RIS News - February 2011

ENGAGEMENT-CENTRICENGAGEMENT-CENTRIC
RETAILINGRETAILING

COVER STORY

Retailers need to become aligned with these forces by tapping into their unique capabilities, such as crowdsourcing, to create new products, and the ability to use the viral nature of social media to multiply the impact of promotional campaigns. And while empowered customers demand to be met on their terms and their devices, it is equally important to use the power of these new tools to level the playing field for the retail workforce by giving them the means

Social Media

INITIAL PHASE
ADVANCED PHASE

Build up network of fans/shoppers Create tightly coupled all-channel campaigns

Drive traffic to the Web site Send digital coupons and offers

Deploy analytical tools to determine composition of fans/followers and break into key segments Identify fans/shoppers that are brand advocates

Focus on execution to protect brand Target advocates/influencers to tap viral power
to sell more and deliver higher customer satisfaction.

they should focus on capabilities that are clear differentiators.

Evidence from the recent RIS “Resetting Store Priorities” study
indicates the vast majority of retailers are already heavily involved Engagement-Centric Retailing for Enterprise and Store

with social media, with 100% of retailers surveyed reporting they Because consumers have adopted mobile and social media channels
have some level of involvement with Facebook.

faster than retailers, much of the early focus has been on customer-Retailers using the mobile channel to reach customers in an en- facing initiatives. But the focus is about to shift to the enterprise gagement-centric manner are racing to catch up to their social me- and store as technology vendors roll out engagement-centric solu-dia initiatives, which have a slight edge in deployment maturity. In tions that will unleash new ways to enable workforces to work smarter, the initial phase, retailers should roll out capabilities of high inter- become more productive and deliver superior customer service.