By John Stanley

Successful retailers take consumers on a journey. In the next series of articles I will explain the journey to you giving you examples on how to implement it in your business along the way.  But firstly, let me provide the outline to the journey so we are all aware of the process:

Step One – Journey of Discovery

Step Two – Journey of Inspiration

Step Three – Journey of Excitement

Step Four – Journey of Trust

Step One: Journey of Discovery

As retailers we often forget that our customers are passing through our business on an extended journey. Although their visit to your store is a critical part of their journey, it is only a part of the journey.

The first step on their journey is actually the discovery of your business. The majority of potential consumers will discover your business via �interruption� marketing, such as radio commercials, flyers and newspaper adverts. In a typical day, you will be one of up to 3000 businesses aiming to get their message across to a potential customer. As you�d expect, the majority will miss their target as interruption marketing is becoming less and less effective in attracting that new customer.

Placing �safe� adverts in newspapers stating where you are located and this week�s offers just doesn�t work effectively for most businesses these days. If you want to be discovered you cannot afford to play safe anymore. In today�s competitive market it is essential you come up with original ideas to grab new customers� attention. You have to dare to be different.

How to play unsafe
Involve your team as well as the marketing arm of your business to invent ways consumers can discover your business. I use the word invent on purpose. You may have to try something you�ve never tried before. Brainstorming ideas that get you away from the traditional newspaper advert, but are not looked on as a gimmick, are the real key to your success.  I would definitely suggest you get a copy of Seth Godin�s book Purple Cow, Portfolio, 2003, ISBN 159184021X. 

Consortium Loyalty Programs
Kare Anderson, in her new book, Smart Partnering – How to attract and delight more customers while spending less (visit the bookstore on our website to purchase a copy) picks up on a trend I have seen grow around the world in the last twelve months, Consortium Loyalty Programs.

This is where a group of retailers identify they have the same consumer and then jointly promote to attract that consumer to all their businesses. The result is they promote to a larger database, but for a reduced cost per target consumer.

Some retailers are partnering in what at first seems bizarre ways. For example, a Dutch fashion label, 50/50, are partnering with the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army sends specific clothing to the designer who makes this clothing �hip.� The designer then sells the clothing and halves the profit with the Salvation Army.

Toys �R� Us are installing �The Toy Box� in Albertson�s Supermarkets in the USA to see if a joint marketing campaign can extend their market penetration.

Are there any businesses out there you can partner with to increase your market penetration?

According to Kare Anderson, there are seven key steps to looking for smart partners to grow your business.

1) Partner with business people you already know and trust.
2) Make sure you both target the same consumer, e.g. Generally in our business it is a 45-50 female baby boomer.
3) Don�t underestimate the power of Movers (advocates for your products) and Connectors (people who can connect you to new business opportunities).
4) Know where your target customers gather. What clubs, associations and meeting places they use. Target their venues to grow your business.
5) Attend meetings where your peers and competitors meet. This is where you find out what is happening in the marketplace.
6) Be aware of what is happening locally.  Visit other retail establishments and social gatherings in your local area. Find out what is happening with your consumer and what other retailers are exposing them to.
7) Consider the Big Five MVP�s (most valuable partners) and can they help your business. The big five are the companies that your customers are bound to visit in your neighbourhood. They are the supermarket, petrol station, bank, phone company and electric supplier (the last two come to your consumers home via bills, but this could still be a marketing opportunity).  One of these businesses could be a key partner.

Use personality as a Point of Difference
Although I believe that partnering will be big in the future, you may still want to go it alone. If that is the case then you need a novel approach, and using your personality as a draw card is a great point of difference in itself.

Big commodity retailers will promote their products on price – when they zig you zag – so you need to add value to your promotions by building on the relationship consumers will be exposed to when they discover your store.

Zanthorrea Nurseries in Western Australia are brilliant at relationship selling and it starts before you get to the store. They build relationships into their interruption marketing campaigns.

