napier marketing group
Rated Best Business Blog
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
there are DOZENS OF articles and blogs on- www.social4retail.com -
|
|
|
meeting with governor walker & ron wanek- founder/chairman of ashley furniture to discuss state highway ROAD signage for
|
|
Managing your Digital Shoppers
Path to Purchase with Four Industry-Specific Technologies 
Click the image to see the presentation
|
Our Presentation Voiced Over
| ||
napier marketing group's clients in the news
|
Download and read the article below
| ||||
iconnect group in the news
New traffic counter tracks who, what, when, whereBY CLINT ENGEL, Senior Retail Editor,
@ClintEngel STERLING, Va. -- September 29th, 2016 Retail technology firm iConnect is rolling out a new traffic counting system that uses a handful of inexpensive digital cameras not only to count store traffic, but also to report on where shoppers linger and whether or not they are repeat visitors. The new Visilytics is slated to roll out around Thanksgiving time and is meant to replace a system that was launched just two years ago by Amitesh Sinha, owner and chief information officer of the Sterling, Va.-based iConnect. That earlier system — called SIA for Shopper Intelligence Analytics — used WiFi routers, placed strategically in the store, as sensors to count and follow any consumer who walked in the door with a smartphone. SIA did a good job of calculating the number of shoppers, tracking their time spent in various areas of the store and reporting all this to the retailer for a low monthly subscription fee, Sinha said. But earlier this year, mobile device manufacturers started messing around with MAC (media access control) addresses of these devices, and that threw everything off. DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE ON THE RIGHT OR READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE |
Click the image to enlarge
| ||
iConnect preps rollout of new traffic counter software
|
Will use digital cameras and facial recognition technology to track repeat visitors
Clint Engel, September 20, 2016 STERLING, Va. — Retail technology firm iConnect is rolling out a new traffic counting system that uses a handful of inexpensive digital cameras not only to count store traffic, but also to report on where shoppers linger and whether or not they are repeat visitors. The heat map tool, popular with iConnect's current traffic counter will continue with the new Visilytics, but fueled by digital video tracking instead WiFi router sensors. The new Visilytics is slated to roll out around Thanksgiving time and is meant to replace a system that was launched just a few years ago by Amitesh Sinha, owner and chief information officer of the Sterling, Va.-based iConnect. That earlier system — called SIA for Shopper Intelligence Analytics — used WiFi routers as sensors. They were placed strategically in the store, to count and follow any consumer who walked in the door with any brand of smartphone. SIA did a good job of connecting to the shoppers, calculating their numbers, tracking their time spent in various areas of the store and reporting all this to the retailer, for a low monthly subscription fee, Sinha said. But with Visilytics, he’s promising to bring retail customers beyond where they were initially with camera technology replacing the WiFi sensors and any need to connect via mobile. Here’s how Sinha said it works. For starters, one standard IP zoom camera will be stationed at the front door. Its sole purpose is to take continuous video of everyone walking in. IConnect then takes the video file, strips out the images and runs an algorithm to determine if each subject is male or female, adult or child, walking in alone or in a group of two, three or more. After that, it runs several more algorithms for facial recognition, and through this, it’s able to tell if the face in the new video matches the faces of any others who have walked through the doors over the past 90 days. |
Click the images to enlarge
|
OFFLINE-ONLINE
What retailers should be doing to bridge the gap.
by Amitesh K Sinh - FOUNDER ICONNECTGROUP.COM
The channel debate continues to shift as customers take control of the highly unpredictable consumer-retailer relationship. Keeping this in mind, it has become crucial to bridge the gap between bricks and mortar and online stores.
Do Channels Really Matter? |
With omnichannel found everywhere, shoppers are being labeled as ‘channel-agnostic’. Is this the right time to completely abandon channel definitions for good? The executive chairman of the National Online Retailers Association, Paul Greenberg, believes so, “Customers today don’t shop by channel. They shop by brand, and they’re calling the shots. Customers demand multiple touchpoints with their brand of choice.”
Greenberg argues that instead of just focusing on channels, stores should give importance to Brand and Experience. • Brand – Your brand should be strengthened so that it successfully attracts more loyal consumers. This can be done by working on your brand awareness, reputation, and credibility. • Customer Experience – New ways of engaging customers should be found to make it easier for consumers to engage with you. READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE, OR DOWNLOAD IT BELOW |
| iconnect_online-offline_in_furniture_world_magazine_article.pdf |
Jerome's pushes envelope with latest digital opportunities
|
More recently, Perry added an online customizing option for upholstery fabrics and pillows that lets consumer see 3D visualizations of their creations through an application by Cylindo. Last month, users played around with 66,000 product variations they created on the site, Perry said.
