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The British Retail Consortium (BRC) recently predicted that 2024 will be a “challenging” year for retailers, with a weak Christmas period, potential business rate hikes and potential disruption to shipping via the Red Sea.
Spending on many types of products and services will be lower than before as customer interest increases, with predictions that “wary consumers are taking precautions” (Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG). may continue to fall below. Be more careful about what you spend your money on.
What can retailers do to get the most out of their business in the year ahead? Answering this question takes a look at recent spending habits, consumer trust, and the role digital marketing plays in bridging the gap. We need to pay attention to whether it can be done. Read on to find out more…
recent spending habits
A clear pattern emerged over the Christmas period as households across the UK tightened up and focused on being able to afford ‘essentials’.
- Sales at clothing stores and department stores decreased by 2% and 0.2%, respectively.
- Spending on entertainment increased by 12.3%
- Travel spending increased by 14.1%
- Music, video and game sales increased by 7%
Despite the tough times, fashion appears to be taking a bit of a backseat as consumers choose to spend their money on home entertainment and travel. If you believe in BRC, the message is clear. 2024 will be the year that consumers will only buy products if they absolutely need (or want) them.
What does that mean for marketing your product or service? To find out, you need to look at recent data on consumer trust.
Consumer trust is low
In addition to combating adverse economic conditions, retailers will also need to be conscious of consumer trust in 2024. According to Accenture, 37% of people around the world believe that companies prioritize profits over customers, and the data below shows the top reasons why people think so. Feels less valuable:
- 47% – Poor customer service
- 41% – Ignoring feedback
- 37% – Degradation of product quality
- 25% – Poor quality packaging
Additionally, the same survey shows the extent to which people believe certain industries have their best interests at heart.
- 14% – Favorite technology brand
- 15% – Favorite fashion/beauty brand
- 13% – Electricity supplier
- 15% – Frequently used travel agencies
- 22% – Main bank/insurance company
- 22% – Grocery retailers
With trust so low across industries and perceived as being devalued in so many ways, getting consumers to spend their hard-earned cash will be a challenge for many retailers in 2024. There could be a fight. However, there are some easy ways to position your business. Make your product/service feel like a “must-have” rather than an option.
These tactics are especially effective for e-commerce websites, but some can also be applied to service websites.
How to get the most out of your website
Leverage multiple marketing channels to connect with people at every stage of the customer journey
The best way to connect with your customers is to ensure you can reach them at different locations throughout the customer journey. Not every customer who interacts with your brand will be ready to convert on the spot, so your marketing strategy shouldn’t try to reflect that.
By truly understanding when, where, why, and how your customers move through the buying process (from awareness to consideration to conversion) and the information they need at that point, you can make your services/products more accessible to them. You can have them think of it as “”. It’s not “I want” it’s “I have to have it”.
increase trust
With customer trust proving to be low in many industries, working to build genuine trust with your target audience is a surefire way to move your business from choice to choice.
Make sure your site is completely secure and add an SSL certificate to ensure your payments are protected. Remember to use the highest quality images possible and include the benefits of your product or service in your description. Finally, add social proof to your site in the form of reviews and ratings.
attract the right people
Marketing is no longer about trying to hit these big vanity metrics (like impressions or sessions). In today’s world, it’s important to achieve conversion. It is much more effective to focus your marketing around low-volume search terms that align with your target user’s search intent, rather than targeting the highest-volume search terms in your industry and hoping for the best results. is.
By taking the time to understand your customers and their needs, you’ll be able to plan more effective marketing strategies.
tackle abandoned baskets
You have made every effort to attract the right people to your online store. You may have added items to your basket. However, they have not done a thorough investigation and the potential sale is now in jeopardy.
According to a 2022 global study by Statista, a staggering 88.05% of online baskets are abandoned before checkout, making it a great opportunity to further understand this part of the customer journey. . There are many possible solutions, including:
Investigate visitor drop-off points. It may be delayed for some reason in the checkout process (such as shipping charges), which you can confirm.
Deploy remarketing campaigns to remind visitors that they completed their basket but didn’t check out
If possible, use email marketing to contact your visitors directly and let them know you have an item in their basket.
Make checkout easy
This advice ties in well with the information above. Just like when visiting a physical store, we expect the checkout process in our online shop to be as easy as possible. Minimize the length of your checkout funnel as much as possible, let people know exactly where they are in the process, and collect only the information needed to make the sale.
For example: Requiring sign-up to complete the checkout process is great for you as a business owner, but is it good for your customers? When was the last time you had to set up an account?
Make sure to provide excellent customer service
The statistics above illustrate this point perfectly. His 47% of consumers feel that they receive low value due to poor customer service. However, it goes further: 86% of customers say they are willing to pay more for great customer service.
If someone chooses to spend money on your product/service, it’s important to make sure their overall experience is positive. Good customer service helps protect your reputation when something doesn’t go as planned. Good customer service will help you make sure you made the right choice from the beginning, rather than risking negative reviews and negative word-of-mouth sentiment.
If done right, you can build your reputation, increase trust in your brand, create brand ambassadors, and secure important social proof to get more people to work with you.
overcome challenges
So, as you can see, if you combine the best marketing tactics and put your customers first, there’s no reason you can’t ease your challenges in 2024 and build a great reputation for when your customers want to trust and spend their money. Improve again.
Don’t make 2024 the year you miss out on business opportunities. Talk to us today to see how our award-winning digital marketing services can turn your challenges into successes.
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