Marketers may find difficulty in promoting a brick-and-mortar company while they see their numbers go down during the pandemic. Seeing a rapid decline in businesses during the pandemic made marketers think outside the box and explore techniques like omnichannel and rebranding the customer experience to further promote a company digitally.
With more ways for a company to provide services and products, marketers will have to promote campaigns and other programs in creative ways. Below, 12 Forbes Communications Council members provide tips on ways business leaders can still develop a strong marketing effort in these times of struggle.
Forbes Communications Council members discuss marketing strategies for brick-and-mortar businesses.
Photos Courtesy Of The Individual Members1. Promote Better Options To Shop
Brick-and-mortar is expanding beyond four walls, creating the need for retailers to be even more adaptable. Customers expect multiple options: online ordering, curbside pick up or shopping in-store. The key is ensuring all associates are connected and updated on critical business information, allowing them to provide a quick and frictionless experience no matter how the customer is shopping. - Kimberley Drobny, Theatro
2. Evolve Along With The Traditional Landscape
Marketers as a whole, especially in 2022, are creative thinkers and analytic problem solvers. While the traditional landscape of brick-and-mortar is changing (and growing in certain cases), it is also providing room for the marketing community to evolve with it. Concentrate on your audience and understand what they want out of an in-person experience. Lean into your data! - Meg Ugenti, Focus USA
3. Rebrand The In-Store Experience For Customers
The marketing profession has a weird habit of declaring everything is "dead" at some point (TV, newspapers, cinema, et al.) but they rarely die and neither will store-based retail. Instead, they evolve. Many retailers are re-thinking in-store experience design beyond just brand aesthetics, and are also merging their store and digital channels (and vice versa) to optimize overall customer journeys. - Aarron Spinley, SPINLEY.CO
4. Combine Marketing For Digital And Physical Customer Service
There is a critical need to stay relevant. Brick-and-mortar stores have a physical and local advantage that needs to be maximized to build customer connections. Combining digital with physical experiences can create that advantage by getting creative in key selling seasons. - Tara Naughton, MikeWorldWide
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5. Encourage More Events For Customers
Many brick and mortars are growing, so don't assume everyone is impacted the same way. Focus on your offering, your customers and adapt your in-person experience to address the changing buyer needs and update your digital footprint via Google and social media to encourage the in-store experience by adding in-store photos, short videos and local events to drive traffic to your locations. - Cynthia Sener, Chatmeter
6. Improve On Creative Campaigns
We’ll continue to see heightened competition online. E-commerce sales rose 14.2% in 2021, skyrocketing to $870 billion in the U.S. These numbers will increase as post-pandemic behavior solidifies the need for a robust digital strategy. For marketers, we have to be more creative, focused and critical with our campaigns. Every competitor is online and watching to see what’s working to capture consumer demand. - Yael Klass, Similarweb Ltd.
7. Do Not Buy Into The Media
Look at the underlying fundamentals. Marketers need to be careful to not buy into the media hype. Media is quick to make outrageous statements, especially with respect to retail, because it attracts attention. Instead, look at the data to see the true market opportunity of a business and where you as a marketer can help them win. Retail can still thrive physically, in spite of what you've heard. - Patrick Ward, Rootstrap
8. Start Implementing Omnichannel Marketing
The internet is a hectic place with innumerable amounts of content for users to consume. Since more people are now shopping and researching on the internet than ever, the need for omnichannel marketing is essential. Marketers need to be on every channel all the time to keep their message at the forefront of consumers’ minds, no matter where they roam online. - Asad Kausar, Dabaran
9. Leverage More Rewards Programs
The ease of digital has not rendered brick-and-mortar retail obsolete, but it has made it critical for marketers to be creative when it comes to acquiring and keeping new customers. Brands should leverage loyalty programs or points achieved through online conversions and merge them with in-store shopping to help unlock perks like free merchandise or better prices. Sephora and Ulta are great examples. - Jeremy Foreshew, Ambassador Software
10. Understand That Retail Is Not Always Stable
Marketers have to be able to tune out the noise constantly being written about the challenging state of physical retail. Retail is rarely a stable industry. My advice to marketers is to identify the vital few ideas from the trivial many that are most important to the retailer and consumers and prioritize those ideas in marketing campaigns. Focus on the retailer and their customers. Ignore the noise. - Brittain Ladd, BrittainLadd.com
11. Realize That Brick-And-Mortar Is Not Going Anywhere
Brick-and-mortar retail isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Despite Covid-19 and the growth of online and social media sales, 46% of consumers still say shopping in a physical store is preferred. That said, consumers are not interested in one-size-fits-all experiences. To succeed in today’s environment, brands should reevaluate retail strategies to emphasize omnichannel experiences. - Tracey Santilli, Tierney
12. Build Customer Demand And Loyalty
Marketers need to re-imagine the use of brick-and-mortar stores to supplement strong online distribution. By creating experiences and allowing customers to touch, feel and try products, companies can build demand and loyalty. - Roshni Wijayasinha, Prosh Marketing
