Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Marketing your business strategically is more important than ever as customers quickly adopt new shopping habits and view the retail experience through a new lens of safety and security during the pandemic.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently published “The New Reality of Marketing,” an overview of new customer expectations related to marketing, which sheds light on how major advertisers are approaching marketing during COVID-19.
Discover some of their top tips and incorporate their advice into your advertising strategy to position your business as an agile partner for every home improvement customer.
Highlight your virtual services.
As nights out become nights in, ANA reports shoppers are increasingly hungry for experiences, not just products. Consider how your team can offer virtual services—offer project estimates, hold new product showcases, host how-to classes—to add value to shoppers’ lives.
Don’t let that app go cold.
Though apps are nothing new, ANA notes many shoppers are using them more often to gather up-to-date information on products and hours of operation. Be sure your app lists all important COVID-19 updates.
What do you stand for?
Two-thirds of customers say their likelihood of purchasing a product depends strongly on how its manufacturer responds during the pandemic. Accordingly, more than 70 percent of brands have “embraced purpose” more and nearly half are collaborating with nonprofits more frequently.
Offer seamless online shopping.
In April, online orders for more than 6,200 companies rose compared to the same period in 2019. ANA says as customers increasingly shop for items online they’d normally get in stores, 85 percent of them say easy payment options and a fast, easy-to-navigate website were crucial factors in e-commerce.
