In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

In-store and Mobile Shopping – Getting the Balance Right for Local Businesses

The last 4-5 years have been rather eventful for marketers. Mobile commerce, app marketing, omni-channel presence…there’s been a lot keeping marketers, retailers and service providers busy. Now that the waters have been tested, strategies evaluated, marketing blueprints analyzed and overall customers’ gizmo and technology thrill settled, the market seems to have a clearer vision of what works and what doesn’t (well, more or less).
The one thing that has undoubtedly emerged as a clear trend is that no one-channel, or no one-approach can suffice for a company. It has to be a fine mix of different channels at different touch points, each with its discreet level of customer engagement, well coordinated and well aligned with the central marketing strategy.

In-Store or Online?
Although there can be no absolute answer to this question, the likely answer lies in the company’s overall strategy. Here are a few points that can be considered:

• How large is your scale of business?
• What is your target segment?
• What are your customers mostly engaged in?

If you are a retail chain, restaurant chain or basically a large set-up with multiple stores across the country, then your customers mostly expect you to have a strong on-line presence, mobile platform and great in-store service. In this case each channel should be a full fledged sales and customer service point meticulously integrated with the central database that is enriched at every touch point.
But if you are more like a local business catering to the local market, then your in-store experience should be the point of focus. But this does not mean that the other channels do not hold any significance. Rather, an online presence and a mobile app would strengthen your business and also ensure that the cycle of contact is not broken.
To take a use case, there’s a bakery that specializes in cakes. Say a customer saw their listing in the yellow pages, logged on to the Internet to check out their website. Now if the bakery does not have online presence, bam, the link’s broken. The customer just moved on. Now in another scenario if the bakery does have a good, informative website, has social media presence where a prospective customer can go and check reviews, testimonials etc. and can see real people connect with the brand. This prospect has better chances of converting into a sale. And just in case the bakery has an app that sends notifications about special promotions, updates you about weekend specials or even better, tells you what’s freshly baked when you are in the vicinity, you probably would be overwhelmed as a customer.
There are various permutations and combinations that can be worked out depending on the needs of an individual business. Need help with finding your perfect marketing balance for your local business? Reach us out at info@xymob.com.