I have illustrated two of their interruption marketing campaigns, both of which were used as a lead up to the last two Christmas promotional campaigns. As can be seen from these adverts they involve the team, provide a �trust� statement and promise a fun relationship when the consumer enters the business.

If you would like more ideas on how to build great relationships, that encourage loyalty and repeat visits, our brand new book Think For Your Customer, Lizard Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-9750118-1-2 has an entire section devoted to building relationships.

Stay tuned for our next article in the series, Journey of Inspiration, which will show you how to inspire your customers to do business with you in just thirty seconds.

Step Two: Journey of Inspiration

In the last article in this series we looked at the Journey of Discovery.  Consumers need to discover you exist.  If you are innovative in your marketing and external promotions they may just get in their car and journey to your business.  Your next challenge is that you have thirty seconds to inspire them, yes, that�s right, thirty seconds!

Researchers tell us that the majority of potential customers will judge your business based on three, thirty second zones.  Seventy percent of that decision will be based on what they see; therefore you need to create a visually inspiring view of your business.

Within such a limited time frame you need to create a focal point that is simple and different.  Easy to put into words, but difficult to put into practice, so let�s look at the three zones and at some easy methods of being visually inspirational:

Start in the parking lot � the first 10 seconds
The image zone starts outside your business. Your adverts, external landscaping, paint work and shop window displays are all going to play an integral part in creating a mental picture of what the customer is going to expect from the whole experience he will have within your business.

For example, I recently worked with a public library. All the team members came to work via the �back� door. As a consultant, I entered via the front door. My visit was ten days after a national holiday on which all businesses were closed. As I entered, there was a large sign across the front door informing everyone that the library would be closed next Thursday for the holiday. When I pointed out that the holiday was the previous week, it became clear that nobody in the library was walking the building as a customer. They were all entering by the wrong door! Image can change by the moment. Litter on the floor or dirty fingerprints on windows can change your image in just seconds. It�s essential that all your team members are aware of how important the �image zone� is and that they are empowered to take appropriate action to correct any flaw in the image immediately.

All progressive retailers must do a walk �in the customer�s shoes� every day to check their external image. In Think For Your Customer, Lizard Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-9750118-1-2 there is a daily checklist to keep your business looking sharp.

What does your entrance say? � the second 10 seconds
The �transition zone� in an establishment is usually the first three steps that a potential visitor takes once he or she has crossed the threshold. They don�t concentrate on products or signs in this zone; they take in the whole environment. Keep this zone uncluttered, clean and inviting.

Displays that dare to be different – the final 10 seconds
Finally, customers focus on what I call the power position, which is the excitement/product zone. This is a focal point directly in front of them as they pass through the transition zone. This point should clearly state what you do and it should stimulate the visitor�s interest. Keep it simple; create circular, conical displays that promote key issues about your business. Dare to be different in how you get this message across!

If the team brainstorms ahead of a topical and seasonal event, they have an opportunity to think through adventurous props that will catch the consumer�s eye.  Remember, you have to play �unsafe�; you have to �dare to be different in order to inspire.  In today�s retail world �safe� displays will not be registered by the consumer�s eye.

So where do you find inspiration?

To be visually inspirational means you need to be one step ahead of other businesses within your catchment area. 

Consider the following;
1. Check out other retailers displays in your area, but outside your industry sector, and adapt them to your sector.
2. Read �lifestyle� magazines that consumers are reading to enable you to interpret  consumer trends and adapt them to your business.
3. Subscribe to merchandising and display magazines from around the world, to enable you to obtain inspirational ideas.
4. Encourage the team to be observant wherever they go.  The world is full of inspirational ideas, all you need to do is adapt them to your store.

These three zones are the most memorable part of the customer�s journey!  A customer may spend 20 minutes, or more, in your business, but take home a picture based on a maximum of (the initial) 30 seconds spent in your establishment.

Continue the journey in your customer�s shoes in our next article and learn how to provide a rewarding experience that will have your customers promoting your business for you � for FREE!

