The outbreak of the current global pandemic coronavirus has altered the destiny of the business world, making it tougher for the brick and mortar retail industry to ensure sustainability, especially considering the number of stores that have been closed down in this very year.
Business trends have always been volatile and constantly in need of robust marketing ideas for retail to adapt to rapid changes and consumer demand.
And when it comes to building the Marketing muscles of a business, it is quite a challenging task to perform. No, I don’t mean to stress you out, because the good news is that there are more than enough ways to promote your business.
All you need to do is adopt clever marketing ideas for retail and implement them effectively to boost sales online and in-store to up your game in the market.
Retail sales are expected to touch $30 trillion by 2023, which augurs the positive fate of the industry.
People will always need to buy new things so you don’t need to worry as long as you are on the right track.
The marketing mix is a cornerstone for establishing an effective retail marketing plan. An accurate strategy is an amalgamation of product, place, price, and promotion i.e. the 4P’s on which the foundation of the retail industry rests.
#1. Pricing Strategy:
The pricing strategy for retail is multi-dimensional and it can be helpful in strengthening your customer base greatly.
You will come across customers with different mindsets when it comes to the pricing of products. Some are willing to pay hefty amounts at the drop of the hat while others are not.
You need to understand your customer base to be able to establish a pricing strategy for your retail business.
Come up with the marketing for retail that will increase sales online and in-stores.
You can analyze each aspect and come up with a price strategy that suits your business scope the most. Adopt strategies that pay you back in the form of larger profits!
- Value-based pricing
Value-based pricing is a strategy where prices are set according to the perceived value of the product by a customer. It is deemed as one of the most important marketing ideas for retail.
This strategy is a relative thing and works differently for different retailers depending on their market image, customer base, and the products they are selling.
For industries like clothing that most people are open to investing in heavily as it is one of the basic needs, value-based pricing can generate profits while maintaining the same volume of sales.
- Price skimming
Price skimming is a technique used worldwide for securing higher profits i.e. a marketer initially sets a higher price of a product/service at the time it is launched and slowly reduces it over time when competitors begin to jump in.
This strategy stands valid for a first-mover only in the market who launches a unique product that does not exist earlier. The price eventually has to fall as competitors launch rival products giving rise to fierce competition in the market.
For example, Apple follows the price skimming strategy with the launch of every new iPhone each year. It comes up with the most unique features in its devices that people are eager to purchase, unlike other competing companies.
Moreover, it exploits all the possible avenues for branding its product creating a hype causing its consumers to wait for hours in long queues on the release day.
Price skimming is a strategy that can certainly allow you to enjoy the greatest benefits. As retailers, you will come across consumers with strikingly different mindsets regarding the purchases they make.
Some people are influenced by the price more than the product. That is because maybe they perceive it as a status symbol.
This could sound strange to most of us but it exists as it helps in building a high-quality image and perception of the products while allowing rapid recovery of the costs.
However, it is not a long term strategy and only works if you tend to add something new to the market, an idea that could click and just become the new big thing.
- Penetration pricing
Penetration pricing strategy is the complete antithesis of price skimming.
With penetration pricing, the price is set low intentionally in the beginning while sacrificing the profits.
The only purpose is to take hold of a larger share of the market. The reason this strategy works is that once consumer trust has been built, businesses can slowly raise their prices to attain the profits they initially couldn’t get.
Oneplus made it to the top 5 brands of smartphones through a penetration pricing strategy. It started off by offering similar features to its competitors at relatively lower prices.
However, over the years it managed to make a mark in the retail industry and is now recognized as one of the best smartphone companies worldwide.
#2. Place strategy:
Place strategy has an immense potential to attract customers and the best way to do that is to impress them with the atmosphere and environment you provide in your stores!
- Well-managed stores
The first thing you need to focus on is your merchandise. Once you’ve managed to get that enough, start thinking about how to exhibit it in a relatively attractive and presentable manner.
It is very famously said’ the first impression is the last impression’, so always strive to make your customer feel elated the moment they walk into your store.
Come up with creative displays and arrangements that make it almost irresistible for your customer to purchase the product.
Also, lighting has a huge role to play and it literally can upgrade your sales if you have used it in a manner that enhances the outlook of the product.
- Attractive storefront
Secondly, you need to make sure that your storefront appears attractive to the customers. That is surely the first stage for capturing their attention.
Put considerable effort into making your window displays fascinating. Customers are more likely to step in if the window displays are appealing enough to them.
Keep changing things and try to update your displays at least once a month. For busy shopping seasons like the holidays and festivals, you want to do it every week if possible.
Every retail store is different, so certain design ideas may work better for others. In order to find out what suits you the most, you need to read your customers well!
Also, consider adding interesting descriptions with your displays. You can do this by choosing a theme, and finding stories related to it.
#3. Product strategy:
Your product is what your customer comes for, right? It ought to be super-duper then!
