THE NEW PATH TO LOYAL RETAIL CUSTOMERSHow Employee Advocacy provides an edge in the omni-channel environment

The new consumer mindset

The omni-channel landscape has spawned a new breed of consumer. Your

customers now have 100% control, with the freedom to buy anytime and

anywhere, whether they walk into your store or do it virtually via smartphone,

tablet, computer or catalog.

A 7PwC study found that 65% of US consumers use at least two channels, with

21% shopping from four or five channels. They’ll review multiple web sites

before buying from you or one of eight competitors. They want instant, up-to-

date inventory and pricing data. Retailers need to build a bridge between their

operations and what consumers now expect.

YOUR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS ARE AS GOOD AS YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

1According to the CMO Council, 54% of consumers would stop

shopping at a store if that company failed to deliver personalized

content and offers. If you’re a retailer, that statistic shouldn’t only

make you pay attention, it should inspire you to re-assess how you

communicate with consumers.54%What’s the big deal about communication? When done right, it’s how you develop the

one-to-one relationships and loyalty retailers need in the omni-channel environment.

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Omni-channel has changed how retailers do business. It’s also changed how consumers shop. Loyalty is the missing link for ongoing success. How can you sway hearts and minds? Through an Employee Advocacy program.

THE PATH TO LOYAL CUSTOMERS

Understand how they thinkLoyalty has shifted from brand to a combination of

price, convenience and personalization. Consumers

rarely believe – let alone listen to – your fancy

marketing messages.

Show that you careDiscounts and deals are nice. But consumers

really stick around when retailers share the same

values. That’s how they start believing in the brand.

Be authentic Talk to them like they’re real people. Tell interesting

stories. Your employees are best qualified to

do that.

Trust your employeesCreate an Employee Advocacy program. It’s the most

effective way for workers to discuss the company on social

media. When you show trust in them, they’ll be more loyal to

you. Which ultimately means more loyal customers.2

Big players like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s,

Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel and Costco have

changed their business models to accommodate

evolved customers. They’re turning their physical

locations into distribution centers, where online

shoppers can either pick up the item or have it

delivered right away. They’re optimizing sites

based on individual searches and buying patterns,

creating loyalty programs that incentivize

purchases, employing sophisticated data

collection and analytics methods, and installing

in-store kiosks to check inventory.

But none of these strategies truly establish

authentic, one-to-one connections. Implementing

an omni-channel strategy, in itself, isn’t the

solution. Technology can only do so much.

People can do more.

CHANGING DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU’RE ADAPTING

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2According to data firm ShopperTalk, store visits are decreasing 5% year to year each month. 3And a report from Moodys found that growth at the 100 largest retailers has fallen to less than 3%. Big retailers are in big trouble – Sears and Office Max have shut down hundreds of stores; Radio Shack and Blockbuster closed all of their stores. 4According to Bloomberg Intelligence 2015, American Eagle plans to close 150 locations, and Abercrombie & Fitch will close 60 stores each year for the next few years.

But here’s the rub: Brand loyalty won’t come from an online-only strategy. 5Forrestor says that by 2017, online shopping will gross over $370 billion, which will only represent about 10% of all US retail sales. 6A Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) study found that 76% of final buying ecisions take place in the store. There’s no denying that people still crave human interaction. They still enjoy touching products and physical browsing. They still want connection - especially to brands.

THE IN-STORE DECLINE: MYTH OR REALITY?

By now your company probably does the requisite

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram work,

all in a quest to create relationships and increase

revenue. At best you have a formal social media

process; at worst you scramble and improvise at

the last minute. Either way, you could get more

from your social efforts. The key is to acknowledge

that the actual tools aren’t the problem – it’s how

you use them.

Generic offers don’t connect people to the brand

in any substantive way. Besides, today social isn’t

as effective as you might believe. 8According to

Venturebeat, social media only drives 1.55% of

traffic to e-commerce sites, with email generating

twice as much traffic and four times the amount of

conversions. To get exceptional results from social,

you must start building long-term relationships.

Which means talking to people like…people.