And in May, it just launched what Jerome’s is calling virtual reality (because consumers understand that term better), that’s really an augmented reality application from Cimagine. The technology allows mobile device users to see 3D versions of products in their rooms — from all angles — before they buy. Jerome’s quietly rolled out the feature with about 300 3D product models available. It’s now up to 500 models and will |
close in on 1,000 product models by the end of this month, which Perry said will give user’s a good representation of the retailer’s breadth of product across key categories.
“We have customers using it all the time already,” Perry said, noting that the visualization app has been downloaded more than 1,000 times.
“There’s nothing like it if you want to visualize what a piece of furniture will look like in your room,” he said. “You’ll be able to see a sofa and know if it matches the rug and the wall color, the pictures on the wall and other design aspects of your room. Plus, it’s to scale so you can make sure it fits in the room.”
Perry called the Cimagine technology cutting edge. He said Jerome’s is the first U.S. furniture store to deploy it and that it works on more than 90% of Android and Apple smartphones.
“We have customers using it all the time already,” Perry said, noting that the visualization app has been downloaded more than 1,000 times.
“There’s nothing like it if you want to visualize what a piece of furniture will look like in your room,” he said. “You’ll be able to see a sofa and know if it matches the rug and the wall color, the pictures on the wall and other design aspects of your room. Plus, it’s to scale so you can make sure it fits in the room.”
Perry called the Cimagine technology cutting edge. He said Jerome’s is the first U.S. furniture store to deploy it and that it works on more than 90% of Android and Apple smartphones.
|
Napier Marketing Group's Client - Video Engager In The News New video chat software links consumers, Retail Sales AssociatesAllows live calls from retail sales floor Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 16, 2016 |
|
Click the image to read the original article and see the demo video
|
Click the image to read my blog about this company and other technology companies we have as clients
|
| furniture_today_cimagine_article.pdf |
Read our most recent articles in the April 2016 RetailerNOW Magazine
Page 44 - Technology For Your Business Page 52- Convert Shoppers Into Cusotmers
|
Click to open the digital edition of RetailerNOW to see our articles
| ||
Imagine Advertising adds services, partner companies
Will help retailers with omni-channel strategy
Furniture Today Staff --
Furniture Today, May 19, 2015
Click the image to be re-directed to Imagine Advertising
|
NORCROSS, Ga. — Imagine Advertising said it has partnered with companies to offer new services designed to help retailers and brands create and implement an “omni-channel marketing strategy.”
Imagine said it has added more than a dozen new capabilities, including geomarketing, a store loyalty card program, online display advertising, pay per click and Google Adwords management, text marketing, rug retailer marketing and more. |
It also has enhanced its traditional marketing services with the addition of television, Web commercials, product videos, and media planning and placement along with electronic marketing integration for its traditional print services.
In a release, Imagine owner Flora Stopher said the company has been known for its creative and print marketing in the home furnishings industry since 1997.
“With the huge shift in how consumers have become digital in their path to purchase, we recognized that we had to up our game and add service/capabilities to help our customers attract, engage and connect with these ‘wired consumers,’” she added.
“To insure our services are the best in the industry, we’ve aligned ourselves with the industry’s best partners and have added staff to accommodate these additional capabilities,” said Imagine Chief Operating Officer Gregg Stopher.
The partners are:
Imagine has launched a new website highlighting the new services and partnerships at; www.imagineadv.com.
In a release, Imagine owner Flora Stopher said the company has been known for its creative and print marketing in the home furnishings industry since 1997.
“With the huge shift in how consumers have become digital in their path to purchase, we recognized that we had to up our game and add service/capabilities to help our customers attract, engage and connect with these ‘wired consumers,’” she added.
“To insure our services are the best in the industry, we’ve aligned ourselves with the industry’s best partners and have added staff to accommodate these additional capabilities,” said Imagine Chief Operating Officer Gregg Stopher.
The partners are:
- Centra360, a national marketing and promotion company specializing in consumer promotions and digital marketing.
- One Loyalty Network, a provider of store loyalty card programs.
- eValue Network, a division of One Loyalty Network, will assist with text/MMS marketing services.
- TOMA, a producer of television, Web and brand-centric videos.
- Napier Marketing Group, led by Bill Napier, which will provide help managing account strategic planning, product placement and integration and other assistance as needed.
Imagine has launched a new website highlighting the new services and partnerships at; www.imagineadv.com.
