Integrated Marketing Solutions: The Visionary or The Bean Counter

Welcome to the first installment of a new quarterly column that will discuss successful methods and strategies for integrating your marketing goals for your Web site, bricks-and-mortar store, and direct mail catalog into a cohesive marketing plan.


>
It's now five months since the September 11th attacks and many companies continue to struggle in their quests to deliver the right tone, approach, and content in their post-attack advertising campaigns.

The public mood following the attacks and the economy's weakness has made the "Shop till you drop" mantra of the booming 1990s clearly not the correct approach for the new millennium.

What should the mantra for 2002 be? In one universe, patriotism is paramount as marketers paint their brands red, white, and blue as they proclaim, "My country, right or wrong." We've seen commercials in which people held up signs with messages like, "We are all New Yorkers," or "Just by doing what you do every day, you can help the families and victims of Sept. 11th."

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote: "Still round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate."

What new road will you take?

Who is the best leader for these times? I suggest that it's not the visionary who can best navigate these uncertain and difficult times.

During the go-go growth of the 1990s, the visionary CEO was the perfect fit for an economy that was growing, growing, growing. The visionary CEO had the ability to inspire and motivate when business was booming, but now with a sluggish economy and a somber post-attack tone in the country, the bean-counter type of leader is who is needed to keep your business in balance. Tighten your belt and get through this time with your organization intact.

What approach will connect with the savvy shopper?

What are novice and experienced shoppers clamoring for during this difficult time? What techniques are they employing to find the goods they want at great prices? The Net is a good place for us to explore. Why? Because the Net offers so many shopping options that it's tough for any mere mortal to get a grip on them all.

But I'm here to help. Having done more than my share of online shopping over the years — I'm enthusiastic when it comes to e-commerce — I've sifted through my experiences to assemble a collection of shopping tips and advice for you to use to sell to the savvy shopper. I think there's something here for every level of online shopper, whether they're novices or old hands at buying online.

Here's what I discovered about savvy shoppers through my research:

1. They surf around to find the best prices. Good bargain-seekers compare prices and savvy shoppers can check prices among the Net's many online retailers quickly by using price comparison sites, usually by doing nothing more than typing in the name of the product they are seeking.

On the following sites, savvy shoppers

can compare the prices of dozens of

online merchants:

www.mysimon.com

www.pricescan.com

www.dealtime.com

Other, more specialized price comparison sites focus on specific product categories. For a directory of many other price comparison search sites, check out Pricing Central at www.pricingcentral.com.

2. They get opinions. Unless savvy shoppers know exactly what they want, reading opinions about a product before they buy it is just plain common sense. Expert reviewers score the most points for their thoroughness because they typically had experience with similar products and can therefore offer detailed, meaningful commentary about a product. Savvy shoppers can glean a lot of good information from the experts. Where do they find them? Try ConsumerSearch at www.consumersearch.com that features links to expert reviews on the Net covering many types of merchandise, or www.magportal.com, a searchable index of online magazine articles. Savvy shoppers can also get consumer opinions about a product. A number of good sites have sprung up online — www.epinions.com, www.consumerreview.com, and an excellent site to sift through the vast number of newsgroup postings, www.groups.google.com.

3. They know the seller. At www.bizrate.com, savvy shoppers can check out a store's rating. Online shoppers rate online retailers on their ease of ordering, customer support, price, and many other criteria. Also, the Better Business Bureau's Web site, www.bbb.org, is a site where savvy shoppers can access a summary of the company's record regarding consumer complaints.

Why Some Savvy Shoppers Don't Shop Online

Here's a list of shopping online objections:

1. It isn't secure. This is the big objection, but fortunately, it's not accurate. In many ways, shopping online is more secure than shopping in person or over the phone. Some companies, like Land's End, actually have a "no risk" policy — 100% satisfaction guaranteed — that should there be fraud, they will compensate the shopper for the $50 the shopper's credit card company doesn't cover.

2. It will jeopardize the shopper's privacy. Online retailers do collect some information on shoppers, but so do most mail-order firms and bricks-and-mortar shops. A privacy link explaining policies and procedures can usually be found on the home page of your favorite online store. Many retailers also provide the savvy shopper with an e-mail address or a phone number at which he or she can contact them to ensure his or her name isn't included on any mailing lists or provided to third parties.

3. Their orders will incur shipping charges. Yes, most shoppers will incur shipping charges, though "free shipping" offers still exist. Shoppers do have a say in how their online purchases are shipped. So if it's not a rush order, the shopper can save a few bucks by shipping standard ground or parcel post.

4. They want more selection. One nice benefit of online shopping is that the range of the selection is frequently greater than that in a physical store. It's much less expensive for the retailer to post additional items on his or her site than it is to eat up valuable showroom floor space.

5. Returns are a hassle. Repacking an item and shipping it back can be a drag, but so can standing in a long waiting line in a retail store. An e-tailer can make it easy for the shopper to return items by including prepaid return shipping labels along with the shipment.

6. The shopper enjoys leaving the house to go shopping. If the shopper enjoys going out to the mall and shopping, that's a tough preference for the online retailer to overcome.

What are the main marketing issues facing your business? What do you regard as your most creative marketing responses to those issues? What do you think of the idea of building entertainment and theater into your retail store? What do you think about stores that are marketing "experience" rather than a product assortment? Think about the bookstores, food stores, and clothing stores that now include coffee bars and feature lectures and performances.

What Marketing Challenges Do Most Companies Face?

1. Customers are growing more sophisticated and price sensitive.

2. Customers are short of time and want more convenience.

3. Customers see growing product parity among their suppliers.

4. Customers have high service expectations.

Here are Some Common Questions Retailers are Asking:

1. How can we identify and choose the right market segments to serve?

2. How can we differentiate our offering from competitive ones?

3. How should we respond to customers who press us for lower prices?

4. What are the major ways in which we can grow our businesses?

5. How can we keep our customers loyal for a longer period?

6. How can we tell which customers are more important?

7. How can we measure the payback from advertising, sales promotion, and public relations efforts?

8. How can we establish multiple channels and yet manage channel conflict effectively?

Marshall's Big 8 Winning Marketing Practices:

1. Win through higher quality.

2. Win through better service.

3. Win through lower prices.

4. Win through high market share.

5. Win through continuous product improvement.

6. Win through product innovation.

7. Win through entering high-growth markets.

8. Win through exceeding customer expectations.