Creative Destruction – AFTER ALL THE MONEY YOU'VE SPENT ON YOUR WEBSITE TO CREATE A GREAT EXPERIENCE
Your Website engagement is probably non-EXISTENT, CREATING NO LEADS AND A POOR roi
how to fix it - several case studies below
My first of 6 Rants on the subject of Creative Destruction. It will be about Digitization and how those X's and 0's have changed everything in out life and our business. These Rants are based off a video I saw from Peter Diamandis where he discusses the 6 D's. You can watch the video at the end of this blog.
My first RANT is focused on the 1st "D", Digitization relating to your website and how linear your thinking is, or your web providers thinking is, about integrating new technologies to help your engagements, sales, and overall marketing.
My first RANT is focused on the 1st "D", Digitization relating to your website and how linear your thinking is, or your web providers thinking is, about integrating new technologies to help your engagements, sales, and overall marketing.
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION IS ALL ABOUT CREATING THE “NEW COMMODITY, THE NEW TECHNOLOGY, THE NEW SOURCE OF SUPPLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE NEW TYPE OF ORGANIZATION.
By not embracing Creative Destruction and the use of technology in your business, are you subscribing to the ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE?
after you spend all that money building the perfect web platform for your store or brand -
how are you capturing leads and sales, or are you a PRISONER of
"The arrogance of ignorance"?
In all my years involved in marketing, there are two basic premises that I never allow, or should you !!!
never ever
- NEVER EVER Let a graphic designer create your marketing strategy/content!
- NEVER EVER let your website provider/ I.T. supplier tell you what you CAN'T do to embrace new technology solutions to help you get more leads, sales and/or how to do your marketing!
Graphic designers have a very very special gift, they can make content inspiring and engaging, enhancing your message visually to create unique and stimulating actionable moments.
I.T. professionals also have a special gift that they can digitize YOUR content and make it available to everyone exponentially, expanding on it and delivering your messages everywhere, when/how consumers want to be engaged and when they want to be engaged. I've witnessed countless times the I.T. Person acting as "THE GATEKEEPER" for everything involved with digital/or website marketing strategies, when in my opinion, they should be directed to "make stuff happen - seamlessly" that will enhance the brand, the customer experience and most importantly, your ROI! After all, it is your business, isn't it?
More on the latter as I progress, I couldn’t believe that many web providers are actually telling their customers what they can and can’t do to market their business with new technologies on their website! I've heard about this happening before and I find this so arrogant and ignorant ... thus my sub title - THE ARROGANCE OF IGNORANCE
We are still in an industry that has not fully embraced digital and its rapid developments. We are comfortable with our local and linear business models hoping that rapid change will slow down enough for us to catch up. It’s NOT going to happen.
I often RANT about how technology changes everything and that we as an industry are the tortoise in the race, but in my version of Aesop's tale, we don’t win, the Hare does by a huge margin and you can witness it everywhere, from the massive loss of furniture manufacturing jobs to the thousands of home furnishings/furniture store closings in the last few years.
it used to be all about seo, pictures, room shots, content for the short and long tail ...but now with digitization, everything has changed for the customer journey and your ability to capture it and market to them 1-1
stop living in a compartmentalized linear world
- technology has changed everything -
especially your roi (return on investment)
EVERYTHING TODAY IS EXPONENTIAL & DIGITAL
I've WRITTEN many blogs about how technology can change everything for your business
focus on technology that gives you a definitive roi.
What I have learned, through experience, is that there are two primary barriers of entry for new technologies, and it's all based off yesterday's linear thinking;
- First, people don’t want to invest in it ... IT'S TOO EXPENSIVE ....they prefer the analog way of doing business vs. embracing the new digital world. When I say invest, most of these solutions are less than $100/mth, the cost of lunch for four in a decent restaurant. Instead they'll wait to invest in the technologies to sell more when they advertise their "Going Out Of Business Sale", why? Because it will work to get rid of their stuff, quickly and efficiently! Think about that for a minute.
- Second, and the most disturbing, relates to my statement above that the I.T. people, or people that may run/manage your website refuse or resist to integrate new technologies into your business platform even if they’ve been proven to enhance your marketing strategies, sales lift, and profitability. I can't understand this. You as a brand or retailer know your business, what works and what doesn't. Why would you let an outsider control what you want and what you know?
- IF YOU DON’T WANT TO embrace technology –
SAY IT’S IMPOSSIBLE & QUIT
who controls your website if you want to implement new technologies?
You or your web provider?
Below are a few technology companies that I have written about. Most have one thing in common
They have difficulty integrating their technology with some of the industry's web providers even though the technology is PROVEN to deliver a quantifiable ROI.