Click the logo to read the original article
|
Google searches to favor mobile-friendly websites
Experts say sites that aren’t ready will be penalized Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, April 13, 2015 |
HIGH POINT — Having a “mobile-friendly” website will become even more critical come April 21, not just because consumers are
on their smartphones more than ever before, but because Google will start penalizing sites if they’re not easy to navigate via those small screens.
That April 21 date is when Google changes its search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites, or as it says in a blog post, the date “we will be expanding our use of mobile friendliness as a ranking signal.”
In other words, mobile-friendly sites will receive top billing on search result strings and with that change, the bulk of consumer eyeballs. Google is offering a guide to getting started on mobile-friendly sites here and a “mobile-friendly test” here. There, anyone can type in a Web address and see if Google considers it up to snuff.
In its most recent newsletter, e-commerce technology company Blueport Commerce said it tested the websites of the top 50 conventional furniture stores in Furniture/Today’s latest Top 100 ranking and reported that 70% passed, while 30% failed Google’s mobile-friendly test.
However, more than a quarter of the websites that received a mobile thumbs up from Google actually appear “broken when viewed by Google,” Blueport said. The website screen view in the test is missing elements or doesn’t appear as it’s meant to appear, suggestings these retailers have more work to do.
“For those retailers who have yet to adopt mobile-friendly or responsive sites, it’s time to get a move on,” Blueport said in the newsletter.
Other industry experts have been sounding the alarm, too. In a post this week on his LinkedIn industry page, Bill Napier of Napier Marketing warned that “Google will not show your website and customers will not know you exist!” unless your site is mobile-friendly.
He said mobile websites shouldn’t contain flash because Apple and its iPhones don’t support it. Other mobile-friendly features websites should include are tap-to-call, tap-to-email and tap for Google Maps, he said, adding, “If your site does not perform these minimal functions … Ouch.”
on their smartphones more than ever before, but because Google will start penalizing sites if they’re not easy to navigate via those small screens.
That April 21 date is when Google changes its search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites, or as it says in a blog post, the date “we will be expanding our use of mobile friendliness as a ranking signal.”
In other words, mobile-friendly sites will receive top billing on search result strings and with that change, the bulk of consumer eyeballs. Google is offering a guide to getting started on mobile-friendly sites here and a “mobile-friendly test” here. There, anyone can type in a Web address and see if Google considers it up to snuff.
In its most recent newsletter, e-commerce technology company Blueport Commerce said it tested the websites of the top 50 conventional furniture stores in Furniture/Today’s latest Top 100 ranking and reported that 70% passed, while 30% failed Google’s mobile-friendly test.
However, more than a quarter of the websites that received a mobile thumbs up from Google actually appear “broken when viewed by Google,” Blueport said. The website screen view in the test is missing elements or doesn’t appear as it’s meant to appear, suggestings these retailers have more work to do.
“For those retailers who have yet to adopt mobile-friendly or responsive sites, it’s time to get a move on,” Blueport said in the newsletter.
Other industry experts have been sounding the alarm, too. In a post this week on his LinkedIn industry page, Bill Napier of Napier Marketing warned that “Google will not show your website and customers will not know you exist!” unless your site is mobile-friendly.
He said mobile websites shouldn’t contain flash because Apple and its iPhones don’t support it. Other mobile-friendly features websites should include are tap-to-call, tap-to-email and tap for Google Maps, he said, adding, “If your site does not perform these minimal functions … Ouch.”
Click the logo to read the original article
|
Retailers, experts offer social media do's and don'ts
Top tips: Be creative, tone down the hard sell Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 24, 2014 |
HIGH POINT — Furniture stores today can't afford to ignore the Internet nor deny the ever-growing importance of social media as the consumer's go-to tool for inspiration, reviews, communication and shopping.
But not every attempt and idea for reaching out to potential customers through this vital venue is a good one.
With that in mind, Furniture/Today did a little reaching out of its own and asked retailers and online industry marketing experts to give us their best social media do's and don'ts.
Their main message: tone down the hard selling, respond quickly to consumers, use lots of photos and videos to entice them, and be creative - and, perhaps, unexpected - in what you say to your fans on Facebook and elsewhere.
For more on this story, see a series of video interviews at FurnitureToday.com, featuring leaders from Wayfair.com, MicroD, NetSertive and others. (Click here to see videos of both the do's and the don'ts.)
Scott PerryScott Perry, director of online marketing for San Diego-basedJerome's, started with, "Do have a plan," and "Use video in Facebook posts and other social media because video is very engaging."
Also, use the image-oriented Pinterest, Perry said. "This is the furniture customer
demographic sweet spot for social media." Jerome's Pinterest page features hundreds of product images, mostly from its store, as well as decorating tips.
