Webinars

Driving traffic to your store in a post-COVID world is hard enough as it is, but in the wake of a pandemic, retailing is different. Pre-pandemic, it was not uncommon for retailers to hold in-store events and encourage customers to bring their friends. But from now on, does this tactic continue to work in a world of social distancing and safety? In this webinar, expert panelists walk you through creative traffic driving strategies that are “pandemic proof,” all the while being sensitive to the current climate.

Audra Shue – Director, Strategic Partnerships, Deluxe

Audra is obsessed with people and with solving problems. Coupled with her passion for data, Audra has grown to become a noteworthy leader in the data and digital space, working with Fortune 500 companies to maximize their profits. You give her a budget, and she makes you money – the way marketing should work!

Jonathan Fador – Vice President of Sales, Sports & Entertainment, Tokio Marine HCC

Jonathan manages all sales and marketing efforts for the promotions division of Tokio Marine HCC. Jonathan brings tremendous expertise in designing effective consumer promotions from $1M cash prize giveaways to conditional rebating programs. Throughout his career, Jonathan has worked with thousands of brands in the consumer marketing space in his previous roles with the New England Patriots, Boston Globe Media Partners, Delaware North, and Allied Sports.

Mary Liz Curtin – Owner, Leon & Lulu

Mary Liz is the owner of Leon & Lulu, a one-of-a-kind store located in a historic roller rink.  Combined with an electric mix of upscale furniture, unforgettable fits, and accessories, its friendly and fun atmosphere hosts many unique events.  Although part of Curtin’s retail success depends on maintaining a sense of humor at all times –good economy or bad, she is seriously serious about business and making it work.

Key Takeaways from this webinar:

• Identify events that would trigger a person to be interested in your products or services and build your marketing around those.
• With the diversity of customers and their safety beliefs with regards to COVID, offer a variety of options to empower them to interact with your business in a way that is comfortable for them.
• Four key areas of focus:
  1. What is the customer profile you want to target?
  2. What is the message that will resonate with that audience?
  3. What is a strong and creative offering?
  4. What is the right marketing channel to use based on that targeted audience?
• With a smaller marketing budget, you need a clear plan, test its effectiveness, and be okay with learning through failure.
• It’s critical to capture clean data around your customers and around your promotions, allowing you the knowledge to be that much more effective moving forward.
• Smaller stores can learn from how larger stores are driving traffic and apply some tactics through “adaptive reuse”
• Make sure to use a variety of events to prevent your target market from tuning you out.
• Hone your messaging so it resonates and is a change of pace for what customers have become numb to in all channels of your marketing and in-store.
• Use more events, but smaller in size. This allows you to get where you want to go incrementally.
• Charity-based events are often very successful. The charity receives a portion of the proceeds, and the event isn’t run for profit.
• No cost-driven events, such as educational events or classes can be effective to bring attention to your store.
• A successful customer experience means that even though they may not leave with a purchase, they should leave with a smile.
• Measure success by numbers, observation of customer and intuition, and by comparing YOY data.
• Differentiate yourself and don’t be cookie-cutter in your approach (in your store and in your marketing)
• Make sure the store experience matches your marketing
• Know the “hooks” in your market and the areas of interest your customers will have so you can create an effective marketing plan around that.
• Mid-sized to larger stores can offer conditional rebates, promotions, or offers based on local events (e.g., if the local ball team wins, customers will receive a special discount on a certain day)