The Jordan Philips Marketing Blog - Internal Branding - Employee Engagement

In-store marketing outpacing online advertising?

OK...I am going to say it...I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!! I knew this would happen. As traditional marketing gets more and more expensive and less and less effective, the best place to spend your marketing dollars is on the experience. That means at the point of delivery which is in the store.

In a recent Ad Age article, they said:

It was just one more milestone for shopper marketing, which is growing faster than internet advertising -- doubling since 2004 and on pace for a compound annual growth rate of 21% through 2010, according to a draft study by Deloitte from the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

My question to you is, how much attention are you giving to the in-store experience? And before I start getting emails...everyone needs to be thinking that they are in the retail business...this includes B2B service companies as well...

Steve Jobs: The New Retail Model

I know that I have covered this before but I came across something so good it had to be shared. Before you watch the video below I want you to take a moment and think about your business. I don't care if you are a hair salon, bank, employment agency, prefessional services firm, restaurant, hotel, auto dealer or whatever...EVERYONE WHO HAS TO SELL STUFF IS IN RETAIL. Think about your overall customer experience as a "retail" environment and how it is organized. Watch this video twice. Once just to get the gist. The second time, I want you to go through it with a pen and paper and write down how you could copy this model as Steve Jobs takes you through each department. Trust me...this will be an Ahhh Haaaa moment.

*note* this video is a little old and the Apple stores are even better now. They have much better POS, expanded theater / group meeting areas and one thing that isn't in the video which is absolutely critical is how well their people are trained to deliver the Apple "experience".

Apple Stores ROCK

If you ever want to see how retail should be done, simply go to your local Apple store. Trust me, you will be blown away. If you are at all interested in the science of retail and merchandising you will be amazed.

What makes it so good. It tells a story. The moment you walk into an Apple store you realize that something very smart is going on here. There are departments for your level of sophistication:Casual home users, professional, people who want to video, iPods, etc...but this isn't even the best part...there is a genius bar where they will answer any of your questions...there is a red phone that goes directly to Apple's HQ. There is a movie theater type seating area where you can learn from Apple and your are blasted with Apple propaganda.

There are other areas for Kids...of course you have to prep the next generation and keep the kids quiet while mom and dad dump $5K.

The best thing about the store is that you can touch everything and play with it. The sales people there are amazing as well and there is a sense of excitement in the store...it grabs you and indoctrinates you into the Apple culture...it is PERFECT in every way.

Here is my question...how do you think traditional retailers could learn from or adopt the apple retail strategy?