Other "do" suggestions from Perry:
Kady Anderson - Kady Anderson, marketing coordinator for the two-store Sam's Furniture & Appliance in Fort Worth, Texas, developed some rules of thumb from her graduate research on the subject of social media.
Be conversational, not promotional, Anderson said.
"The goal is to create engagement and conversations through the content you post. For every one promotional piece of content or message that you use, you should have at least three non-promotional pieces of content that are helpful, insightful or entertaining," she said.
Anderson also recommends these do's:
On the other hand, her first rule for what not to do is: "Don't delete negative content," with the exception of vulgar or offensive comments.
Deleting the negative is akin to "hanging up on an upset customer on the phone," she said. "It will only make the situation worse." Better to respond and ask them to contact you to resolve the issue privately, she added.
Sam’s Furniture & Appliance in Fort Worth, Texas, keeps the tone light and conversational on its Facebook page, but there’s a link back to its website where consumers can find more information including the price of the item and related pieces.The Old Cannery in Sumner, Wash., which has about 8,500 Facebook fans, also keeps selling via social media to a minimum. Advertising Manager Steve Fowler said posts should be "90% entertainment, 10% selling."
"If you try to sell people you will lose your audience," he said.
"Pictures, pictures, pictures," Fowler added, agreeing with Perry and Anderson. "That's what gets their attention. But not just photos of furniture - photos of people, community events your company is involved in, sports teams."
The Old Cannery posted something on its Facebook page every Friday night during the NFL season, noting that it was giving away Seattle Seahawks tickets and other items and then taking photos of the winners and posting those, too.
The retailer also has a knack for garnering community support. Each year before Christmas, it holds a Stuck River Bridge lighting ceremony that draws crowds of consumers. But when it posted that last year's ceremony was going to be delayed because the bridge had been vandalized, the retailer was swamped with support and offers of help from consumers and local businesses commenting on its Facebook page.
One fan, Ashley Cuyle, said that she and her husband owned a local plumbing company and "we are happy to help in any way we can ... stringing new lights, replacing bulbs," then recalled their years of coming out to watch the lighting with their daughters. So the glitch and Old Cannery's history with the ceremony actually helped build community between the retailer and its fans.
Andy Bernstein"Don't use social media to talk. Do use social media to get other people to talk about you," said Andy Bernstein, president and founder of FurnitureDealer.net, which develops websites and other online marketing solutions for the furniture industry.
"Your brand is not what you say to people. It's what other people say to people when you're not in the room. It's really about online word of mouth."
Bernstein said too many retailers are talking about themselves online and "it's offensive," he said. The opposite strategy comes from Belfort Furniture of Dulles, Va., a FurnitureDealer client and one of the best in the industry at using social media to its benefit, without selling and bragging, he said. Belfort's Facebook page is covered in often-glowing customer reviews.
"They don't have a philosophy that that says, ‘We want to get positive reviews,'" Bernstein said. "They just want to do things that naturally lead to good reviews."
Bill Napier
Bill Napier, managing partner of Napier Marketing Group and creator of Social4Retail.com, where retailers can learn more about social media platforms, said the main hurdle for retailers today is figuring out which social platform they should be focusing their efforts on. Most turn to Facebook, but Napier said he's not a huge fan. Retailers should have a presence there, he said, but it should only be a fraction of their social media effort.
Napier pointed to a multitude of reports contending that Millennials are leaving Facebook for Tumblr and other social platforms.
"I use it to catch up with or spy on my kids," he said. "I hide any and all advertisements; they irritate me. I joined Facebook to interact with family and friends, not your newest sofa promotion." A better plan is "to be everywhere your consumers want to find you and when they want to find you," he said. "It must be a multi-faceted strategy: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Google Places, YouTube, Yelp and a blogging platform like Tumblr."
This also helps to "get found on the Web," he said.
The more places a retailer is active on social media with links back to its website, the more Google rewards the company, recognizing its posts as valid, useful content, pushing them up the search results ladder.
Napier said consumers are relying on friends and the experiences of others - reading online reviews, for instance - more than ever to guide their shopping and buying decision. "If you are not (everywhere) they will assume you don't exist," he said.
Getting to that ubiquitous stage requires a dedicated person on staff to manage and measure the consumer engagement, he said, "someone who has knowledge of social media, knows your business vision and mission, and has the passion to engage consumers across all these platforms ... at least twice daily."
R&A Marketing customer Connell’s Furniture in Mount Vernon, Ohio, keeps its Facebook page playful, asking fans to guess the famous TV show living room shown. (It’s “Friends.”)This also helps to "get found on the Web," he said.