RE-THINK HOW YOU COMMUNICATE

9According to Gartner, by the end of 2016 people will spend a combined $2 billion just using mobile devices. And that’s not only millenials who practically spend every waking moment on mobile and social. That dollar figure also includes the fast-growing trend of older consumers also living the mobile/social lifestyle.

Thing is, people of any age still crave the in-store experience. 10According to Forrester, 61% of smart phone users will call a business after a search, and 59% will visit a store. If only they had a better connection to the actual employees.

SPEAK TO MILLENNIALS. AND EVERYONE ELSE

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Many employees are proud about their companies,

and have genuine enthusiasm for their offerings.

They just need a safe and easy outlet to share

their excitement. 11But as Gartner reports, 50% of

workers don’t know their company’s vision for

growth, and more than 34% rarely receive any

corporate communications. Most in-store

employees don’t have company email accounts.

On top of that, many are nomads, viewing jobs

as a commodity that provide a paycheck and not

much else. Considering their lack of engagement,

who can blame them?

Now you can revolutionize the employer-employee

relationship by giving workers the green light to

share their passion for the company. It’s called

Employee Advocacy, and it’s helping retailers to

bring loyalty back into their business.

TURN IDLE EMPLOYEES INTO ACTIVE BRAND ADVOCATES

How do you forge brand loyalty in a disloyal environment? Create personalized communications and offers. Convey the company’s values so like-minded customers can believe in your mission. Then do it consistently in order to be top-of-mind during a purchase decision. The crucial step is to communicate with an authentic voice. Who’s most qualified to do that? Your employees, that’s who.

INJECT SOME HUMANITY (BACK) INTO THE BRAND

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Extend your socialmedia strategy

Bring loyalty backto the business

Deepen thelocal community

connection

Improveemployee

engagement

Help workersbuild their personal

brands

Easier social mediadistribution and management

Increase brand awarenessand revenue

Recruit quickerat less cost

Tell the worldabout your values

Deliver more authentic

messages

Adapt to theomni-channel

consumer

Turn idle employees intoactive brand advocates

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Retailers are transitioning from traditional marketing to digital and social

marketing strategies, spending more on creating content and less on

conventional tactics. Employee Advocacy is a natural fit with that direction. You

get a strategic content distribution channel that a giant team of “marketers” –

your employees – is ready and willing to use. Your marketing messages will be

more authentic than anything offered through paid media.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP TO DIGITAL BUSINESS

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In an Employee Advocacy program, employees receive and post

company-approved content to their social networks. Facebook, Twitter,

Pinterest, LinkedIn, the usual suspects. Content can include offers, coupons,

news, video that promotes company values, notifications about events, all of

which resides in a centralized hub. The entire program is voluntary.

The content gets distributed to employees who have the option of when and

with whom to share it. They can personalize the content, and even suggest

what others may find valuable.

WHAT IS EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY?

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12According to Nielsen, trust is the #1 factor in any buying decision, with conversions

increasing by 90% when someone trusted suggests a product. Consumers listen

more to their social connections than to official marketing campaigns. They get

real value from the content, boosting the chances of it being appreciated, clicked,

viewed and shared. Which results in more leads and conversions.

NOTHING BEATS A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION

Change the employee to customer dynamic

We’re on social media all the time, so we’re more likely to be exposed to our

connections than a specific store’s promotions. An Employee Advocacy program

aligns perfectly with that behavior.

The employee voice has more influence than anything - people trust it more than

your abstract brand. So imagine having hundreds, perhaps thousands of them

promoting the company day and night. They’re not passively sitting in offices or

waiting for customers to walk in the door. They’re bringing customers in the door.

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A RECIPE FOR ENTHUSIASM 13Employee social networks, combined, include 10x more contacts than what’s in

the company’s database. That’s 10x more consumers with open eyes and ears,

more willing to consider the message and open their wallets.

As the retailer receives bottom line business benefits, the program creates a

deeper connection between employees and the company. The brand is essentially

saying, “Here are the keys to the company’s voice” with the employees replying,

“Thanks for trusting me.” Workers get more engaged, increasing enthusiasm for

their jobs. You also help them to build their online brands, gain more followers,

and become known as subject matter experts.

