If you focus on the competition, you are constantly going to be playing catch up. While you and your competitors are fighting over fractions of market share doing business the same way, someone else is going to come in and change the game. How are they going to do this?
It comes down to service and customer experience. There who deliver on these two facets to become more customer driven making it easier for consumers to buy are going to win. When was the last time a consumer said ‘and they made it so hard to buy their products!’ I am pretty sure that was never, because they didn’t buy.
The new retail battleground for consumers is on customer experience. Consumers are seeking the value add services only local retailers can provide such as assembly, installation, white glove delivery, etc. that cannot be replicated online. As of now, most manufacturers view their online and retail channels as two distinct consumer journeys. Where in fact the consumer sees it as one shopping journey where they just want to buy their products on their terms in as few steps as possible. The longer you extend the path to purchase by making someone get in their car to visit a retailer or be directed to an ‘authorized’ online retailer the less likely you are to get the sale.
There is a channel conflict both among internal digital and sales teams how to allocate credit for these sales, whereas they should be working together to drive consumer purchases regardless of channel. Combining online and physical retail channels for manufacturers is the next logical step as it has the opportunity to dramatically boost conversions, revenue, and dealer loyalty while creating a better consumer experience with last mile retail service.
Put yourself in the consumers shoes. If you could buy online and have your new barbecue assembled and delivered by a local dealer placed right where you want it on your back porch same day with free shipping would that make you want to buy? Or if you need support after purchase that you had the confidence in knowing the person you bought from could support you locally? Just imagine what that would do for your conversions. This is the new reality of online sales with the lines of online and physical retail truly being blurred.
Money does not just fall from the sky, it is earned through effort and relentless commitment by top management to nurture relationships to ensure your products are there when consumers need them. Service is not some fluffy word that has no meaning or result on the bottom line. The results are huge increases in revenue and customer loyalty. In today’s fiercely competitive World, companies spend millions on product development, marketing, technology, and sales teams but often forget about what truly matters. The consumers, the experience you deliver to them, and how they feel about your company before, during, and after purchase.
There is a direct correlation between making your customers life as easy as possible and money made or lost. Do not lost money because you did not invest in developing a service culture with a cross-channel sales strategy to best satisfy your consumers. You cannot just sit around and hope that if you continue to business the same way that one day the tide will turn, consumers will flock to you, and become the market leader. It requires fundamentally changing not just what you sell, but how you sell.
The experience you and your dealers provide to consumers is the only strategy your competition will never be able to copy exactly. Why do most management teams not care about service or want to change? Maybe it’s too much work, or the strategies are a bit too soft for them to consider seeing how they deliver on the bottom line. Or perhaps fear of the unknown causing many brands to become frozen.
What we can tell you is that doing nothing is the wrong move 100% of the time. If you don’t dictate change, someone else will and you will always be playing catch-up by their rules. If interested in learning how you can be more responsive to your customers, feel free to contact us.