Kevin Doran, CEO of R&A Marketing, echoed what others have said about avoiding the use of social media to hard sell.
"Don't scream and shout your sale," he said. "Saying 50% of all living room furniture is only going to get lost in the social media world." Instead, he said, "Create a conversation where your current promotion can solve their home furniture needs."
But he added, "You're a furniture store for a reason. Focus on your product and your brand. What makes you better than the furniture store down the street?
"Social media is a perfect chance to showcase your products, your store, and community involvement. Always remember to think differently and have fun!"
But not every attempt and idea for reaching out to potential customers through this vital venue is a good one.
With that in mind, Furniture/Today did a little reaching out of its own and asked retailers and online industry marketing experts to give us their best social media do's and don'ts.
Their main message: tone down the hard selling, respond quickly to consumers, use lots of photos and videos to entice them, and be creative - and, perhaps, unexpected - in what you say to your fans on Facebook and elsewhere.
For more on this story, see a series of video interviews at FurnitureToday.com, featuring leaders from Wayfair.com, MicroD, NetSertive and others. (Click here to see videos of both the do's and the don'ts.)
Scott PerryScott Perry, director of online marketing for San Diego-basedJerome's, started with, "Do have a plan," and "Use video in Facebook posts and other social media because video is very engaging."
Also, use the image-oriented Pinterest, Perry said. "This is the furniture customer
demographic sweet spot for social media." Jerome's Pinterest page features hundreds of product images, mostly from its store, as well as decorating tips.
Other "do" suggestions from Perry:
- Use the big social media channels Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz.
- San Diego-based Jerome’s uses social media venues including Pinterest to showcase its offerings as well as to offer decorating ideas.• Pay attention to analytics; watch what gets likes, comments, etc.
- Think outside the box. "Sometimes a silly post gets 10 times the action of a regular post showing a new item," he said.
- As for things not to do, Perry said, don't be spammy and "don't forget to thank people or add comments when people say nice things." Also:
- Don't let negative comments live on your social outlets. "Hide or remove bad comments from difficult customers if you can or if you can't respond in a positive helpful manner." (Some sources, however offer the opposite advice to this one.)
- Don't pay people for reviews or fake comments. "Customers can tell when you do this and it is not good for trust, plus it's just dishonest," he said.
- Don't bad mouth customers, vendors or anybody.
- Don't post too much. Perry said to "throttle it to once a day" and make sure the content is worthy of the consumer's time.
Kady Anderson - Kady Anderson, marketing coordinator for the two-store Sam's Furniture & Appliance in Fort Worth, Texas, developed some rules of thumb from her graduate research on the subject of social media.
Be conversational, not promotional, Anderson said.
"The goal is to create engagement and conversations through the content you post. For every one promotional piece of content or message that you use, you should have at least three non-promotional pieces of content that are helpful, insightful or entertaining," she said.
Anderson also recommends these do's:
- "Listen. Always react and respond to what your audience is saying or talking about," she said, and monitor those conversations, especially with your customers. When customers contact you via social media, they expect a quicker response time than if they had reached out to you by email or via a general online contact form.
- "Offer educational content that is useful. In the furniture industry the possibilities are endless for creating helpful content for customers. Incorporating blog articles that highlight how-to's, frequently asked questions and lists are helpful without directly promoting your company." Anderson said this is the type of content that builds your brand without coming off as blatant advertising.
- "Be visual. Text-based statuses and posts are much harder to connect with and relate to," she says. Images and videos are easier for consumers to interact with and enjoy.
- "Have a voice/personality." Writing for social media is different from writing formal copy or a press release, Anderson said. "Keep it simple and add your personality to your updates. Just make sure it is consistent and relevant to your audience."
- Anderson also said retailers should treat the various social media platforms differently. "Content that is great for Facebook users might not appeal to Twitter users since people use these platforms differently and for different reasons," she said.
On the other hand, her first rule for what not to do is: "Don't delete negative content," with the exception of vulgar or offensive comments.
Deleting the negative is akin to "hanging up on an upset customer on the phone," she said. "It will only make the situation worse." Better to respond and ask them to contact you to resolve the issue privately, she added.
Sam’s Furniture & Appliance in Fort Worth, Texas, keeps the tone light and conversational on its Facebook page, but there’s a link back to its website where consumers can find more information including the price of the item and related pieces.The Old Cannery in Sumner, Wash., which has about 8,500 Facebook fans, also keeps selling via social media to a minimum. Advertising Manager Steve Fowler said posts should be "90% entertainment, 10% selling."
"If you try to sell people you will lose your audience," he said.
