Driving Retail from Digital to Destination | Business 2 Community

• The marketing funnel has imploded under its own inadequacy
• Marketers must respond to the shift to digital with the 5 Ds of consumer engagement
• Analytics is essential to understand the path to conversion

For decades, Australian retailers have under-invested in technology and online innovation. After all there was no ?burning platform.? People still bought goods ? especially appliances and larger items in stores, and ?online? was considered risky, unreliable, and difficult to navigate when it came to returns, warranties and customer service.

But then consumers connected. Reviews helped identify quality products. Reputation management allowed online merchants to demonstrate their credibility. And web experiences improved. Prices were better.

People talked.

And kept talking.

Those conversations shifted from sites to platforms. They happened in places far away from the brand police and customer service teams. They proliferated on sites like Twitter, Get Satisfaction and Facebook.

But just as the connected consumer shifts digital channels in the blink of an eye, taking the conversation with them, so too can brands follow this consumer lead. Those with a considered and well executed strategy can connect the dots and drive retail from digital to destination.

Marketers should develop three practices to drive retail from digital to destination:

1. Understand the 5 Ds of Consumer Engagement: The marketing funnel has imploded under its own inadequacy. It?s time to understand the buyer?s journey from the outside-in. Following the 5 Ds allows marketers to understand, map and engage their connected consumers at key stations on the buyers journey
2. When it comes to content and channels, don?t think ONLY think AND: It?s time to break down the silos. Based on the 5 Ds, marketers must begin to work with strategic omni-channel (or multi-channel) formats. This means understanding how content, interactions and engagement work at each station ? and where digital can extend or augment an experience (digital or non-digital)
3. Know and measure your path to conversion: Don?t fool yourself that all conversion must happen in-store. Make it easy to purchase anywhere ? after all, mobile is the ultimate impulse device. But understand that in-store is now about controlling the brand experience. Ensure that the destination experience is worth the journey in. Use omni-channel analytics to measure and understand the path to conversion.

Now, take a moment to view this (now finished) campaign from Adidas NEO. What?s the customer experience? What?s the journey? And what?s the engagement strategy at play?

Now, how would you play this out with your brand? Be creative.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/strategy/driving-retail-from-digital-to-destination-0324304

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