Techssocial | Retail marketing is mostly considered to be targeted at the people who are already present at your store. However, it is important to realize that retail marketing isn’t just for people who are already your customers; it is also a powerful tool that businesses can use to acquire new customers. The right strategies, a better understanding of customers, and the right POS software are the ingredients required to create a successful retail marketing strategy. These three ingredients will work in tandem to enable enhanced marketing strategies that deliver dynamic marketing messages to increase customer acquisition.
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Real-Time Inventory Management
Real-time inventory management is an important part of successful retail strategies. There are many exciting new products that are in high demand, but supplies are short. The PlayStation 5 console is a great example; there is a new supply of consoles every week, which gets sold out in just a few days. This has become a frustrating experience for customers who want to purchase the console. Real-time inventory management can be an important tool whenever a new exciting gadget or toy is released to acquire new customers.
Businesses can manage inventory in real-time with a cloud-based POS solution. Cloud-based POS solutions upload real-time sales data to the cloud which allows retailers to keep track of their stock. Businesses can run advertisements of the available stock of products that are in high demand whenever they have the product in stock. This will drive customers who want to purchase the in-demand product towards the retailer and thus increase their customer base.
This is also very useful when a product quickly goes viral on a social media platform such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, or Instagram. All it takes is one funny clip or a single post by an influencer to drive a 1000-fold increase in the demand for a product. Retailers that have a cloud based POS software solution implemented can promote the availability of the viral product and get new customers.
Enhanced retail displays
Businesses can also increase walk-in customers by creating better retail displays. Many businesses are now utilizing large screens instead of printed advertisements because the large screens can be used for dynamic retail marketing. A centralized POS solution can be integrated with the CRM to change the retail display based on many different factors. This is one of the most effective types of retail promotions.
Generally, different types of walk-in customers can be expected at different times. Most of the people walking by the retail store during the morning will be people who have jobs. However, after school hours mean there will be a lot of children and parents near the retail store. Similarly, there is a different crowd outside during nighttime. Retailers can pick the products which are most likely to increase walk-in customers at different times and promote those products at those times. Retailers can promote products like coffee and sandwiches or office supplies during the morning. They can promote candies, juices, and video games after school hours, and so on.
Synchronized Marketing Channels
Retail businesses use multiple marketing channels at the same time. They will have advertisements in publications, run social media marketing campaigns, have search engine marketing optimization strategies, and have in-store retail displays. Cloud-based POS solutions enable businesses to synchronize all these different channels. Sending the same marketing communication and campaigns throughout all the different channels increases the chances of getting new customers. Sometimes a customer might see an exciting offer online, but then visit the retail store and be confused by how to avail the offer, or where the advertised product is available. When a synchronized marketing strategy is being used, the customer will see the same marketing messages online on the displays within the retail store. This increases the likelihood of customers feeling confident about making a retail purchase.
Use Search Keywords for Retail Marketing
Almost every retail marketer uses some form of search engine marketing to ensure that their products are displayed whenever a customer searches for relevant products. Businesses invest a lot of time and money in learning about the keywords that are most likely to drive customers towards their website. However, most retailers do not make the leap towards using this data for actual retail marketing within the retail store.
Search keywords and online traffic can tell businesses which products are driving customers towards their online presence. The smart retail strategy is to use these keywords to influence retail displays and in-store marketing. If a product is getting very popular on your website or if a lot of people are searching for the product, then it will be a good idea to display that product on the window. A high search volume means a lot of people are looking for that product locally. It is very likely that they might see the product displayed on your retail window and make their first purchase from your store.
These are just some success tips for retailers that are looking for innovative strategies to drive customer acquisition. It is important for businesses to energize their inventory and retail point of sale systems by using the latest technology. Having a powerful point of sale system in place makes many other strategies possible because it gives better tools and visibility to management.
Retailers need to look for a POS software solution that provides them with these powerful tools. It helps in enabling them to integrate the system with other CRM systems. This is important because it allows retailers to use customer profiling and purchasing history for retail marketing purposes. This results in highly effective in-store campaigns that create a sales funnel. Most importantly, these tools provide smaller retailers with powerful capabilities that can create parity between their capability to attract customers. Cloud-based software solutions also have the advantage of having very low implementation costs and very convenient payment plans, which makes it very easy for retailers to implement them.
Kamil Riaz Kara is a content contributor at Mainstream and associated with digital marketing for the last seven years. Presently working at Digital Eggheads, a digital marketing agency in Karachi.