"Pictures, pictures, pictures," Fowler added, agreeing with Perry and Anderson. "That's what gets their attention. But not just photos of furniture - photos of people, community events your company is involved in, sports teams."
The Old Cannery posted something on its Facebook page every Friday night during the NFL season, noting that it was giving away Seattle Seahawks tickets and other items and then taking photos of the winners and posting those, too.
The retailer also has a knack for garnering community support. Each year before Christmas, it holds a Stuck River Bridge lighting ceremony that draws crowds of consumers. But when it posted that last year's ceremony was going to be delayed because the bridge had been vandalized, the retailer was swamped with support and offers of help from consumers and local businesses commenting on its Facebook page.
One fan, Ashley Cuyle, said that she and her husband owned a local plumbing company and "we are happy to help in any way we can ... stringing new lights, replacing bulbs," then recalled their years of coming out to watch the lighting with their daughters. So the glitch and Old Cannery's history with the ceremony actually helped build community between the retailer and its fans.
Andy Bernstein"Don't use social media to talk. Do use social media to get other people to talk about you," said Andy Bernstein, president and founder of FurnitureDealer.net, which develops websites and other online marketing solutions for the furniture industry.
"Your brand is not what you say to people. It's what other people say to people when you're not in the room. It's really about online word of mouth."
Bernstein said too many retailers are talking about themselves online and "it's offensive," he said. The opposite strategy comes from Belfort Furniture of Dulles, Va., a FurnitureDealer client and one of the best in the industry at using social media to its benefit, without selling and bragging, he said. Belfort's Facebook page is covered in often-glowing customer reviews.
"They don't have a philosophy that that says, ‘We want to get positive reviews,'" Bernstein said. "They just want to do things that naturally lead to good reviews."
Bill Napier
Bill Napier, managing partner of Napier Marketing Group and creator of Social4Retail.com, where retailers can learn more about social media platforms, said the main hurdle for retailers today is figuring out which social platform they should be focusing their efforts on. Most turn to Facebook, but Napier said he's not a huge fan. Retailers should have a presence there, he said, but it should only be a fraction of their social media effort.
Napier pointed to a multitude of reports contending that Millennials are leaving Facebook for Tumblr and other social platforms.
"I use it to catch up with or spy on my kids," he said. "I hide any and all advertisements; they irritate me. I joined Facebook to interact with family and friends, not your newest sofa promotion." A better plan is "to be everywhere your consumers want to find you and when they want to find you," he said. "It must be a multi-faceted strategy: Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Google Places, YouTube, Yelp and a blogging platform like Tumblr."
This also helps to "get found on the Web," he said.
The more places a retailer is active on social media with links back to its website, the more Google rewards the company, recognizing its posts as valid, useful content, pushing them up the search results ladder.
Napier said consumers are relying on friends and the experiences of others - reading online reviews, for instance - more than ever to guide their shopping and buying decision. "If you are not (everywhere) they will assume you don't exist," he said.
Getting to that ubiquitous stage requires a dedicated person on staff to manage and measure the consumer engagement, he said, "someone who has knowledge of social media, knows your business vision and mission, and has the passion to engage consumers across all these platforms ... at least twice daily."
R&A Marketing customer Connell’s Furniture in Mount Vernon, Ohio, keeps its Facebook page playful, asking fans to guess the famous TV show living room shown. (It’s “Friends.”)This also helps to "get found on the Web," he said.
Kevin Doran, CEO of R&A Marketing, echoed what others have said about avoiding the use of social media to hard sell.
"Don't scream and shout your sale," he said. "Saying 50% of all living room furniture is only going to get lost in the social media world." Instead, he said, "Create a conversation where your current promotion can solve their home furniture needs."
But he added, "You're a furniture store for a reason. Focus on your product and your brand. What makes you better than the furniture store down the street?
"Social media is a perfect chance to showcase your products, your store, and community involvement. Always remember to think differently and have fun!"
Click the logo to read the original article
|
Retailer spurs traffic, sales by posting online videos
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, September 21, 2013 |
|
NEW ORLEANS - National Home Furnishings Conference NEW ORLEANS - At a marketing strategy workshop organized by Bill Napier, with his guests Seth Weisblatt and Andrew Robinson during the Home Furnishing Industry Conference here earlier this year, Bill Napier of Napier Marketing Group offered retailers and suppliers his thoughts on key components to great blog posts. Posts should have:
|
Click to enlarge
Read The Original Post HERE: http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/461170-napier-suggests-key-components-for-great-blog-posts
|
- Well written and formatted text. Copy should be easy to read. "Consider using header tags and bullet points" to break up text, he said, and ask a friend or coworker to review it before you post.
