50 Best Tips of 2012
Management
21. Empower your employees to push back. Tell them your goals then ask them how they'll help you to achieve them. Allow people to fail and learn from their mistakes. Have others talk first at board meetings. This prevents their opinions from being swayed by the boss.
Brian Devine, PETCO, "Leadership Tips From Top Retail Execs," Jan. 19, ROI Report
22. Use technology to communicate internally and externally. Social media isn't just for customers. Chances are that your employees are on social networks and have electronic devices, so communicate with them through these channels. And don't just communicate with your customers and employees. Maintain open lines of communication with your investors and suppliers as well.
Angela Ahrendts, Burberry, "Leadership Tips From Top Retail Execs," Jan. 19, ROI Report
Merchandising
23. Here are some ideas you can use to sell a "me too" product to help it stand on its own:
- Deliver it faster. