Accelerating Retail- A Google Initiative

31 Aug 2020 Blog

COVID 19 has changed everything around us from the way we live to the way we shop.

The use of technology by businesses and people has soared and is visible with the increase in internet usage by 60 percent. There has been a substantial shift in retail spending from planning to buying products we need. These changes have brought about a complete change in the retail setting. Businesses today are using a variety of resources to understand the changing customer behaviour like google trends, survey, analysis of their data as well as social listening to be able to make decisions in real-time. Google has stepped up and has offered tools like “Rising Retail Categories” since May 2020 which highlights fast-growing product-related categories along with the location.

To help European, Middle East, and Africa retailers make the most of the digital opportunities, Google is all set to launch its new initiative “Accelerating Retail” in September 2020.

What is Accelerating Retail?

Retail accounts for 9 percent of jobs in the European Union alone and it will play a vital role in the recovery. Accelerating Retail is a platform designed to help retailers of all sizes across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa accelerate business recovery and growth and to be ready for the upcoming peak shopping season. The month-long program will introduce new products, tools, free training, real-time insights, and resources to plan for the future.

Why do we need a platform like Accelerated Retail?

1. Retailers need to respond to the changing needs of the consumers-The world around us has seen a major change after COVID 19 was declared a pandemic. Online shopping has seen exponential growth which has brought about challenges in decision making for the businesses. The needs of the consumers have changed and their buying journey which started from research to exploring options both offline and online have now gone through a change due to the uncertainty in the availability of the products. Consumers have become more open to exploring other brands and options available. Having said that they now need help in finding the right product, at the right place, at the right time. This provides a perfect opportunity for the retail industry to respond to the consumer needs and changes in behaviour while building their brand online and in-store through the use of tools of Accelerated Retail.

2. Recovery and growth through digital- Online retail demand have soared and the focus of any business now needs to be on providing great customer experience and build brand recognition. With the launch of a new version of “Grow My Store” in many countries, Google wants to help local businesses to improve digital shopping, grow customer traffic, and enhance the online customer experience to complete transactions. It is as simple as entering the business URL into the tool to get a customized report, digital traffic trends, industry benchmarks, and actionable tips to improve. This will help retailers reach their potential customers. Upgrading of Smart Shopping campaigns is being done to help with the acquisition of new customers and simplify advertiser onboarding. The use of “Rising Retail Trends”, which was specific to the U.S., U.K., and Australia has been expanded to other regions on the world to providing insights to fast-growing retail categories with locations where more interest is seen.

With the growth in online spending, the success of the retail sector will depend on the online and offline offering, and the customer purchase experience. Research conducted by Google in collaboration with Euromonitor shows that in the next five years purchases will be made in-store but retailers who offer in-store and digital platforms will gain the maximum. Through the use of digital technologies, retailers can become more resilient and ensure growth. Accelerated Retail will help make that possible and prepare retailers for what lies ahead.

Seven things digital marketers should do to improve their return on relationships (ROR)

31 Aug 2020 Digital Marketing

Loyalty, sharing, and recommendations represent relationships. The returns from such relationships are far better than what money can bring.  In today’s day and age social media is becoming a way of life for people and a way of business for companies who have realized the importance of it, especially for their marketing efforts. To be able to reach the target audience, companies need to focus their marketing efforts on building relationships and expand their metrics beyond Return on Investment to include Return on Relationship.

So, what is Return on Relationships? According to marketing strategist Ted Rubin, “ROR is the value you accrue by fostering a relationship with customers, whereas ROI is a measure of dollars and cents. ROR is the worth of each customer that will accumulate over time through effective social-media engagements.” Measuring the quality of customer relationships can help companies in establishing profitable, long term relationships based on trust.

Return on Relationships requires careful planning and execution. Let us dive deeper and look at what digital marketers can do to improve the Return on Relationship.

  1. Listen and Hear: It is essential to listen to the consumers first, their feelings, pain points, and what they are looking for to be able to understand them and develop trust over a period of time. Once this is done, they will respond to the message you put out and listen to you. Marketers should gather customer feedback through the use of Google alerts and other social listening tools like SocialMention, Buzzsumo, etc. which help in gaining visibility into social media and online reviews. Have a strategy in place to respond to feedback on social media and online reviews to prove to them that you understand what they are trying to tell you. The response should be well thought off and timely.
  2. Know your audience: The key to a good ROR lies in understanding the target audience to build trust and connection with them. Thorough research of the metrics like bounce rate, time spent on the website, and the behaviour flow help in understanding if what you are providing is what the customers are looking for.
  3. Make it about the “Them”: Give the audience a platform to show what they want, need, and are interested in. Conduct online surveys to know what the audience is looking for, how they feel about the product, its price, functionality, and experience. Social media is a place where the audience share and influence opinion about the brand. This can be beneficial for a brand if they have positive reviews and can be detrimental if they gain many negative views. Use the reviews to gain valuable insights into what works and what does not work and respond promptly.
  4. Look for ways to best serve them: The relationship between a company and an audience should not simply be about providing service for their time and money but should focus on how best to serve them. Digital marketers should provide free useful resources to help serve them by sharing expertise and creating useful content. Sharing expert opinions and content is a good way to boost the reputation and gain a new audience. This can be done through live sessions on social media, websites, podcasts.
  5. Constant Engagement: to have meaningful relationships with the customers, it is important to engage with them. Focus on getting to know the customers and give them reasons to engage with you. Brands can constantly reach a customer through posts on social media, blogs on topics that are important to the customers, and by sending out newsletters that can carry information regarding upcoming events, customer reviews, new product launches, etc. Ensure that they are responded to promptly be it on social media or respond to the content that is shared by the company.
  6. Be Genuine, Be Real: If there are any mistakes committed, own up to them. The consumers don’t expect perfection from companies but what they do expect is for them to be honest. To build trust and a solid foundation for a good reputation, it is best to own up on any mistakes and provide reasonable solutions. This leads to higher customer satisfaction and shows the prospective customers that you care. Ensure that responsibility is assigned to a person/team to monitor social media channels and respond to customers, prospective customers so that no communication goes unanswered.
  7. Build Relationships, build brands: When the focus of the marketing strategy of a brand is to build relationships, they pay more attention to who the customers are, their needs and preferences. These customers buy the product and services the brand offers and promote the brand by recommending it on their network.

ROR ultimately enhances ROI. As you add the engaged, focused, relationship-building aspect of ROR, your ROI increases, often exponentially.

Return on Relationship enhances Return on Investment. It requires careful planning and attention. Keeping the focus on engaging with the audience, understanding their needs and desire will help build relationships, thereby increasing the ROR. Know your people well before investing in social media marketing to have a high Return on Investment.

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