- Multi-media content. Slideshows, video and info-graphics can make posts more memorable.
- Links. Add links to relevant content on your other Web pages.
- Call to action. Invite the reader to act now to boost lead generation.
Years ago, when Andrew Robinson and his wife were running an online business that sold poker tables and home theater seating, their customer service person would become inundated with consumers asking questions over the phone, specifically about the theater seating.
So Robinson decided to make a YouTube video embedded on the website to answer these frequently asked questions, and see what would happen next.
"All of a sudden, the phone calls were cut by 50% and closing ratios started going up significantly," said Robinson, now co-owner of the 12-store Columbus, Ohio-based DFW Furniture.
That was Robinson's first of many online videos and one of the stories he shared with attendees of the Home Furnishings Industry Conference in New Orleans earlier this year.
His session was part of a well-received marketing strategy workshop led by Bill Napier of Napier Marketing Group and also featuring Seth Weisblatt of the two-store Sam's Furniture and Appliance in Fort Worth, Texas.
Weisblatt and Robinson presented ideas and insights into this new wave of marketing, most tied directly to Google - from Weisblatt's success with Google AdWords to DFW's video channel on YouTube, a Google-owned business.
The overarching theme to both presentations: Consumers' decision making patterns have changed dramatically in this digital era, and furniture retailers need to change with them to survive.
Until fairly recently, a long-accepted marketing model involved three steps: stimulus (think television advertising); the point of sale, or what's considered the "first moment of truth"; and the second moment of truth - the customer's experience with the product after it's purchased.
In a video presented at the workshop, Google said a marketer basically needs to pay attention to these three steps to succeed. But there's now a new vital step in the process that Google calls the Zero Moment of Truth.
"That is when consumers do their research, get smart about alternatives, read reviews, look for coupons and comparison shop all before going to the shelf," the technology giant says in a video.
This new step has created "a whole new world we have to deal with," Weisblatt told the workshop attendees. Today in addition to, or sometimes instead of, that disruptive ad stimulus-type advertising, consumers are looking at reviews. They're checking with friends. They're watching online videos about the product. They're searching for comparisons - all before they ever come to the store.
"I can tell you in our store, it plays out that way every single day, and I'm 99% sure it happens to every one of your stores today," Weisblatt told the group.
"The customer comes in having found something online, and they want to see it. They want to know what you have that might look like it. That's the Zero Moment of Truth. How do we get into that space?"
Sam's has moved into that space in a number of ways, including online chat with consumers visiting its website and a highly effective paid search strategy on Google. The pay-per-click Ad-Words, combined with other effective search engine optimization efforts, results in the Sam's name and address being plastered at the top and elsewhere on a local consumer's online search result pages.
The lease-to-own specialist is averaging 70,000 visits per month to its website this year, up 300% from 2010. Some 65% of its ad budget goes to Google AdWords. The rest is a mix of direct mail circulars, online chat, participation in Wayfair.com's Get it Near Me advertising program, Facebook, YouTube and email marketing.
"It all revolves around getting (consumers) to my website so they can do the research," Weisblatt said.
During the workshop, he also pointed to research that showed how smartphones are changing the in-store experience. Indeed, mobile traffic to Sam's website is up 83% this year over 2012, he said.
Among other things, the Google study found 82% of respondents are using their phone to get to search engines for browsing product while in the store. What's more, frequent mobile shoppers spend 25% more in-store than consumers who only occasionally used their phones in the shopping process.
Andrew Robinson of DFW Furniture, Columbus, Ohio, illustrates mattress sizes in a popular YouTube video on DFW’s blog site. The video has been viewed more than 44,000 times since it was uploaded in September 2011 and has receive plenty of positive comments such as, “Dude!!!!!! This helped me more than Google. Now that’s saying something.”
That means so-called showrooming is something to be embraced and capitalized on, not feared, Weisblatt said. Research also shows mobile shoppers are more focused on saving time than money.
"To me it's all about convenience," he said, urging retailers to have a mobile strategy including a mobile-optimized website. "My whole strategy on everything I'm doing is: How can I make this more convenient for the consumer?"
Weisblatt also advised retailers to put prices online, noting, "There's nothing that will build trust more with your consumer than published pricing on every item on your website.
"As soon as you make it inconvenient for that customer to find out what that sofa costs, they're gone," he said. "They're not going to go shopping with you."
Robinson's presentation focused on the power of online video and how it serves to fill the consumer's craving for information while pushing the retailer's website and content value in Google's searching eyes.
