Think your retail buyers don’t need to see a catalog? Think your direct buyers don’t shop in your stores? Think again! A recent look at one of our favorite client’s results highlight clearly just how important it is to encourage your customers to shop with you through more than one channel. For this particular client, a customer who has purchased through more than one channel is 60-85% more productive ($/book) than single channel buyers.
- multi-channel buyer $9.27/book
- direct buyer $5.00/book
- retail buyer $5.81/book
What does this mean to you? Consider your direct only customers your absolute best retail prospects. Consider your retail only buyers your best direct prospects. However, you need to make it easy for a customer to shop with you through multiple channels:
- Offer the same merchandise assortment in your catalogs that you offer in your stores.
- Be diligent about presenting a consistent image of your brand in everything you do. That includes catalogs, e-mails, blogs, social media and store design.
- Incorporate catalog creative in your retail visual merchandising plan.
- Offer retail customers free shipping on their first direct order.
- CAPTURE your retail names—these are the people who have already demonstrated that they like your product by making a purchase—don’t let them walk away without getting at least a phone number or e-mail address. Follow up with an e-mail that allows the customer to give you more elaborate information or utilize one of the many reverse append services available. We promise, it will pay off!
