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August 2011
INBOUND OR OUTBOUND MARKETING?
Part One
This is a subject I've wanted to write about for some time but thought it best to wait until all the hype died down a little. Most of the nonsense has been sorted out, so the subject can now be addressed with reasonable thought and discussion.
OUTBOUND MARKETING
Outbound marketing--what most retailers have been doing for years--includes running print, radio, and television ads as well as sending direct mail or email. The goal: Getting your message out to attract someone's attention or making an offer that brings customers into the store.
With consumers bombarded by so many of these marketing messages nearly everyone agrees traditional outbound marketing alone proves less effective than in the past. A good many consumers simply ignore the ads they are exposed to every day. The recession has also hurt outbound marketing's ability to reach consumers and compel them to take action.
Over the past two years, more and more consumers find stores from which they want to buy on the Internet rather than the retailer reaching the consumer through traditional marketing. Before any of my long-time readers think I'm bailing out on traditional marketing I am not advocating you stop doing the things that work and have proved effective for you in the past.
If you currently spend 90 to 100 percent of your marketing dollars on traditional methods, I suggest you look at and study how you can take advantage of the fastest growing marketing method around--inbound marketing.INBOUND MARKETING
Rather than trying to find customers with traditional marketing, inbound marketing is about having consumers find you, your stores, and your merchandise on the Internet. In the past traditional marketing was often referred to as "interruption marketing" since its function was to interrupt prospective customers from whatever they were doing so they would pay attention to your message.
Inbound marketing lets the customer find your store on their own terms whenever and wherever they want. Home and laptop computers, iPads, and smart phones all make this possible.
As the Internet matures, establishing your business and getting known is far less expensive than it was in the past. One great part about this new way of marketing is even the smallest businesses can use these methods to do inbound marketing.WEB SITE
It all starts with a robust, information-packed web site. I look at a lot of retailer web sites and far too many are little more than a print ad online. Here are some exceptions. Harris-Teeter is a supermarket chain with stores on the East Coast. Its web site (HarrisTeeter.com) includes such valuable information as dozens of videos with recipes and cooking ideas as well as healthy eating tips. The site describes the store's departments, offers meal planning guides, lists weekly specials and promotions, provides a customer service survey, and promotes community involvement programs.
Another great retail web site is Roxy (Roxy.com) that manufacturers and retails surf and board sports apparel for young consumers. In addition to showcasing the wide range of merchandise Roxy's web site provides information on surf-oriented and fashion events, offers hot new music downloads, and links to its blog where interviews with and videos of pro-surf and board sports event participants are posted.BLOG
A comprehensive approach to outbound marketing includes having a blog that can be used to convey all kinds of information. It may include a calendar of upcoming special events or interviews with celebrities, sports stars, designers, or anyone else who can provide insights into new products and how they are used. Your blog may provide a platform through which you can write about things happening in your store or retail specialty. I often use my blog (RetailerBlog.com) to rant about something I feel is an injustice.
Next month, I will provide other pieces to the puzzle that makes inbound marketing invaluable to growing your business.
ANOTHER MANUFACTURER BECOMES A RETAILER
Recently Wrangler, the famous jeans manufacturer, joined the growing number of apparel manufacturers opening full-line, full-price stores. The nation's first Wrangler store opened in the Denver suburb of Lone Tree, Colorado. While Wrangler merchandise has long been available in parent company VF Corporation's outlet stores, this store is a first for Wrangler.
With more than 2,500 retailers selling its jeans, Wrangler is late getting into retailing and competing directly with its retailer customers. Levi's, Ralph Lauren, Lucky Brand, and other makers of denim jeans are already in the retail business, so I guess the management at VF thought they needed to be in retail as well.
The new store measures 7,300 square feet and displays a vast selection of Wrangler apparel along with a line of Lucchese boots. The merchandise not only includes the usual wide selection of Wrangler jeans for men, women, and children but also some apparel that one might be surprised to find in a Wrangler store. This merchandise might be described as flashy with more color and embellishments. In the boot department men can find boots that cost up to $900 a pair. The best part of the visit was talking with the store's very knowledgeable associates.
The merchandise is attractively presented in a rustic western look and I found the store easy to navigate, but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more dynamic and distinctive. I expected a little more from one of the nation's oldest apparel brands.
With the economy in such poor shape, ever-cautious consumers, and talk of a double-dip recession, a growing number of retailers are approaching the upcoming holiday season with great caution.
In the never ending Sears saga, the company reported a loss of $146 million for the last quarter--far worse than the $39 million it lost in the same quarter last year.
Even as retailers fighting to hit their numbers every month, it's nice to learn Toys "R" Us will be opening 21 new stores between now and the end of the year.
Until next month...
RETAIL SUPERSTARS: INSIDE THE 25 BEST
INDEPENDENT STORES IN AMERICA
"George Whalin's passion for retailing shines through on every page of this terrific book as he takes readers on a magical tour of the 25 greatest independent retailers in America. If you're in retail, Retail Superstars is must reading. If you're not, you're going to love the ride."
--Bo Burlingham, Editor-at-Large, Inc. magazine and author of Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big
"What can I say? I simply love Retail Superstars! While it is an incredible collection of great stories of wildly successful independent retailers, the truth is that a chain-store CEO or Regional Director, or a Training or Accounting Department boss, can learn invaluable lessons from these pages. Bravo to George Whalin for a superb job!"
--Tom Peters, Business Guru and Best-Selling Author
You can order your own copy of Retail Superstars at retailsuperstars.com.
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