Step three: Journey of Excitement

In the previous article in this series we looked at the Journey of Inspiration.  The consumers in your catchment area have discovered you, and taken the time to come into your store.  Your next challenge is to excite them so they leave singing your praises!

Basically, customers are bored with seeing products on retail shelves, they are looking for more exciting experiences. The challenge is, are you in the commodity business, selling products or are you providing an experience?
Now is the time for you to move on from being a commodity retailer and to start providing an experience. This means we should create an experience for the customer where they are fully engaged with what we are doing. In the USA, Pike Place Fish Market is looked on as the ultimate experience in Seattle�s retail scene. In Canada it�s Pete�s Frootique.  In Australia, the Beechworth Bakery in Victoria, many would argue, creates the same experience. Whilst in South Africa, Lifestyle Garden Centre is recognised as a global leader in the experience market.

How do you create an experience?
Experience retailing should be exciting, if it is not, then consumers will fall back on convenience retailers to buy their products.  However, everyone is different, what excites some people, will not excite others and therefore don�t think everyone will be stimulated by your displays, merchandising and awesome customer service.  The best thing to do is focus on YOUR target market and make it exciting for them.

Who are your customers?
You can only excite some of the market.  So you need to do some market research and find out who your target market is and what excites them.  Are you targeting the female �IKEA� babies (Generation X) or the female �baby boomers� (45-60 year olds), both of which are major target markets at present.  But each region will have a different demographic mix that will need to be addressed.

The challenge is how do you excite them?
You need to understand their lives and what appeals to them in fashion statements, colour, meal arrangements, garden design and so on.  You then present those products in a �leading edge� not �bleeding edge.� way.  If you are bleeding edge you may lose your customers as you are too far ahead of their thinking pattern. 

Let me give you an example.  I recently worked in Italy and had an opportunity to look at Italian furniture stores.  I thought they were amazing, but if I had introduced the concepts en masse to my own town of Perth, they would have been rejected by the marketplace.  In furniture, what is leading edge in Bergamo, Italy is bleeding edge in Perth, Australia.

How do you generate leading edge excitement?
Firstly, you need to ensure the whole of your team are behind the motion that you need to be leading edge.  You can then divide the work between the whole team and, in my experience, they will enjoy coming up with new ideas and will want to be involved.  The ideas come from a number of areas that include:

1. Lifestyle television programmes.
2. Newspaper Lifestyle segments.
3. Fashion magazines.
4. Other retailers outside this industry.
5. Trends overseas within and outside your industry sector.
6. Lifestyle books, always check your bookshop for the latest books.
7. Conversations with customers.
8. Paint manufacturers, yes, they are leaders in fashion.
9. Ideas on the web.
10. The global leading edge retailers in what you do.

How do you put �Excitement� together?
The fun of creating excitement is that often all you need to do is take your existing products and rearrange them in a different way to create a new, exciting display.

This can also be achieved by ensuring displays are topical and you have introduced interesting display �props� to help set the scene.  Don�t forget the importance of ambience; this is achieved by getting the space right for the consumer, getting the correct music and volume and the aroma of the place.

The team set the scene
Don�t fall into the trap of making your store look visually attractive and then having the team let you down.  You are far better to have an enthusiastic team and dull display, than great displays and a dull team.  The team control the atmosphere of your business.  There is nothing worse for a customer to discover an exciting environment being let down by the team.

I recently stayed at one of those theme hotels while doing a conference in Las Vegas.  Visually, the place was fantastic, but the team, in my experience, were average.  They didn�t meet the visual expectations and as a result, it is the team that you remember, not the exciting props.

You must be consistent
The challenge is not in the creation of the excitement, the challenge is ensuring you do it consistently.  I come across businesses that can achieve it in December but lose it in January.  The customer expects a consistent message from the retailer.  This is not easy to achieve and few businesses achieve it successfully.

