Businesses are increasingly offering a blend of in person and online shopping. It allows them to cater to consumers who like to do their shopping in a store and those who prefer the convenience of the online experience. Sometimes customers will toggle between the two. In order for everyone’s experience to be equally in line with your brand, you need to synthesize the two experiences and create cohesion between them.
Targeted Marketing
Since not all customers prefer to shop using the same method, it’s important to attract the right customers to the right sales channels. Targeted marketing helps you achieve this. You’ll first need to understand who your target market and audience are. Then you’ll need to figure out where they are so you can market to them using avenues that will successfully connect with them. Design marketing ads that will entice them to use their preferred sales channel within your business.
Source: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/target-audience
Use E-Commerce Software
Balancing what amounts to separate storefronts for your business can be tricky. This can lead to challenges with inventory and order fulfillment, as well as managing customer data. To create a cohesive experience for your customers, it’s important to use e-commerce software that can support transactions within your store and online. Software can help you unify in-store point-of-sale and e-commerce checkout processes. It gives you a way to store customer data and access it regardless of which channel they are using. This creates a more streamlined customer experience and makes it easier to transition between in-store and online shopping.
Source: https://www.podium.com/article/best-retail-software/
Create Cohesion in the Customer Experience
While there will be some definitive differences in the customer experience online and in person, it is still possible to create cohesion between them. It all starts with having a strong, consistent brand across all channels. Logos, stylization, and how your business comes across to customers should be essentially the same. Your brand should be used as the foundation for the creation of the customer experience in each platform. The language and visuals used can further cement a cohesive customer experience.
Source: https://www.celerant.com/industries/sporting-goods/
Creating a cohesive experience regardless of whether the customer is shopping in a store or online ensures that the customer experience is of a similar quality across the board. Using targeted marketing, e-commerce software, and creating cohesion within the customer experience in both segments of your business helps to synthesize them. This will help your business cater to its customers, no matter what their preference.
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