The pandemic has changed consumer habits and prompted retail brands to significantly accelerate digital transformation. As the industry seeks to recover, CommonWealth Magazine’s “天下實驗室” and 91APP have collaborated on the “Retail Brand Survey” to gain deep insights into the thoughts and needs of industry leaders and marketers. What are the highlights worth exploring from this survey?
To understand the current hot topics in the retail industry, we analyzed the “Retail Brand Survey” and identified three key action strategies that are garnering considerable attention in the operations and marketing sectors.
Focus 1: Retail Brands Expand Investment in CRM and Enhance Member Loyalty
To establish long-term competitiveness, 70.7% of retail brand respondents indicated that creating a comprehensive customer management system to enhance interaction frequency with members is believed to be the most effective strategy for improving business outcomes. As a result, retail brands have prioritized strengthening their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies as a key area for future investment in their operational plans.
Focus 2: Addressing the Issue of Insufficient Website Traffic and Difficulty in Attracting New Consumers
The survey shows that 57.7% of retail brands view “attracting more potential customers to the official website” as the primary goal of managing online channels. This highlights that if brands want to expand their new consumer base, they should leverage external data (third-party data) to understand consumer interests and preferences, thereby increasing the chances of accurately directing new traffic and expanding their potential consumer pool.
Focus 3: Digital Tools + Profit-Sharing Mechanism = Expanding the Influence of Store Staff
In addition to serving consumers on the front lines, if store staff are equipped with digital tools and supported by a humanized profit-sharing mechanism, they can better embrace e-Commerce, encouraging consumers to engage in both online and offline shopping, thereby creating omni-channel business opportunities. The survey indicates that 44% of retail brands recognize that the influence of staff extends from brick-and-mortar stores to e-Commerce platforms, and they plan to strengthen this strategy in the coming year.
D2C’s New Evolution Model: Creating a “Business X Marketing” Dual-Cycle Model
From the above topics, it is evident that to implement the D2C model and address the underlying issues, brands must focus on developing strategic plans, establishing an omni-channel mindset, and improving organizational and departmental collaboration. This involves breaking down the barriers and disconnection between commerce and marketing.
(Source：91APP)
The concept of the “Business X Marketing” dual-cycle model simply means integrating online and offline sales resources through the complementary and interconnected relationship between commerce and marketing, allowing each to leverage the other’s strengths.
When brands can establish their own Business X Marketing flow, it also marks the beginning of driving consumers to engage in an OMO flow with the brand. By centering the brand strategy around the consumer, brands can assess channel effectiveness from a holistic perspective while integrating both physical and digital assets, gradually eliminating the boundaries between commerce and marketing.
Utilizing Four Key Elements to Keep the Cycle Model Flowing
To truly activate the “Business X Marketing” dual-cycle model, 91APP recommends that businesses focus on four key elements:
- Accumulate First-Party Data and Continuously Optimize CRM
- Compare with Third-Party Data to Expand New Opportunities
- Increase Marketing Insights of New Consumers
- Enhance Personalized Experiences and Recommendations for Members
Through business conversions, brands can leverage first-party transaction data to achieve consumer loyalty. They can then compare this with external third-party data to amplify opportunities for reaching similar audiences and expanding their marketing to new consumers. This helps identify compelling marketing communication angles and, ultimately, implement personalized consumer and service experiences throughout the business advancement process.
For brands, new and existing consumers, along with market share and conversion rates, should exist as a symbiotic and thriving ecosystem rather than a trade-off in resource allocation. By comparing first-party and third-party data, brands can gain valuable insights into potential opportunities while optimizing digital media planning and advertising effectiveness. Continuous tracking of changes in target audiences helps identify the key success factors for conversion effectiveness.
In the wave of D2C, how brands enhance member engagement, utilize first and third-party data, and create OMO flows will be revealed in the subsequent three articles. If you want to learn about success stories of brands effectively using the Business X Marketing dual-cycle, feel free to download the “2023 Brand Commerce Report,” which analyzes the classic brand management strategy of Timberland, from “Price to Sale” to “Love to Buy.”
