

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ING
AIL KE
RET T LI
LO .
IS A TING
DA

2. How to win your way to
a consumer’s heart.
I LOVE IT!!!

3. How to win your way to
a consumer’s heart.
And then their wallet.
I’M LOVE IT!!!
I BUYING IT!!!

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Let’s face it.
Retail is not what
it used to be.

5. “The convergence of a new consumer
paradigm and an overcrowded marketplace
has finally brought the (retail) industry to
the brink of fundamental change.”
Robin Lewis
CEO,
The Robin Report

6. Let’s take a closer look
at what’s happening.
And how we can leverage it.

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OLD MODEL
RETAILERS/BRANDS HAD THE POWER
ONE SHOPPING PLATFORM
“I NEED STUFF”
FOCUS ON ACTUAL CURRENCY
STORE = PLACE
NEW MODEL
CONSUMER HAS THE POWER
MULTIPLE SHOPPING PLATFORMS
“I WANT AN EXPERIENCE”
FOCUS ON SOCIAL CURRENCY
STORE = INTEGRATED BRAND EXPERIENCE

8. “Welcome to a new era of marketing and
service in which your brand is defined by
those who experience it”
Brian Solis
Digital Futurist
The Altimeter Group

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What are the key insights?
1
Engaging
experiences
help build
relationships.
2
Relationships
lead to more
and better
transactions.

10. A couple of facts and figures:
Create a
negative
experience
89%
SOURCE: 2011 RightNow Customer Experience Impact Report.
Percentage of
customers who
tend to switch
to a competitor’s
brand

11. Average cost of losing a customer:
$300
SOURCE: KissMetrics – The Price of Bad Customer Service

12. Let’s put this in perspective:
$300,000,000
JC Penney lost 1,000,000
customers in 3 months.
Which means they lost this
much revenue in that period.
SOURCE: Forrester / The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2012

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In today’s world consumers expect
more from retailers and brands.
They want to feel:
• Understood and engaged.
• Entertained and amused.
• Surprised and delighted.
• Flattered and appreciated.

14. They want to
be courted.
I told you, it’s a lot like dating!

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Consumers want engaging
and rewarding experiences.
By embracing this “want” we have
an opportunity to build stronger
and more meaningful relationships.

16. “Consumers today seek reciprocal relationships with partners who ‘get’
them—who are into the same things, who speak their language, who
want similar outcomes in life and who are willing to be invested in the
relationship. Retailers and brands should seek meaningful encounters,
rather than just incenting cold, one-time transactions.”
Dee Warmath
UoW
Center for Retailing Excellence
And fierce Hockey Player.

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Get it?
“Meaningful encounters”
Not just “cold one time transactions”

18. Let us tell you
about STORY.

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STORY is 2000 square foot retail concept in NYC
that takes the point of view of a magazine, changes
like a gallery and sells things like a store.
Every four to eight weeks, STORY completely reinvents itself and features a
new theme, trend, or issue – through merchandise selection and retail design.

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The idea was to create a retail concept that
could serve as a matchmaker between brands
and consumers, integrating strategies of
marketing, merchandising, and business
development.
Sounds like
“dating” again.

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STORY introduces innovative ideas about
creating engaging experiences – from pasta
making classes to talks from TED luminaries,
inspiring brand partnerships with start-ups and
Fortune 500 companies like HP and Pepsi – and
consistent creative collaboration.

24. “Don’t think of sales per square foot but
experience per square foot”
Rachel Schechtman
Founder
STORY / Retail Store

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RESULTS:
On average, most new retail concepts take
about three years to turn a profit.
STORY was profitable in year 1 – and it has
become a media-darling, attracting new
customers, much bigger or much cooler
brands, and is continuing to evolve and grow.

26. More facts and figures:
Percentage
of consumers
who will pay
more for a better
experience
4X 86%
Consumers
who are emotionally
connected with a
retailer are more likely
to shop with them
SOURCE 1: Harbor Industries: Industry Trends and Insights
SOURCE 2: Forbes Magazine / Customer experience: Is it the chicken or egg?

27. Anthropologie sure
knows how to romance.

28. “We spend the money that other companies spend on
marketing to create a store experience that exceeds
people's expectations. We don't spend money on
messages—we invest in execution.”
Glen Senk
President of
Anthropologie

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39. Umpqua reimagined
the banking experience.
Then did it again.

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Banks are boring.
Technology has been depersonalizing the
banking process. The banking industry is
mostly focused on efficiency and transaction.
So, Umpqua Bank decided to completely
change the experience.

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They started with a brand perspective.
BRAND DNA
Community
Prosperity
AUDIENCE
TRENDS
Localists
Slow
Movement
-Localism

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Umpqua built an environment
where their customers like to be.
Umpqua delivered a banking experience
that provided a sense of community –
inviting customers to linger, sip coffee
and shop for services.

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Umpqua 2.0
Later, Umpqua applied social networking ideas to a physical
community bank and altered the community experience.
- A community table allows groups to meet
- An interactive mosaic showcases community events/activities;
- Offerings were made more accessible to reflect the increasing
desire for transparency;
- And, in its dedication to small business, conference rooms
were offered as a service.

