Online Retail Marketing

A business's retail marketing strategies will consider several factors in order to be effective, including the goods and services it offers to customers, pricing strategies and distribution channels, amazing customer service, and innovative promotional campaigns. Though many entrepreneurs conduct business only through websites, almost all traditional stores will benefit from establishing an online presence. The online retail marketing strategy should complement the storefront and vice versa. The company's website can be used to introduce internet surfers to its goods and services or to provide information relevant to the products. For example, a small business owner with a traditional bricks-and-mortar store selling baby items can establish a well-designed website that gives the physical location, contact information such as a phone number and email address, a link for getting driving directions, and photos of some inventory items. As an added benefit, the website may include articles especially written for new parents. With the appropriate use of keyword purchases, new parents may be directed to the articles from the search engine and then spend time browsing and shopping on the site. The innovative owner may also include a baby shower registry and other fun features like a due-date countdown to increase traffic to the site.

Some business owners or managers can become so busy in the day-to-day activities of running the store that retail marketing strategies are neglected. If left unchecked, this neglect can lead to lost sales and lost profits. Whether or not the company has an online retail marketing campaign, the owner is responsible for knowing marketing basics so that effective advertising techniques can be utilized both to retain current customers and to attract prospective ones. It's a given that owners and managers need to know everything there is to know about the goods and services they sell. Each employee should be able to answer a customer's questions about the product(s). Most successful companies, no matter their size, focus advertising on a particular market segment. This is possible because they have conducted research on the demographics of their typical customer. Based on this research, which may have been conducted by a strategic marketing firm, the owner or marketing team can identify such data as the gender, average age range, income, and educational level of those who buy the items that the company offers. With further research, the management team may even know, for example, what magazines their customers are likely to read and what television shows they enjoy watching. This information is gathered by listening to consumers. Business owners and marketing firms can conduct surveys and polls to learn more about those individuals who come into the store or visit the website. Focus groups are a great way to find out what customers think of existing and potential products. All this data, properly collected and analyzed, is used in creating a cost-effective advertising campaign.

An entrepreneur who is investigating the viability of opening a specific business can find information on typical customers by researching information collected by the industry trade associations. Other resources are local chambers of commerce, small business development centers and incubators, and industry trade shows. Armed with demographic information, the entrepreneur can make decisions about potential niche markets and also select appropriate products to meet the needs and wants for that selected group. As part of larger retail marketing strategies, and depending on the industry, the entrepreneur may want to utilize focus groups to examine potential products and provide honest critiques about them to further assist in the decision process. The entrepreneur is going into business to make a living. Many decisions, about products, pricing, distribution, customer service, and advertising, need to be made. Good decisions are based on good information. As the Proverbs writer said: "Wisdom is before him that hath understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth" (Proverbs 17:24). Thoroughly understanding a business leads to wisdom when it comes to formulating strategies for success.

Whether the business has a traditional store, a website store, or both, retail marketing strategies should meet customer expectations as far as product quality, customer service, and value. Brick-and-mortar businesses benefit from attractive storefronts with good signage. The same is true for websites. A dynamic website will be appealing to visitors. As part of an online retail marketing strategy, webmasters need to be creative while also sticking to the basics of providing informative product pages. A frustrated visitor who has to do multiple clicking to get to needed information will not stick around long enough to become a customer. Online retailers have an obligation, both to the customer and to the company, to test the website to ensure that it is easy to use. Details about the different products need to be easy to access and to read. The consumer should be assured that any personal financial information that is submitted to the site is protected from identity theft or fraud. Return policies and contact information should be prominently displayed.

Both longtime business owners and entrepreneurs need to design retail marketing strategies based on relevant data about current and prospective customers. Innovative promotions are useful for driving traffic brick-and-mortar stores and to company websites. Effective online retail marketing begins with a well-designed, easy-to-navigate website which provides a positive experience for the internet user. The website should complement a traditional store, if one exists, by providing location and contact information. By making use of existing research and collecting additional relevant data, owners and managers can design advertising campaigns that will lead to business success.

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