Improving “Bricks & Clicks”

S L C T M T Marketing Group Improving “Bricks & Clicks” Stephanie Masone, Lucas Hernandez, Caterina Anello, Thomas Navarra, Michael Vida, and Trevor Herring

Statistics of “Bricks and Clicks” • Online shopping has grown exponentially over the past decade around the world • Retailers that have both a physical store and online presence have reported an average of 23% growth • According to a survey of U.S. online customers: • 82% are satisfied with buying experiences that began and ended with the online store • Satisfaction dropped to 61% when they researched online and then bought their product in a store HOW CAN WE CHANGE THIS?

Inside the Customers Mind • 5 Essential Facts Customers Look for On Internet Stores: • Organization • Customers like when a website is set up in an efficient way; this helps the customers to get to the product as easy and as fast as possible • Online Customer Service • Customers like to feel that if they have questions, they can be answered quickly • Simplicity • If there are too many options, customers do not like to feel bombarded • Layout and Design • For example, JCrew’s layout is always very seasonal and inviting; most customers appreciate the layout and design • Accessibility • 34% tablet users and 21% smartphone users have made at least one purchase on their on store App (comScore) • Customers like the fact that they can make purchases outside of the store and outside of their homes

Inside the Customers Mind • 5 Essential Facts Customers Look for in Stores: • Organization • Customers like to walk into the store that is presented in a neat and organized fashion where each section is categorized perfectly • Customer Service • Customers like to be greeted in a friendly and pleasant manner as well as engage with employees when in need • Layout and Design • Customers like to walk into a store where the window is inviting or the colors are displayed in an appealing fashion • For example, JCrew’s layout is always very seasonal and inviting; most customers appreciate the layout and design • Music • Customers want to walk into a store and feel a good vibe throughout their whole shopping experience; music can effect the behavior of a shopper • Lighting • Lighting sets the scene and captures the mood of the store so customers have a specific shopping experience

Pattern Is Formed Notice how 3 out of the 5 essential bullet points are the same • It is important to integrate the physical store location and online presence • Customers look for the same thing when shopping online and in the store so their experiences can be the same and cause happiness to generate profit

How can we make customers happy?

Consumer Product Areas: Apparel Furniture Electronics We chose to focus on these industries because we feel our recommendations can benefit this trio in many sufficient ways Consumers make decisions about purchasing items from these three product areas on a daily basis People are constantly moving, buying clothes, or advancing technologically

Recommendation #1 • “Item of the Week” • Typical – Many stores such as: JC Penney, Old Navy, etc. present this to their customers using one item • However, our firm would recommend that you incorporate an “Item of the Week” Sale with a Points Rewards System • Instead of using one item to advertise to your customer – we recommend using 3-5 items as your sale promotion

Logistics of Items of the Week: Our firm suggests the best way to improve the sale of certain items is to incorporate a Points System with your Items of the Week Promotions If a customer were to purchase one or more of the items advertised as an “Item of the Week,” either in the store or online, they would gain a specified amount of points When that customer reaches a certain amount of points, they will receive an e-mail containing the link to the coupon they have earned based on how many points they have gathered The coupon can be printed and used in the store or used with an online purchase through a coupon code

There’s a Catch! The catch – The coupon is valid in the store for a limited amount of time. However, it’s online use does not expire This way, we can ensure an increase in your store’s website traffic if a customer’s in store coupon inspires Also, coupons cannot be combined in store or online. One coupon per purchase

Applying Our Idea: For example, if we were to apply this idea to J.Crew’s customer pool, we would advise that each promotion item was chosen from a different category, such as: Women’s, Men’s, Shoes (General), Children’s, etc. This will make sure that every type of customer will be eligible to gain points, by selecting an item that suits their needs Getting Started: Employees will be asked to take the customer’s information upon checkout. By doing this, a customer is automatically imputed into J.Crew’s system, linking the customer’s in-store information with their online account. A customer can keep track of their points easily – by logging into their online account, now that they are linked

Step 1: Step 2: How our system works: • Item of the week • Rewards/Points System • Coupons you receive Stephanie Thank you for signing up Stephanie! Masone sm03075n@pace.edu sm03075n@pace.edu Your online account is now linked to your in store account. Start earning your points! 123456 123456 Submit numbers This is where the customer will create their online account which is linked up to the in store system Once the customer fills out all the designated areas and hits submit, a new screen will pop up and explain the “Item of the Week” with the Rewards/Points System and the coupons they will receive This will assure that each customer has an in-store record and an online record. This starts the incorporation of your online presence and physical store location

Recommendation #2 • Our firm recommends that your store should offer a special deal for a customer that orders something online and then comes to pick it up in the store • The special deal we feel would work best is that the customer can receive a discount on an item that relates to their online purchase • Example: if the customer is ordering from Best Buy’s online website, and they order a television, when they come to pick it up in the store, they can receive a discount on an item related to the television such as a television stand, an extra remote, etc. • This will give people the incentive to come into the store to pick up their online purchase; they also receive free shipping this way • It also generates positivity and profits towards customers shopping in the store and online