Having said that, many people would argue that if Disneyworld, Pete�s Frootique, The Body Shop and Rainforest Cafs can achieve it, why can�t anyone.  These organisations should be looked on as models.  In all these organisations the business culture is critically important.  They are not operated by managers, but by leaders.

Pete Luckett, of Pete�s Frootique, often mentions that the difference between a manager and a leader, is �that when a manager has a bad day the team knows about it. When a leader has a bad day the team are not aware of it.�

Consumers want a visit that excites them.  It is our role not to disappoint them.  For more ideas and strategies for creating an experience and maintaining it, consult my new book, Think FOR Your Customer (2004).

Don�t miss out on the next instalment on providing a rewarding experience for your customers.  In the final article we look at the �trust factor�.

Step Four: Journey of Trust

You have got your customers� attention through your innovative marketing, you have dared to be different.  Then you inspired them when they first entered your business and when they have purchased it has been an exciting and rewarding experience.  Now it�s time to win the customers� trust so they keep coming back.

One of the most important issues for retailers is a lack of trust by consumers.  In the U.S.A. consumers do not trust businesses and in recent Australian surveys 69% of respondents mentioned they do not trust big business.  This is a huge opportunity for independent retailers.

During the 90�s we saw independent retailers lose market share to the large box store retailers who could purchase at a better price and pass the savings on to the consumer.  Independents found it difficult to compete, but now the game rules are changing.

Large retailers are still able to buy on price, but consumers now prefer to trust small, local, independent businesses that have a trust strategy.  Small businesses now have a unique marketing tool, the �trust� factor.

The �Trust� Factor
The key is how you use this tool to your advantage.  If you are perceived as a trusted business you have an opportunity to expand your market share. Customers talk about trusted retailers.

What can you do?  Consider the following actions:

Name Badges
A garden centre owner in New Zealand recently changed his name badge to say �John Smith, Proud Owner�.  This small detail has made a difference.  One of the most common comments he has received is �I did not realise you were a small business, I thought you would be part of a chain�.  Research carried out by Shopper Anonymous in Australia indicated that people who wore name badges were perceived to provide 15% better customer service.

Promote
Promote the fact you are a locally owned business in your adverts and at the entrance and exit to your store.  Remind customers and thank them for supporting �local�.

Team Information
Place certificates and photographs of the team near the checkout.  This provides the personal touch and also promotes the knowledge of the team.

Products
Promote products you use and believe in.  Promote these on your signage and make sure all the team recommend them and are consistent in their recommendations.  i.e.  �we use  x  growing media when potting our plants up�        �we recommend  x  polishes to care for your furniture.�

Inform
For example, in the garden centre, inform your customers that you select plants that are hardy and have been acclimatised to the local weather conditions.  There is a perception in the marketplace that often plants, in many garden centres, are distributed nationally and are not hardy.

Celebrities
Promote local celebrities, recommend the products they recommend and get them into your store whenever possible.

Sponsorships
Sponsor local relevant events.  Be seen to be involved with local clubs and charities.  Do not be shy in getting your name promoted at such events.

Guarantees
Have a risk reversal guarantee on products that you sell.  Risk reversal means that whatever they do, you will replace the product if it does not meet their expectations.  In my experience some store owners grasp the marketing opportunity it provides, whilst others worry they will be abused.  Risk reversal is a marketing strategy and should be looked on as such.

Training
Ensure all your team are trained in customer service and product knowledge.  Trust comes from retailers who are confident. Confidence comes from those who feel they have the capabilities to sell professionally.

Trust
And finally, brainstorm �trust� with your team. I am sure they could expand on the above list and expand the trust marketing tools in your business.

Over the last four articles we�ve taken you on the customers� journey through your business.  The key is to walk your store in the customers� shoes.  As retailing becomes more competitive, you will constantly need to evaluate what your doing.  The days of setting up your business and keeping it looking the same for long periods have long gone.

Customers today soon get bored and are looking for new stimulation from your business.  Bored customers leave businesses.  Don�t play safe, it�s the least safe thing you can do in today�s market.

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