Have you as a consumer ever been floored by an advertisement from a retailer you’ve never shopped with? Perhaps it was from a brand that’s adjacent to your preferences in a particular industry. Or maybe it’s just a product that resonates with you for an unknown reason. Whatever the case, if that advertisement succeeded, it did its job. You may be surprised to find out, most advertisements of the like actually fail. As seen within the information shared within the infographic included alongside this post, retailers have a much higher chance, 60% to 70%, of selling to a current customer. Whereas they have only a 5% to 20% chance of selling to a new one. However, more and more retailers are investing into ways to attract new customers. This post will detail the reasons why these retailers are doing this in addition to the ways they can adjust their strategy to continue catering to their existing customers.

First things first, though, you have to consider the why. Why are organizations doing this? It’s in their DNA to operate in such a way that improves their profits through increasing revenue and decreasing costs. But wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on the loyal and regular customers who more frequently contribute to those goals? The reason they stray away from doing exactly that is related to their challenge of finding ways to satisfy both their existing customers while simultaneously appealing to new customers. A first step for the retailers struggling with this is finding the most optimal way to incorporate online and in-store selling techniques that improve the customer shopping experience. Strategies such as cross-selling and upselling are great at targeting both new and existing customers.

The most sound approach to tapping into both customer segments is through omnichannel marketing. The digital marketing aspect of these strategies is most important as the exposure retailers have received online is much higher than in-store. Think about it, most customers don’t spend all that long shopping in physical retail locations. On average, a customer will spend anywhere between fifteen minutes to an hour in a retail store. This isn’t nearly long enough to make a genuine connection with a customer. However, a strong digital presence allows retailers to continue to engage with their customers long after they exit their physical locations.

What makes a strong digital presence the difference factor for retailers? These strategies often rely on the personalization they offer to customers. Strategies like these typically include personalized e-mail and text communication, which can help customers find the products or services they need. It’s hard to achieve this level of personalization in store, though. Finding the perfect balance between online communication and in-store connections is imperative for the success of any retailer in the industry.

As previously mentioned, there is nothing easy about finding a way to make this strategy work for your retail organization. When it clicks, it will click, and it will make all the difference. For more information on how to find the perfect balance between these techniques while still maintaining genuine connections with customers, spend some time checking out the infographic featured alongside this post. Courtesy of IDL Displays.