Logistics of Online Purchase/In-store Pick up • The logic behind this idea is that when the customer places his/her order on the website, an option will be present asking if they want to pick it up in the store closest to them • If they select yes, another option will be generated for a specific time and date that the customer an go into the store and pick it up • Once the customer completes this step, a confirmation page will appear • For the customers with smart phones, they will receive an email which they can present to the cashier at the actual store; this email will have a barcode that the cashier can scan to bring up the item on the stores computer so the cashier can pull the item from inventory • For the customers without smart phones, there will be an option to print out the confirmation page to bring into the store

Recommendation #3 • Our firm’s third recommendation deals with social media paired up with in the store shopping and online shopping • We suggest that a company interacts with the customers personal social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram • Getting Started with In Store Shopping: when a customer shops in the store and finishes up at the cash register, when they receive the bag with their purchase in it, they will also find a colorful and attention grabbing piece of paper. This paper tells the customer to take a picture of their purchase and upload it to their social media account hashtagging a specific saying • The hash tag qualifies the customer to receive a special coupon with a discount on their next purchase!

Example: Thank you for shopping at JCrew! #JCrewRuleson Instagram of your purchase to be entered into the sweepstakes to receive a discount on your next purchase! The winner will be notified if they won by a direct message on Instagram on 01/25/2015 One winner per contest • Getting Started with Online Shopping: the same concept works for the online store as well as in store • However, the customer will receive the paper in the package that is shipped to their house • Same exact paper, the customer is just getting it delivered to their house along with their online purchase

Recommendation #4 • This suggestion by our firm has to do with a stores social media accounts and their followers • Typical- a store will post a picture on either Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with a coupon code for the followers (customers) to enter upon checkout on the store’s website • This coupon code usually only works for the online store • We believe that stores should get more personal with their followers by sending them direct messages with coupon codes after fulfilling certain sharing requirements • We like to call this method “Direct Message Sale” • The certain sharing requirements consist of the follower reposting the company’s post that will advertise a sale opportunity • Then, the follower will have to tag five of their friends in the post and hashtag the company name

By the follower tagging their five friends, the company gains recognition • The ultimate goal is to start a phenomenon with our social media site As a reward, the company will then direct message the followers that did so with a code to the sale that is happening The direct message will look something like this:

Recommendation #5 • Stephanie is a strong believer in, “if the shoe fits, wear it, and also buy it in every color!” • This could go along with any type of clothing also! • Have you ever found that perfect pair of jeans and just had to have it in every color? • Our firm’s next recommendation for apparel stores is for the system to keep records of each purchase that a customer buys • Getting Started: at the cash register, the cashier will ask the customer their name and contact information such as address, telephone number, and email • This sets up their information in the system and links up to their purchases from now on • The email is essential because it will be linked to an internal server which sends customers emails on future sales related to their previous purchases

Reasoning Behind It All… • Thomas received this email because he previously expressed interest in the products featured in the email • Thomas’ most recent purchase from SomethingGreek.com was a labeled fraternity hoodie • Therefore, he is receiving this email because the company has a record of this previous purchase and would like to notify him about a discount he can receive on his next purchase of a similar product • We believe that customers will like this because it takes out the middle man • It makes this process only between the customer and the company • It is more enjoyable and personal • In the busy world, customers do not have the time to look for sales • Most of the times, customers miss sales; this will ensure that this does not happen

Recommendation #6 • SLCTMT Marketing Group came up with the idea of scratch off giveaways • These scratch offs will be stapled to the customer’s receipts by the cashier upon checkout • Once scratched, the coupon will reveal a code that the customer must enter on the store’s website in order to see what they have won • The prizes can consist of discounts, gift cards, free item, etc. • The customer will have to print out the page that shows the prize and come back into the store in order to obtain it • This will keep the customers motivated and give them the incentive to check out the website • Also, customers love to receive free presents – brownie points for us!

For example, the best kind of industry to incorporate this idea is the furniture industry. A furniture store is not the type of store that consumers have to go to often. In order to encourage the customers to come to the store and shop as often as possible, the company needs an idea that will pull the customers in Michael with the scratch off Michael finding out his prize!

Keeping Customers Happy! • Now we have all these customers thanks to the above recommendations, we need to keep them! • Statistics show that it takes seven times more effort to get a new customer than to keep an old one (7:1 ratio) • It is much more effort to obtain loyalty • Our firm believes that keeping a customer loyal means keeping constant contact as well as rewards with them • A company has to show the customer that they truly care about the business that is being brought to them

Building Customer Loyalty The customer will then have to print out this coupon and bring it in the store to redeem it *offer will expire at the end of their birthday month • We suggest that a company should keep lists about their customers • These lists will include personal things such as a birthday • A week before the customer’s birthday the company’s internal system should automatically send an email to the customer that looks something like this:

Conclusion SLCTMT Marketing Group has many amazing and well thought out ideas We believe that there are many elements that go into keeping a customer happy and gaining their loyalty Gaining a new customer can be a challenge, but we are confident that our suggestions can be used to benefit your company

THANK YOU!

Improving “Bricks & Clicks”