Multi Channel Marketing Will Be Essential This Holiday Season.
By Vincent Gentile, www.avminternetsolutions.com
It’s very simple; consumers want and expect a different shopping experience. Eighty percent of consumers will research a product or service online prior to making a decision to do just about anything. Retailers saw this in the last few holiday seasons and for many retailers, due to the ongoing economic downturn, this season will be more critical than past years.
Consumers want options: The option to view a product online and purchase it in the retail store; the option to purchase online and make a return to a retail location. Companies that have an online presence that works in conjunction with their retail location or business will fair better than companies that treat their online image as a separate entity. It was only a few years ago that retailers were somewhat afraid of their online image; afraid it would take away from store traffic, however the reality is quite the opposite. Research shows that a strong online presence drives traffic into the store or business. Statistics show that the web generates $8 dollars of store traffic for every dollar generated online.
Companies with a strong online presence, working in conjunction with that company’s brick and mortar location can leverage a variety of marketing options to drive traffic. For example an effective e-mail marketing campaign can drive traffic (prior to critical dates) providing in store coupons or discounts. The advantage is the user can then forward the coupon offer easily via e-mail. Conservatively, one e-mail campaign could reach 25%-50% of it’s originally target. With the internet, the opportunities are literally endless.
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