Retail CMOs: 3 Tips to Drive Sales And Improve Customer Loyalty By Leveraging Mcommerce

As retail CMO, do you still think mcommerce[Mobile Commerce] disrupts your brick and mortar business and has nothing to do with increasing sales and customer retention? As a graduate student majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, embraced and informed by the latest integrated marketing trends, I want to share the following two articles that can provide you a big picture of how mcommerce benefits your company.

Entitled “In Store Retail and Mobile: New BFFs?” by Janice Cuban published on January 7, 2015 on Thismoment discussed the misunderstanding of the relationship between retail and mobile. Cuban stated that retailers who harness mobile technology to respond to consumers’ needs rather than viewing it as competition can be a smartphone shopper’s BFF. The way we shop is changing; online purchasing has become an overwhelming trend recently. Therefore, retailers should understand what customer needs and wants and how to deliver customer experience seamlessly. 

 Source: http://www.tagga.com/mcommerce/

The second article “ Mobile Apps: Increasing Retail Customer Loyalty” by Nicole Hambleton was published on Hambo Development on February 5, 2015. Hambleton offered insights about an app user could generate brand loyalty and demonstrate an emotional investment in the brand along with real case studies. By including some features in the app, such as geolocators, exclusive mobile discount, wish list, store mapping, NFC, and Augmented Reality, marketers could use mobile app as a marketing tool to whether increase sales or convert customers. 

After reviewing these two articles and my studies in the Integrated Marketing Communication program at Northwestern University Medill School, there are three action items I would recommend:

• Harness mobile to win sales: Reinforce product availability in-store along with providing right information online to lure customers to walk in confidently.

• Leverage existing online presence: help in-store shoppers have an informative and customized experience while increasing in-store sales.

• Keep App Users Feeling Special: provide exclusive mobile experience by continuously offering new features and reasons to stay committed in order to keep customers coming back and stay competitive in the market. 

By following these steps, retail CMO could optimize effectiveness of mobile marketing and make your sites more attractive and engaged. All these three customer-oriented actions will take you to the next revolution of mcommerce and close the gap between online and offline retail.  

Yihan (@YihanH) is pursuing her M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University and she is going to graduate in December 2015. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration specialized in Marketing and Event Management from George Washington University, she is interested in branding and social marketing, especially in the luxury goods industry. You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.