- Value for money products
Always remember providing an experience to the customers they never regret about later so simply quality is something you just can’t compromise about.
Make sure your customers are not paying through the nose for something which is not worth the price. Your product quality will make your customers visit the stores over and over again.
Your happy customer can bring you a bundle of more buyers through word of the mouth if they consider you worthy enough.
- Introduce new products frequently
People like to see your stores piled up with the new stock each time they walk in. They want a wide variety to pick and choose from, so make it likewise.
With every event and seasonal change come up with new products that attract your customers a great deal. Not every product is guaranteed to receive the desired attention from the customers but you gotta take the risk!
To avert the danger you need to carefully plan your product launch that doesn’t hurt your capital at the same time. Make sure to promote it well too.
Also, make a deep analysis of your customer base and their anticipation from your brand for launching the products accordingly.
You can conduct a survey to have a better understanding of your customers so that you can maintain your customer service and standards well.
- Trained staff is a must
Make sure to have trained staff on board that can effectively deal with the customers as employees can be great marketers.
The example of the world-famous coffee shop chain Starbucks is worth mentioning here. Did you know that it invests more money in employee health benefits than coffee beans?
It offers incentives like special bonuses, medical plans as well as adoption assistance to its employees.
Starbucks acknowledges the fact that happy and healthy employees perform better and are more welcoming towards the customers.
Employees that get such benefits from the companies tend to provide a pleasant in-store experience to the customers. However, the application of such strategies is important to keep your employees’ dedication and motivation levels high towards their services.
Accomplish the task by hiring the right bunch of people and train them well. Also, offer competitive compensation and strive to be a great place to work at.
Staff demeanor has an impact on your customers a lot. If that is good enough, your customer base can significantly expand.
These marketing ideas for retail will help you achieve a staff that can cater to your customers with higher levels of performance, which naturally contributes to generating higher revenues.
#4. Promotion strategy:
It is the promotional strategies that make or break your customer chain so always go for the best ones!
There are a plethora of channels that you can use for reaching out to your potential customers but always see what channel suits you the best!
- Leverage the power of social media
Indisputably, social media is recognized as one of the most powerful tools when it comes to business marketing.
The global e-commerce sales in 2020 accounted for nearly $4trillion, indicating the ability of the online platforms for bringing in substantial business to you.
If you are into business, you must be having your own social media accounts. There are tricks to manage them effectively that you need to incorporate to capture your customer’s attention.
So what you need to do is utilize the social media platform to its maximum potential.
Consumers who interact with your social media accounts are more likely to visit your store, visit your website, buy from you, and more, so just don’t miss the chance.
Adopt an omnichannel retail strategy i.e. use all your channels in a similar way.
Moreover, make use of the sponsored ads on Facebook and Instagram to advertise your brand.
If you have a physical store, don’t discount Facebook’s power of getting your customers out of their home and into your store.
You can set ads to target people by where they live. So, if you’re running an event or an in-store only promotion, you can target an audience that is close to your store.
Create a sense of urgency by posting irresistible offers, so the customers can take maximum advantage of the deals.
You can also use an influencer marketing strategy where you can collaborate with the renowned influencers to promote your brand on social media sites.
- Google ads campaign
One of the most beneficial marketing ideas for retail includes the use of the Google ads campaign to make your brand’s name pop up on the screen when someone puts in a query related to it. We would recommend investing in PPC advertising services. Pay-per-click advertising is really a no-brainer as you’ll only pay when people are searching for what you sell.
You can easily pay google to get you at the top of the search engine generated results. It is a cheap and effective way of marketing and can be employed for targeting a wider spectrum of audiences.
- Consider SMS marketing
You’ve been missing out on something major if you didn’t try out SMS marketing. Trust me, it works like magic and it should be an integral part of your retail marketing plan.
It is quite an approachable way as people love their phones and always have them in their hands which makes SMS the fastest way of communication with your customers.
Inform them about new deals, offers, promotion right off the bat!
Join hands with an SMS provider like express text and they’ll take care of the rest!
- Make use of e-mail marketing
Never undervalue any avenue of marketing. Despite having a relatively lower opening rate, e-mail is still relevant today, used, and checked by a considerable number of people.
Send out emails to your customers using an appropriate email provider like
SendX or Mail Chimp.
- Integrate with cloud system
Retail Software provides you with an increase in profitability and efficiency of the work done. With a cloud-primarily based totally POS, shops can get admission to the shop information everywhere and every time with the help of the user logging in to the administrator account. Even if you are outdoor or traveling, you may get admission to the store’s real-time sports from everywhere.
Conclusion:
Effective retail marketing strategies are never easy to devise and get implemented.
Often retailers are baffled about what strategy to apply but hopefully, these marketing ideas for retail will leave you with greater clarity.
Most importantly, make sure to evolve with the ever-changing times and learn to restructure your strategies accordingly!