WHY would they deny their customers the opportunity to engage with their customers and sell more? Why is that?
HINT ... I'VE SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST
They have difficulty integrating their technology with some of the industry's web providers even though the technology is PROVEN to deliver a quantifiable ROI.
WHY would they deny their customers the opportunity to engage with their customers and sell more? Why is that?
HINT ... I'VE SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST
technology company/application
videoengager
With VideoEngager installed on your web site, a customer who is browsing merchandise on your site can instantly launch a live video call with your in-store sales staff! The sales staff receives the video call on their Smartphone's or on tablets if you prefer. The staff can answer all of the customer’s questions, build a face-to-face relationship, use their Smartphone camera to show the customer actual merchandise in the store, and also screen share with the customer to show them other options and even a store/showroom tour. The consumer can do all this right from their browser session without having to register, log-in, or install an app.
see it in action |
Online shoppers can live video chat with salespeople in your store, they can show products to the consumer, take them on a showroom tour, help them purchase and so much more.. .
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Click the image to read my original post on this company
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TECHNOLOGY COMPANY/APPLICATION
thinkdeeply
Visual Search, using artificial intelligence can streamline the online shopping experience and create 5X more leads and actionable opportunities.
watch this video from micro-d who has embraced this technology |
Most furniture retailer websites are just plain BAD. They don't show a ton of product, some don't have prices (REALLY), many don't have a narrow your search option and so on and so on.
Those that have a narrow your search have terms like transitional or other terms we as an industry use that consumers have no clue what that means, frustrating people on the website looking for what THEY want. (Take a look at your "time on site" analytics. If it's less than 90 seconds, you have a problem). Enter AI ...
For items that are not tagged with color or possibly tagged incorrectly with a color, they can tag every product in a catalog with it’s EXACT color (RGB value). Additionally, this allows the use case “I’d like to see a similar red couch but a darker shade of red” Additionally, if they are given your full catalog, they can analyze your "METADATA" and find errors and items that may be tagged incorrectly for common search terms |
ORIGINAL SEARCHED IMAGE
what visual search delivers - like colors and designs - below
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TECHNOLOGY COMPANY/APPLICATION
iconnect group
heat mapping technology showing hot/dead spots for sales merchandising and more
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There is a profound difference between transaction counts and traffic counts. It’s mind-boggling to me that, in the data-savvy world we live in today, many of those in the retail industry still do not get this simple concept.
Store traffic is a measure of all the people who visit the store, including buyers and non-buyers. Transactions only account for the number of buyers. Using transaction counts as a proxy for store traffic will lead to wrong conclusions; wrong conclusions lead to bad decisions; bad decisions lead to poor results. It’s wrong and reckless. Understand your sales drivers. Map performance of every store by breaking results into the underlying drivers: traffic, conversion rate and average sale. Without breaking them out, you’re guessing and very likely to make the wrong decisions. |
Visilytics is a tool that involves using camera technology to create visitor impressions, accurate visitor counts, merchandising hotspots and more for home furnishing retail stores.
It creates actionable data you can use instantly to improve your sales, merchandising, marketing and overall business performance. |
Click the image to learn more
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TECHNOLOGY COMPANY/APPLICATION
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i was just introduced to this technology and I must say - wow!
a must read - game changing technology for retailers
What spurred me to write this blog was a presentation I participated in with the HFA online webinar series LINKED BELOW, or here: https://vimeo.com/235934794.
It was delivered by Scott Hill, Co-Founder of PERQ. It’s worth the 48 minutes/each to watch both presentations, I was amazed and I'm not easily impressionable!
What has alluded me in searching for technologies to help retailers and brands show more and sell more, is ENGAGEMENT. Pictures and a pretty presentation just doesn't do it anymore, we need more, we need defined $$$ ROI!
It was delivered by Scott Hill, Co-Founder of PERQ. It’s worth the 48 minutes/each to watch both presentations, I was amazed and I'm not easily impressionable!
What has alluded me in searching for technologies to help retailers and brands show more and sell more, is ENGAGEMENT. Pictures and a pretty presentation just doesn't do it anymore, we need more, we need defined $$$ ROI!
TECHNOLOGY COMPANY/APPLICATION
perq
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
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PERQ has figured out the true application of the silent sales person with an application that asks your visitors a series of questions so they can create a better and more relevant web experience with your selections.
Think about how your salespeople interact when a new customer comes into the store. What is the first thing they do, after they introduce themselves? They Ask Questions, so they can help that consumer narrow their search;
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I watched Scott’s presentation and when he shared the number of engagements and sales increases from retailers like Mattress Mack (See Below), The Great American Home Store, and other medium-large retailers, I was stunned. 
