Consumers Crossing Channels In-Store and Online

Once upon a time, customers went into a retail store to research a new purchase. Then, they did the research online before going out. Today, thanks to mobile, they're researching online before they leave the house—and then while they're in-store too.

"We're seeing a lot of customers holding up cell phones to associates and saying 'beat that price,'" said Colin Hynes, director of usability at Staples Inc. "Price transparency is what its all about now—and that's scary for the retailer."

Hynes was one of several marketers who spoke during a session on integrating cross channel customer experiences at a Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) breakfast in Cambridge last week.

The challenge for retailers is figuring out the best way to help associates to help them sell better in the new ever more mobile realm. "It's a new cultural dynamic—the associate used to be the one to help the customer," said Hynes, who estimated he spends more than 60% of his time lately working on how to fit mobile into Staples' strategy.

"There's little separation between online and offline marketing now, and mobile is crushing that together even more," agreed Rob Schmults, CMO of sightseeing pass provider Smart Destinations.

Target is one retailer that Hynes says has a solid mobile strategy in place. He noted he tried Target's bar code search app and was impressed how it directed him to the exact aisle in the nearest Target to find the product he searched.

When an attendee asked whether this kind of an app discourages in-store browsing—which naturally encourages incremental sales—Hynes said no, that he's often found if a person is looking for a very specific item, once they find it they're more amendable to leisurely shopping.

Schmults noted that the mobile arena is much like the early days of the Internet. In those days, there weren't Internet marketing experts—marketers with experience in other areas like television or print shifted into the Web. "They were translating old mediums into the new one and missing the boat," he said.

Now, Internet experts are often put in charge of mobile efforts, and mobile isn't the same as the Web. "We need to keep asking 'why—you can't just do something because you can. You need to think about whether Twitter, FB or whatever really solve your problem," Schmults added.

To keep conversation open between departments, Hynes said Staples has "Red Rover" days where people "come on over" from other departments to talk about what's happening in their business units. This kind of interaction can be especially helpful when sticky situations—such as which unit to credit sales to—arise.

"You need to look at the halo effect between channels," noted Manu Mathew, CEO of Visual IQ. "There's no silver bullet when it comes to figuring out attribution."

Still, no matter what channel they come in by, customers who are engaged are invaluable to any business. Hynes said Staples often brings in customers for focus groups or usability labs.

"And chat loops are invaluable," said Schmults. "Social media lets you be like the KGB and listen in on customer conversations to hear what they're saying about you."

Still, Schmults cautions, be careful. There are numerous ways to talk to and listen to customers today, but just because you can communicate with a customer in a certain way doesn't mean they want you to.

Customer feedback in the form of reviews and ratings is also a big part of the customer loop in today's landscape. Companies should always address the issues consumers bring up, and be actively engaged, said Judah Phillips, senior director, global site analytics, Monster Worldwide.

"Just realize that you're not going to make everyone happy," Phillips said, noting that in his company, PR oversees social media.

Hynes agreed, noting that its vital not to sound defensive or adversarial—and that you should always apologize when it's called for. And unless the comments are libelous, never delete negative feedback. "But definitely be directly responsive—you don't want it to build momentum."