Robinson, who started with the one simple FAQ video a few years ago, has built a library of 137 active videos today, posted on the DFW website and also on the retailer's YouTube channel (where they originate), Facebook and Pinterest accounts.
Some of his videos have been picked up by other people and sites - such as how to websites - that link back to DFW content on topics such as the difference between traditional coil and pocket coil mattresses.
"They're not really selling my product," he said, "but it's giving me or my website authority," another plus in Google's eyes.
DFW also tweets about the videos. So all of these outlets are creating what Robinson called, "circuitous reference back to the same material."
"You have to be discoverable," he said. "It's not that people are searching for you or your business. They're searching for information. Videos are informative. Therefore, Google gives them more relevance and pushes them up over a traditional Web page."
Also, Robinson said, the videos he has posted to DFW's blog page tend to be ranked higher in value by Google than those posted elsewhere on its website. He's not sure of the reasoning behind it, but it's something retailers should consider.
One of the greatest benefits to a video approach is low and one-time marketing costs, he said. A retailer doesn't have to go out and spend a fortune on equipment or software. Instead, most videos can be produced via an iPhone or other smartphone, and once they're online, "they live forever" or as long as the content has relevance, he said.
Unlike some other forms of marketing, "you don't have to spend any more money," he said. "It just gets more and more eyeballs over the course of time. It's leveraging your time and money rather than spending your time and money."
Robinson substantiated this with some statistics, showing that from 2007 through mid-2013 DFW videos were viewed some 245,000 times, with the view count accelerating recently. Assuming he spent an hour making each video, his time invested for 137 videos would be 137 hours - while consumers spent some 2,787 hours watching them.
"One video is not going to do anything for anybody," Robinson said. "You have to be committed to make them over the course of time."
The goal he said is to become ubiquitous, showing up wherever consumers are looking and then pointing that traffic back to your website with links and coupon offers or other incentives to entice them to stick around and share contact information.
"By being ubiquitous, you're going to get more clicks and more clicks are going to drive people to your site," he said.
"You're going to start a conversation with them, and when they come into your store, they're going to be more comfortable and more knowledgeable about what they want. So you're not selling them. You're assisting them."
Robinson said he believes we're seeing "a very pivotal shift in the way consumers learn about products and interact with people.
"And if we fail to make the shift, more of the people in our industry are going to go out of business."
Click the logo to read the original article
|
Napier Launches Informative Social Marketing Website For Retailers & Brands Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, April 26, 2012 |
MINNEAPOLIS — Industry marketing specialist Bill Napier has launched a website designed to educate furniture retailers and other merchants about the important influence of social media and social media marketing on consumers.
The website, Social4Retail.com, focuses on 10 platforms that influence "consumer engagement," including FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Groupon, but says that the social media players examined are likely to change as the face of social media changes. The site describes the various platforms, how they work and how retailers can get involved with them.
It includes case studies and is updated every day, according to a release.
"It's no longer good enough to have a great website," said Napier. "The new customers, Generation X and Y, are all wired into the Internet and they are getting connected through a variety of platforms to engage local stores and the brands they carry."
The ultimate goal for Social4Retail, the release said, is to drive consumers first to the websites of retailers and industry brands and then into stores.
There are 126 million Gen X and Y consumers, Napier said, adding that in two years, more than 90% of them will be online daily.
"They are getting most of their content online - movies, blogs, customer reviews and more," he said.
"Our local brick-and-mortar stores are facing some tough challenges, as are the brands they support," Napier added. "We must adapt to what consumers want, where they want it, and how they want to engage with content."
He said the site will aggregate related news "to help retailers and brands stay relevant" in a changing retail environment.
The website, Social4Retail.com, focuses on 10 platforms that influence "consumer engagement," including FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and Groupon, but says that the social media players examined are likely to change as the face of social media changes. The site describes the various platforms, how they work and how retailers can get involved with them.
It includes case studies and is updated every day, according to a release.
"It's no longer good enough to have a great website," said Napier. "The new customers, Generation X and Y, are all wired into the Internet and they are getting connected through a variety of platforms to engage local stores and the brands they carry."
The ultimate goal for Social4Retail, the release said, is to drive consumers first to the websites of retailers and industry brands and then into stores.
There are 126 million Gen X and Y consumers, Napier said, adding that in two years, more than 90% of them will be online daily.
"They are getting most of their content online - movies, blogs, customer reviews and more," he said.
"Our local brick-and-mortar stores are facing some tough challenges, as are the brands they support," Napier added. "We must adapt to what consumers want, where they want it, and how they want to engage with content."
He said the site will aggregate related news "to help retailers and brands stay relevant" in a changing retail environment.
