Brand values and purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps there\u2019s no escaping this one \u2014 again, look at the Patagonia example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carina and Mitul voted vogue. \u201cFor our brands, values are part of quality messaging, down to the supply chain,\u201d Carina explained. Mitul\u2019s reasoning differed slightly, shaped around the what, how and why of retailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery organisation knows what they sell, and most of them know how they do this \u2014 this is what sets them apart from their competition or makes them special,\u201d he said. \u201cBut very few know the why \u2014 it\u2019s not about making money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A panel of retail leaders at Connections to You Sydney<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, to Brian (we didn\u2019t realise this early on that he\u2019d really embody \u2018rogue\u2019), casting a lone vote for rogue, \u201cwith a caveat\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For those brands that have been purpose-led a long time, it’s vogue because it’s authentic, he explained. \u201cBut I see a lot of values campaigns that aren’t authentic \u2014 the brand is measuring ROI on them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience, without the luxury of caveats, voted overwhelmingly for \u2018vogue\u2019 \u2014 looks like this one, done well, is here to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every season is sale season. \u201cYou have to participate to some extent,\u201d Mitul said. \u201cYou take every opportunity you have to be in front of your customers \u2014 vogue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n True to form, Brian disagreed. \u201cRogue. They’re critical at the moment but many retailers regret the concept started,\u201d he explained. \u201cCustomers are savvy, it impacts sales before the event and after the event because naturally customers buy what they want when on sale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One way to manage this, Brian believes, is using marginalised product in volume for key sale events and enticing buyers with new products \u2014 making sale events a core part of product strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey started when we were trying to clear holiday stock but it’s really become something else now,\u201d said Carina, casting her vote on the \u2018rogue\u2019 side. \u201cAnd sale events just aren’t what we want for our customers either \u2014 we want them to be able to buy year-round. I’d like to see it more spread out.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Final call from the audience \u2014 a small margin to rogue. We\u2019re not likely to see the end of sale events soon, but retailers would do well to manage investment in them and consider, as Carina mentioned, the customer\u2019s desire for year-round consistency in experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we really likely to stop using social media for commerce? Not likely \u2014 our latest State of Marketing research<\/a> found that social is in the top three channels by revenue for every stage of the lifecycle of a customer: brand-building, lead generation, acquisition, upselling, retention and advocacy. High performing marketing teams are more than a third more likely than underperformers to have linked their commerce systems with social media marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian disagreed: \u201cEnough is enough \u2014 put your phone down,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe … do some boating. Maybe some camping?\u201d Jokes aside, Brian says social platforms will be used for one-to-one communication by data-shy consumers who are worried about how their personal data is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Carina disagreed. \u201cRogue \u2014 customers demand personalised service, and that can only be achieved with data,\u201d she said. \u201cFear over misuse of data comes with a lack of transparency.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I have to agree \u2014 and the majority of the 8000+ customers we spoke to for our latest State of the Connected Customer report<\/a> do too, with only 17% saying they\u2019re uncomfortable with relevant personal information being used in a transparent and beneficial manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Mitul, social is a no-brainer \u2014 Showpo was built on the back of social, and it will continue to be a part of the retailer\u2019s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rewards = loyalty is a pretty easy sell \u2014 all three panellists and the entire audience bar one person voted vogue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut even though it\u2019s easy to benchmark against the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, it\u2019s important to recognise that not everyone can achieve that [level of loyalty program],\u201d Carina said. She suggested that retailers and brands need to consider instead what their customers actually want from them and match that up with what they can achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A panel of retail leaders at Connections to You Sydney <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe key is relevance, quality, how you can surprise and delight,\u201d Brian said. \u201cFour years ago we did BCF beer \u2014 we but our brand on bottles and sent them to our high-value customers. People still talk about it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many options do we really need? The panel was split. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVogue \u2013 25% of all online fashion shopping is through Afterpay,\u201d Mitul said, also noting that he questions why consumers use buy now pay later options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRogue,\u201d said Carina. \u201cBut we want to make sure that however customers want to pay, that’s available for them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian, not to be out-rogued, was also split: \u201cVogue based on volume, but I expect market consolidation within two-to-three years \u2013 rogue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience wasn\u2019t much more decisive, with a slim margin to rogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the vogue side, Mitul: \u201cDefine why you are there,\u201d he said. \u201cKnow where your customers are and be in the right marketplace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And on the rogue side, Brian: \u201cMarketplaces are mainly for replenishment shoppers,\u201d he said, using the example of a packet of batteries to talk ROI. \u201cYou pay to be there, you pay for ads for your batteries. But then the customer reaches the marketplace and the marketplace puts their own brand in front of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this means they are a bad deal for the retailer, but not for the consumer chasing the best bargain \u2014 so it may not spell the death of the marketplace at all, just brands\u2019 dislike of a new reality, much like the neverending sale event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carina was on the fence. \u201cSort of vogue,\u201d she said, agreeing with Mitul\u2019s advice to go where your customers want you to be. \u201cThere’s opportunity for growth with new audiences but you lose control of your brand and the experience.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience? 50\/50. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As change becomes the new normal, the skills we need in the workforce change too. Should retailers and brands be hiring \u2018digital unicorns\u2019 to gain new skills, or developing new digital skills in their existing teams? It turns out, both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe challenge is the pace,\u201d Carina said. \u201cThe digital trends, tools and skills needed change so quickly, so from time to time you bring in the external expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mitul agreed, with an eye to the unknown future: \u201cThe skills we will need, we don’t know yet. Do both \u2014 a few unicorns will turn your raw talent into unicorns too.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInvesting in all of our team members\u2019 digital talents is absolutely essential,\u201d Brian said. \u201cBut I need a GA gun and they don’t organically grow. The blend is key.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience was clear \u2013 100% on the side of developing talent in-house. And it\u2019s a strong argument \u2014 take a known employee with passion for the brand, deep knowledge of the company, the right mindset of curiosity and hunger to learn, layer on the skills \u2014 unicorn!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the last great hurdles, perhaps, for online experience matching bricks and mortar \u2014 a product in the consumers\u2019 hands by end of day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Showpo offers this because, Mitul says, there\u2019s demand for it. And really \u2014 what\u2019s fast fashion without \u2018fast\u2019? APG&Co, meanwhile, values transparency over speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSay when it will arrive and deliver on that,\u201d Carina said. \u201cMaybe that’s a demographic difference.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our research says 57% of customers<\/a> won\u2019t buy from a company that can\u2019t ship quickly and cheaply, and 59% will take their business to Amazon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Brian, of course, agreed and disagreed with both Mitul and Carina. \u201cKeeping your promise is key, but customers keep wanting the timeframe you promise getting shorter and shorter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brain also offered up an alternative to consider if the operational aspects are too difficult \u2014 click and collect, which he\u2019s seen high demand for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOperationally there’s a lot to get right,\u201d he said about getting products into customers hands as quickly as possible. \u201cBut there’s demand there. Retailers could learn a lot from Dominoes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The audience, a reminder that everyone is, ultimately, a consumer, voted vogue on last-mile delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download our latest State of the Connected Customer research<\/a> \u2014 with insights from more than 8000 consumers and business buyers, it\u2019s the quickest way to see how you can transform customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSale events<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Social becoming antisocial in a crisis of trust<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nReward and loyalty programs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\nBuy now pay later<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Third-party marketplaces<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Developing digital talent in-house<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Last-mile delivery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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