Implementing The Most Effective Methods Of Reaching Your Consumer Is Everything

Marianne Bickle, Contributor

I've never heard any retailer state that it has "all the business it can handle." The quest for building a solid base of loyal consumers and the expansion of reaching new consumers are every retailer's goals. Offering an assortment of products and services desired by the target market is not enough to bring consumers to the retailer's store front. Ongoing promotion of the store's brand, image, products and services are required.

For some retailers in financial difficulty, promotion is one of the first areas to be downgraded or cut altogether. Cutting back on the company's promotional efforts is comparable to telling your customers that (a) our products and services are not important, (b) we don't want you to patronize our store and/or (d) we are going out of business. Of course, none of the previous statements may be accurate. However, a lack of promotional efforts with your customers may be viewed as such; after all, actions are a very powerful form of communication.

Basic Promotional Tools

August is an important shopping month for consumers; they look for "back to school" bargains on school supplies and clothes. Retailers entice consumers into the store for sales and hope to instill loyal shopping behavior in the upcoming holiday months.

Three basic promotional tools include word-of-mouth (WOM), radio and the Yellow Pages. According to the BIGInsight^TM Monthly Consumer Survey conducted in August 2012, WOM is used by 30% of the sample. WOM is a powerful tool that entices consumers to act. As you look at the relatively small influence of the The Yellow Pages, you may think "why use it?" There are many reasons to use The Yellow Pages: (a) it is free, (b) consumers will look up the category of the retailer, and (c) phone numbers and addresses are listed. If you aren't listed in The Yellow Pages, you are invisible to new customers. For a nominal fee, businesses can add a description of the company and a map.

Traditional Promotional Tools

Since the economic crunch in 2008, consumers' perceptions and actions toward saving money continue to change. Consumers are positively responding to discounts, savings and coupons. In August 2012 BIGinsight^TMMonthly Consumer Survey asked consumers what traditional promotional tools influence their back-to-school shopping. 46.8% of the 9426 consumers are influenced by coupons; 41.4% are influenced by instore promotions. Other successful promotional tools include TV/broadcasts (30.5%) and newspaper advertisements (29.5%). These traditional promotional methods may not be "tech savvy" but with an clean message they entice consumers into action.

Social Media Promotional Tools

Social media is an important form of communication. It is a fast, economic form of communication. The message can be changed daily with relative ease. More importantly, social media allows consumers to pass on the promotional message with relative ease. This form of technology goes back to the orginal WOM, but instead of using voice, technology is used.

The BIGinsight^TM Consumer Survey reveal that 18.7% of the consumers are influenced by back-to-school email advertisements.

The next most successful method of social media promotion is blogging (5.8%). Blogging is beneficial for retailers if the company carefully monitors the blog message. The information in the blog should focus on use of products, fun facts and industry information. Blogs that uplift the spirit and are positive in tone are the most effective.

What does this information means for your company?

One promotional tool is not the answer for any retailer. The effective promotional effort requires a mixed method of tools. At the very minimum, retailers will benefit from the following actions:

Generate positive word of mouth promotion: This means making sure the company offers excellent customer service. Always invite the customer back; offer service with a smile.
List your company in The Yellow Pages: If a customer is not familiar with your store or the area, he/she will search the Yellow Pages. It is a free service. There is a nominal cost for adding details about the store and a map.
Offer coupons: Consumers respond positively to coupons. Make the coupons easy to read. Include an expiration date in order to drive consumers into the store.
Instore promotions throughout the store are essential: They guide consumers throughout the store and provide interest in the store's products.
Build a consumer email list: Ask consumers to be on the email list; never assume. Send advertisements, announcements and coupons via the email list. Develop a regular schedule of email advertisements (every Thursday for example). By doing so, consumers will (a) look forward to a weekly update on sales and events and (b) consumers will begin to build reminders to patronize and/or loyalty toward the company.