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Umpqua 3.0
Recently, Umpqua rolled out yet another iteration of its bank
experience to include a “Discovery Wall”
- An interactive touchscreen showcasing financial tools and info.
- “Return on Responsibility”, featuring real-time information about
how Umpqua supports the community (hours volunteered by bank
associates, youth financial literacy initiatives, charitable
contributions made by Umpqua, etc.)
- “LocalSpotlight” - featuring local merchants and their products.
- There’s even a hotline phone so customers call the bank’s
president directly.

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RESULTS:
A better experience helped Umpqua grow from
$120M to $8B and has meant substantially more
deposits, more loan purchases, better recruits
and a community of happier customers.

53. More facts and figures:
Loyal customers
spend more than
new customers.
33%
50%
SOURCE: Forrester / The Business Impact Of Customer Experience, 2012
Retailers that
invested in
relationships saw
their sales increase
by this much.
(Without increasing
their marketing budget)

54. The customer journey
has changed.

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Consumers expect better experiences.
They want to be courted
not to be sold.
Sounds like
dating again!
Instead of thinking about the path to purchase
think about the journey to a relationship.

56. The path to purchase has changed.
The
old path
A
B

57. The journey to relationship.
The
old path
A
B
The
new path

58. Introduce
yourself.
Surprise
her.
Inspire her
to share.
Understand
her.
Get to
know her.
Thank
her.
A
Learn
what
she likes.
Invite
her in.
B
Entertain
her.
Help her discover
something new.
Anticipate
her needs.
Keep in
touch.

59. The path to purchase.

60. The journey to relationships.

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Relationships lead to transactions.
To go after the single sale and skimp on the
relationship is to miss out on an entire community
of customers and future transactions.

62. “We are evolving into a KINSHIP ECONOMY in which the job
of the brand is to facilitate and foster relationships and
connections among consumers.”
“Brands need to offer
social currency that
consumers can
spend with other
consumers.”
J. Walker Smith
The Futures Company

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Create experiences that add value.
In this kinship economy, along this new path,
communications should focus on courting
the customer, not selling to her.
Brands need to add value, not solely “sell.”
And to add value they must create meaningful,
relevant, interesting experiences.

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And here’s why it matters:

65. Introduce
yourself.
Surprise
her.
Inspire her
to share.
Understand
her.
Get to
know her.
Thank
her.
A
Learn
what
she likes.
Invite
her in.
B
Entertain
her.
Help her discover
something new.
Anticipate
her needs.
Keep in
touch.

66. SOCIAL CURRENCY:
Positive conversations
Positive reputation
Social network
B
ACTUAL CURRENCY:
More customers
More transactions
More margin

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It may sound crazy.
It is bold to tell retailers and brands to
make the purchase secondary and invest in
relationships first.
But it also makes good business sense.
Because those relationships will build social
currency. And that social currency will pay off in
actual currency now, and down the road.

68. More facts and figures:
74% 55% 74% 50%
Percentage of brand
marketers saw an
increase in website
traffic after investing
just 6 hours per week
on social media.
Percentage of
shoppers who share
their purchases on
social networks.
Percentage of
consumers that rely on
social networks to
guide their purchasing
decisions.
Percentage of revenue
that brands are
expected to generate
through social media
by 2015.
SOURCE: Dr4Ward / What Is Social Currency And How Does It Effect Social Commerce? Infographic

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Conclusion:
1
Engaging
experiences
help build
relationships.
2
Relationships
lead to more
and better
transactions.

70. Want to do better at retail?
Here are a few
dating tips.

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1 Get noticed.
You can’t start a relationship if you’re a wallflower.
Go from bland to brand. Stand out from the rest.
2 Be honest.
Stay true to your brand personality. If it feels forced to you,
odds are it feels forced to your customer too.
Sophisticated digital tools mean you don’t have to assume
what she wants. Use them the right way to ensure you
understand her needs and wants.
3
Get to
know her.
4
Give her
temptation to follow the crowd. What’s right for one brand, may
something special. not be right for you. Find what makes you unique and use it.
5 Surprise her.
Give her something she can’t get somewhere else. Resist the
Keep her engaged with something unexpected–something that
invites her back again and again.

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6 Stay connected.
Thoughtful notes, updates and conversations let her know you’re
thinking of her, even when she isn’t buying something.
7
Don’t over
do it.
Yes, technology is great. But just because you can, doesn’t mean
you should.
8
Be nice to her
friends.
The opinion of her community goes a long way–and can make
or break your success in the end.
9
Remember:
It’s not all
about you.
In this new era of retailing, the consumer has the power.
And it’s all about her.

73. Good luck.

74. Thank you.

75. LIQUID AGENCY
We’re a brand
experience agency.
From the very beginning, we set out with a clear purpose — help our clients
create value for their businesses through smart and effective branding
programs. Over time it became evident that the biggest opportunity for this
to happen rested in our ability to transform the way brands engage with their
audiences. So, we decided to focus on creating unique, relevant and
interesting experiences across the touchpoints that really matter. Thankfully,
we had the chance to be exposed to the way that things are done in Silicon
Valley — which taught us to embrace innovativon and inspired us to develop
new methodologies and new tools. We're now considered the No. 1 agency
in Silicon Valley. We love what we do. And like to work with clients that
challenge us to create amazing experiences.

76. Liquid Agency
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NEW YORK, NY
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