Click to enlarge
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Click to read the case study
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PERQ was the right answer. “I wish we would have found them 12 months ago,” Marchione says, especially after experiencing a 11,066% in ROI in just one month and a 14.55% average lead to sale conversion in just five months. Just last week, one of those individuals chasing down PERQ leads converted $108,000 in sales,” he adds. “That’s out of a team of four. So that’s pretty good ROI in a week.” |
click the image to read the case studies
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conversions mean nothing
unless
they show you the money
Check out these numbers, and in Scott's presentation, he shows this is not an anomaly, it's consistent with all the companies that have implemented his technology
Click the image to learn more
I'll ask again, who controls the marketing on your website? You or your provider?
The excuses I’ve heard about resisting technology are tired if not borderline arrogant, thus the title:
Creative Destruction – Engagement Technology On Your Website To Create Leads and A REAL/MEASURABLE ROI.
Some web providers state they don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s technology and problems, some just blatantly ignore these opportunities (probably because they think they know it all, or are scared to admit they don't understand it) and there are others that just plain refuse out of Arrogance.
Whatever the reason, you must ask yourself, who owns my day to day business sales and marketing strategies?
Creative Destruction – Engagement Technology On Your Website To Create Leads and A REAL/MEASURABLE ROI.
Some web providers state they don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s technology and problems, some just blatantly ignore these opportunities (probably because they think they know it all, or are scared to admit they don't understand it) and there are others that just plain refuse out of Arrogance.
Whatever the reason, you must ask yourself, who owns my day to day business sales and marketing strategies?
so why am i ranting about this?
First some reminders about your website engagement strategy before I discuss why you want to review Scott’s presentation;
I often lecture that retailers need to have “everything open to buy”, even if it’s 100,000 SKU’s and have it available to buy online with an integrated e-commerce platform. The rationale is simple;
Quit your crying about special order, that’s all the big e-commerce players do and they are selling $Billions of dollars’ worth of YOUR products.
Add to the FACT that many retailers don’t have very good websites, I just saw one today that was ©2004. And guess what, it hasn’t ever been updated. OMG.
As I mentioned, I’ve written about the web being one of the three critical components of your business along with product/selection and the store experience for years. I’ve also written about technologies that can improve performance, increase sales, lower costs and more, here on this website: http://www.social4retail.com/technologies.html and in my RETAIL RANTS BLOG here: http://www.social4retail.com/my-retail-rants-blog.html
I often lecture that retailers need to have “everything open to buy”, even if it’s 100,000 SKU’s and have it available to buy online with an integrated e-commerce platform. The rationale is simple;
- More products on your websites, increases your store being found in search locally.
- Selling everything you have open to buy, levels the playing field against all the large e-commerce furniture players. Remember, 85% of consumers want to buy locally, but if you don’t show it, they assume you don’t have it.
Quit your crying about special order, that’s all the big e-commerce players do and they are selling $Billions of dollars’ worth of YOUR products.
Add to the FACT that many retailers don’t have very good websites, I just saw one today that was ©2004. And guess what, it hasn’t ever been updated. OMG.
As I mentioned, I’ve written about the web being one of the three critical components of your business along with product/selection and the store experience for years. I’ve also written about technologies that can improve performance, increase sales, lower costs and more, here on this website: http://www.social4retail.com/technologies.html and in my RETAIL RANTS BLOG here: http://www.social4retail.com/my-retail-rants-blog.html
ask yourself .... or better yet ....
ask your I.T person or web provider why they won't embrace this technology and other technologies i've written about?
Are they smarter than you? Are they smarter than proven technologies?
I bet NOT
I bet NOT
There is a a lot more to this technology than I've shown. They have a Social/Digital marketing component and much more. You really need to reach out to them, or watch their webinars that I've linked below
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my final thoughts
Technology drives everything we do and the refusal do accept technology solutions defines ...
THE IGNORANCE OF ARROGANCE
The sales and marketing processes have been disrupted and it is no longer a linear process as it was just 10 years ago.
THE IGNORANCE OF ARROGANCE
The sales and marketing processes have been disrupted and it is no longer a linear process as it was just 10 years ago.
People that don't want to change become quickly irrelevant.
Businesses that refuse to change and recognize that technology drives everything will become extinct, and if you're in business and your marketing, sales, technology partners or employees don't embrace and implement changes using technology to improve your ROI, you should consider making them irrelevant NOW!
Just my thoughts. You decide
