While new customer acquisition may have been the pinnacle achievement of the marketing strategies of old, times have certainly changed. As seen through the infographic shared alongside this post, the rate at which retail organizations are able to sell to new customers compared to their existing customers is significantly different. For clarity, there’s a 5% to 20% chance of selling to the former and a 60% to 70% chance of selling to the latter. Though times have obviously changed, many retail organizations have failed to adapt and continue to focus more on attracting new customers. Is it truly worth taking the risk on new customer acquisition? This post will detail the ways in which many retail organizations are attempting to regain their competitive advantage in the industry.

Prior to this, it’s important to consider that many organizations are attempting to improve their dynamic revenue growth year over year. Wouldn’t focusing more on their loyal and regular customers be better suited for those goals? It can be a challenge for these retailers to identify ways to satisfy both their existing customers while simultaneously appealing to new customers. With some help from the infographic accompanying this post, retailers may have an easier time solving that challenge. A first step for the retailers struggling with this is finding the most optimal way to incorporate online and in-store selling techniques that improve the customer shopping experience. Strategies such as cross-selling and upselling are great at targeting both new and existing customers.

An omnichannel marketing approach can be difficult to perfect. However, as a result of recent lockdown restrictions, it’s imperative to be able to pull off for the sake of any retailers’ customers. While some long-standing brick-and-mortar stores may be hesitant in adapting this strategy, it is in the best interest of both customer and organization. The ways in which both parties benefit is astounding.

Digital marketing has become increasingly important as the amount of online exposure retailers can receive has skyrocketed. Think about it, most customers don’t spend all that long shopping in physical retail locations. On average, a customer will spend anywhere between fifteen minutes to an hour in a retail store. A strong digital presence allows retailers to continue to engage with their customers long after they exit their physical locations. In fact, a number of the strategies retailers use digitally are meant to attract customers to physical retail locations.

Now let’s consider how the online experience is impacted through these strategies. Most often, the level of personalization that customers receive is much higher online. This strategy only further fortifies that personalization. Through personalized e-mail and text communication, more and more customers will become aware of a retailer’s products or services. Whether that communication be focused on product promotions, upcoming sale information or even specific product recommendations, it’s hard to achieve this level of personalization in store. That’s not to say digital techniques shouldn’t be integrated to retail locations though. On the contrary, some digital techniques in store are quite effective. For example, touch screen monitors or tablets are great for displaying critical information regarding products in store while also allowing customers to interact with these tools and get a more hands-on look at everything a product has to offer.

How can a strong digital strategy impact the in-store experience though? Well, one method that has become fairly standard in most retail locations is digital signage. Whether that be an interactive tablet that allows customers to browse the items in-stock in a particular retail location or signage meant to display important details about a particular set of products. Digital techniques are capable of simplifying the customer’s process in-store when utilized correctly.

Finding the correct balance of these digital and physical strategies will require a great deal of effort. For some additional tips and tricks to simplify the process, take a moment and review the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of IDL Displays