5 Digitial Marketing Strategies Retailers Should Be Using

Digital Marketing Strategies Retailers should be using As a retailer who wants to stay competitive and present in the market, digital knowledge and expertise is needed. The Retail People Magazine is privilege to have a chat with Christian Farioli, CEO & Digital Marketing Lecturer and Strategic Advisor of ESD FZC. He gave some helpful tips on what are the best strategies retailers should use to target today’s generation.

Let’s suppose you already have a marketing strategy; if this is not the case, I invite you to jump to the end of the article, where you can find a really simple shortcut to follow.

1. Customer Data: The new challenge Now, we can all agree that today, the amount of data at our disposal is enormous; the possibilities and ways of gathering data from social media, web sites and POS (physical point of sales) are growing and evolving every single day. The real challenge is no longer collecting data, but analyzing it correctly. To gain a full insight means understanding people’s behavior and being able to track activities on timing and ways they interact on social media; sign up for newsletters or make a purchase, so we can reach them accordingly and, as a final goal, tailor the communication to them.

Retailers are becoming increasing aware of the urgency in using and analyzing data to target potential customers, optimize the experience and shorten the distance between online and in-store approach. We are talking about 69% of retailers who are aware of analyzing data to target potential customers. The percentage is set to grow consistently moving forward.

46. RETAIL PEOPLE . JAN-MAR 2020 2. Data to Enhance Customer Experience. So what are specialists aiming to when analyzing data? The number one priority is to enhance customer experience and differentiate from other brands and competitors. Being able to understand how, when and where to communicate to each potential customer is the most powerful and effective solution to optimize a ‘call to action’ in making a purchase or choosing the brand instead of another.

In retail it is all about the experience; a joined-up approach to data is part of Omni-channel marketing that can really make the difference.

3. Retail is about the experience. Why don’t you enhance it with digital? Artificial Intelligence Technology: The reason why the popularity of Chatbot is growing is linked to a 24h service, an instant response and a quick answer to simple questions.

Voice technology is also a great tool and it has made great steps in the home market, but only 6% of retailers recognize the opportunity for the sector. We could say a great opportunity! Looking at the latest research on customers’ behavior, we see a good 40% of people using a Virtual Assistant enabled-device to make a purchase, and this number is expected to grow to 48% by the end of 2020.

4. Proximity Marketing can hit close to home Proximity Marketing is our chance to utilize mobile devices, WiFi, RFID technology to help retailers connecting directly with customers, the right ones.

Malls and retailers can attract people from the neighborhood, with geo-targeted campaigns that can increase footfall by 300%. The results are extraordinary.

Let’s think about what certain stores are doing with push notifications: they draw customers in the area by alerting them to deals or promotions.

5. Time for Action: Investing in Digital Skills As a retailer, to make sure he is communicating to targeted customers the right way using the best tools to be competitive and present in the market, digital knowledge and expertise are needed.

McKinsey's research shows that Digital Leaders outperform their peers by 5X in revenues and 8X in operating profits.

Sadly, research run by Adobe has discovered that only 29% of businesses invest in digital skills training, the others make little or no investment.

In a troubling sector such as Retail, hiring an expert is a great choice. However, the best can be extremely rare and even more difficult to measure their expertise level. Professional development is the key to succeed in the long run; it can be an investment made on internal staff or external specialists, but someone aware of the ever-changing market needs to be in charge of the retailer’s marketing and communication. Are you ready for this?

When in need of a Digital Strategy… Ask yourself: Do I have a written, solid Digital Marketing strategy for at least three years ahead ? Retailers and Shopping Malls are now facing a Titanic dilemma: are we risking to fully disrupt and steer the direction towards digital? Many of them already crashed against their iceberg. It is almost too late, what is your plan?

I believe every company needs a great Digital Marketing Strategy to succeed nowadays.

CHRISTIAN FARIOLI Digital Marketing Lecturer, Strategic Advisor & Book Author. Pioneer since 2003, Trained 5000+ executives from startups to Fortune 500 and Spoken at 30+ International Conferences, including Google and NASA.

Leisure: The value of great Emotional Experience The game has changed. Society today demands more user-friendly, dynamic and sustainable environments. Here, Retail People Magazine, sits with Gaston Gaitan, Founder of theleisureway, and describe their commitment to design unique destinations where people will have fun and create innovative places where emotions come alive.

Project Name: Mar Shopping Algarve - 2017 Location: Loulé, Portugal Client’s need: Establish synergies between “restaurants +retail + outlet + leisure” theleisureway solution: Developed an outdoor concept to bring a natural and playful atmosphere into the overall asset.

Project Name: Mall of Switzerland - 2017 Location: Luzern, Switzerland Client’s need: Activate an entire floor for FEC to generate profit and increase traffic for the tenants theleisureway solution: Created an indoor paid FEC that gives that “Swiss Feeling” to visitors, managed by a recommended operator of theleisureway

We are ruled by EMOTIONS – They dictate the ups and downs of our daily lives and determine the well being of our communities; they can construct or even destroy civilizations, changing the course of human history. Emotions are not a stranger to any of us. That pang we feel deep inside when a loved one catches our eye, when we smell freshly mown grass, or when we feel the sun on our skin? It is the physical manifestation of an emotional bond. And it is a powerful trigger that sends messages to our brain, urging us to take decisions, inciting us to actions.

Joy as an emotion: If a friend makes us laugh, we will associate what we feel not just with our friend, but also with the surroundings. Our brain generates a positive memory, which when triggered, will encourage us to return to the lake and, yes, even to the petrol station, again and again.

This is also true when we decide where to shop. Whether we are aware of it or not, as consumers, we will always factor emotional bonds into our decisions. But it is not just laughter or love or human warmth that creates these bonds – It is LEISURE too. If a shopping centre offers leisure options and sensations to cater for all tastes, consumers will feel the glow of emotion that so often results from shared moments with friends or family.

Leisure, before and after We extract positive emotions from everyday life and transfer them to commercial areas, creating a Leisure Ecosystem where those emotions come alive, guiding users on their customer journey.

A new era of commerce has now begun in which consumers purchase goods both on and offline. Though online shopping competes with shopping centres, new technologies offer advantages, too. They are useful and precise tools for gathering consumer data. And shopping centre closures are not caused by the advent of online shopping alternatives, but rather by competition from other shopping centres with the know-how to attract more visitors.

Bringing the emotional value through iconic projects – theleisureway We consider leisure as part of a strategy to surpass all expectations, by incorporating elements of local culture with human and social factors and offering sensations that leave consumers smitten. In order to do so, we

What better marketing strategy than making people feel good.

carry out thorough market research and develop an idea right through to the technical design and construction of so-called “leisure ecosystems”— living, breathing, interconnected spaces with fullyintegrated leisure options, made by and for people. Currently, shopping centres are making great efforts to reinvent experiences and connect with people by creating emotional bonds. What better marketing strategy than making people feel good which can be easily achieved by having an amazing leisure experience.

For more info, visit www.theleisureway.com.

Project Name: The Galaxy - 2019 Location: Varna, Bulgaria Client’s need: Activate vacant spaces until they are leased by some tenants theleisureway solution: Created temporary social hubs and play areas for families that are designed as planets to elevate the leisure experience of the customers. These 3 planets are movable to any space in the mall.