Improve the local connection

A good percentage of a person’s social contacts live near or close to their work

location. Socially active employees, armed with valuable content and their per-

sonal touch, will undoubtedly drive in-store traffic, improving sales and profits and

helping brands to better leverage existing investments and assets. In a

tight-margin environment, Employee Advocacy gives retailers a tool to

increase profits.

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RETAILERS WHO LOVE EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY

Who? The United Kingdom’s leading digital communications company.

“We use advanced social mechanics to drive new revenue streams and to inform future products. Now, with an employee advocacy program, I believe we have all the pillars of a truly social business.”- Kristian Lorenzon, Head of Social Media at 02

Who? 6,600 video game and electronics stores worlwide.

“Recognizing that the interaction between our employees and customers in the community is the most valuable relationship, we’ve committed to work with Dynamic Signal to amplify those conversations and create lasting value for all parties involved.”- Jeff Donaldson, Senior VP, GameStop Technology Institute

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Curate the content: Load all of your existing content and allow

employees to suggest additional content.

A SIMPLE GUIDE FOR RUNNING YOUR EMPLOYEE ADVOCACY PROGRAM

Be safe: Make sure that content is approved by all the necessary

parties. Be sure it’s consistent with the brand. And be certain it has

value for the audience.

Go mobile: In-store employees can send messages via smart phone

or tablet, pushing out offers, coupons, branded videos, notifications

about events and more. Office employees can do it at their desks,

even while waiting in line at the coffee shop.

Hit the target: You can segment employees by region, department

and interest to deliver relevant content. Slice and dice it any way

you like.

Measure it: See what’s working. Learn what’s off the mark.

Adjust accordingly.

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In-store employees: They know customers better than anyone.

They live on social media but don’t have a safe way to talk about

the company. Give them permission.

Retail managers: While managers may oversee local store social

accounts, there’s no consistent, on-brand messaging process. Now

they have it.

Corporate staff: There are hundreds of people sitting at their

desks, crazy about the company and eager to build their

professional brands.

Executives: Your leaders have incredible influence, but social isn’t

their sweet spot. And of course there’s no time to learn. Employee

Advocacy makes it easy for them to be social superstars.

GET EVERYONE INVOLVED

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About Dynamic Signal

Dynamic Signal redefines how companies communicate with the world.

Our proven Employee Advocacy platform lets employees receive and post

company-approved content to their social networks, transforming them into

experts, advocates and contributors. Founded in 2010, Dynamic Signal helps

hundreds of organizations of all sizes including IBM, Salesforce, GameStop, Domo,

SurveyMonkey and Bloomberg.

Sources

1: http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/these-content-marketing-trends-are-transforming-retail-industry-161441

2: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/11/11/wal-mart-earnings-preview-consistent-decline-in-foot-traffic-and-higher-expenses-will-subdue-results/

3: http://fortune.com/2014/08/07/guitar-center-expansion/

4: http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2015/01/08/experts-predict-7-big-retail-trends-that-will-shape-how-you-shop-this-year/

5: http://mashable.com/2013/03/12/forrester-u-s-ecommerce-forecast-2017/

6: http://www.popai.com/Research%20Library/2014%20MASS%20MERCHANT%20STUDY%20-%20EXECUTIVE%20SUMMARY.pdf

7: http://www.pwc.com/en_us/us/retail-consumer/publications/assets/pwc-us-multichannel-shopping-survey.pdf

8: http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/22/social-commerce-is-like-a-unicorn-beautiful-alluring-and-almost-totally-imaginary/

9: http://blogs.informatica.com/perspectives/2014/12/25/2015-omnichannel-trends-for-customer-experience/#fbid=uJkjta8sP1X

10: http://blogs.informatica.com/perspectives/2014/12/25/2015-omnichannel-trends-for-customer-experience/#fbid=uJkjta8sP1X

11: http://blogs.informatica.com/perspectives/2014/12/25/2015-omnichannel-trends-for-customer-experience/#fbid=uJkjta8sP1X

12: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2009/global-advertising-consumers-trust-real-friends-and-virtual-strangers-the-most.html

13: http://brandswithfansblog.fandommarketing.com/how-employee-advocacy-builds-engaged-customers/

www.dynamicsignal.com t dynamic_signal f dynamicsignal