With the economic downturn in full swing, some traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are finally getting religion:
Retailers who scoffed at the web during the flush days of consumer spending are now diving head first into online initiatives, lured by that channel’s resilience in the downturn.
More resources are pouring into retailers’ Web operations, and brands from Juicy Couture to Louis Vuitton are at the forefront of digital measures to drive sales, whether through Facebook pages, Twitter feeds announcing new merchandise or online communities, according to speakers at the Reuters Global Luxury and Retail Summits.
The once overlooked Web has shot to the top of worldwide retailers’ priority lists as the recession has eroded sales at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
While retail sales — excluding food, gasoline and motor vehicles — dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of this year, e-commerce sales were flat, according to Internet research firm comScore.
“In the past (retailers) considered this channel a minor channel, nice to have,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, a partner in Bain & Co’s Milan office. “They were already aware of the potential but they were just postponing because they had other priorities. Now it’s becoming a No. 1 priority.”
Glass half full: If you’re finally getting serious about your online presence, you’re not alone. Glass half empty: If you’re finally getting serious about your online presence, you’re not alone. Many, many companies are fighting for a piece of the Internet. So how can you differentiate yourself? A few suggestions:
Start with your strengths. Leverage existing customers. Build an e-mail marketing strategy that meshes effectively with your website. For web content, put together a few case studies to showcase success stories.
Closely related to that first suggestion: Target a niche and work towards dominating it. The ten-ton gorillas like the big retailers named in the link above will be going after big pieces of the action, particularly working to rank for major keywords and flooding the zone with marketing dollars by way of PPC campaigns and directory buys. Your heavyweight competitors have bigger budgets, more manpower, and likely already have pretty commanding web presences. So fly under their radar. Try to do things they can’t or won’t do. Is there a particular piece of the industry–even a really small one–that you already dominate, or in which you’re at least highly competitive? Exploit it.
Location, location, location: Are you looking to market exclusively or predominantly in a certain geographic area? A geocentric SEO/PPC campaign is a lot easier–not to mention cheaper–to pull off. Patience is still a virtue, of course, but you’re likely to see results a good deal faster.
Most of all, I think a word of caution is in order: Don’t expect your website to be the cure for all that ails you. Your web presence is critical, but as the first web crash taught us, businesses without solid offline efforts in place had no hope of salvation from even the most aggressive online marketing campaigns.
Late to the web party? You’re not alone
With the economic downturn in full swing, some traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are finally getting religion:
Glass half full: If you’re finally getting serious about your online presence, you’re not alone. Glass half empty: If you’re finally getting serious about your online presence, you’re not alone. Many, many companies are fighting for a piece of the Internet. So how can you differentiate yourself? A few suggestions:
Most of all, I think a word of caution is in order: Don’t expect your website to be the cure for all that ails you. Your web presence is critical, but as the first web crash taught us, businesses without solid offline efforts in place had no hope of salvation from even the most aggressive online marketing campaigns.