If you are still wondering whether investing in marketing your brand through multiple channels is a good idea, you would be surprised to know that you no longer have a choice. Major brands have already established themselves almost everywhere in the virtual domain where they can interact with customers, and now it is time for smaller brands for to jump on the multi-channel bandwagon.
Let us take a look at what multi channel retailing will do for your business.
- Increase sales: It is a given fact that no business will undertake any activity that does not add value, especially when it comes to investing in creating and maintaining channels. Multi-channel retailing opens up multiple options for customers to make a purchase, hence creating more places for the business to sell without raising a brick and mortar entity, which is much more expensive than creating a virtual shop.
- Create a customer-friendly image: Since the modern customer expects a flawless shopping experience where they are treated as the most important entity, businesses have to step in the customers’ shoes and prepare to offer them convenient solutions. For example: customer A would prefer sitting at his home and browsing through the website to make a purchase while customer B might already be at the store trying out something and then wishing for the same item in a different color. If the store has a kiosk where customer B can browse through the available colors or any upcoming stocks, she may order that to be delivered at her home.
- Improve your market strategy: Customers prefer entering their details into a machine themselves to give it out to a salesperson. Multi-channel retailing helps firms gather a database of customer habits and so they can create focused marketing strategies. For example, if a customer tends to browse for a particular product more often, he can be sent mails whenever there is an offer or discount on that category of products or there are any new products launched.
- Improve productivity: If there is a central database of customer information that is accessed by all the branches, employees can conveniently find data about a customer whenever they are interacting. It will also reduce iterating data and reduce customer frustration by eliminating the need to enter details every time they explore a new channel.
Every channel comes with its own set of challenges. For example, the experience that you provide through the website of your firm has to be somewhat different from what you offer via a mobile app. Each channel requires having its unique attraction. That said – different channels of one brand cannot appear disconnected. The customer has to feel that they are interacting with an extended wing of the same brand. Multi-channel retailing creates a win-win situation for both the customer and retailer.
What are your expectations as a customer or retailer? Let us know through the comments section.
Author Bio:
Lipika Devi, a writer by profession, loves every piece of art. Apart from writing, she enjoys travelling, attending film fests and meeting people from different sphere of life. Always lost in her own world, she believes – the seeds of creativity can be found in the fertile land of imagination.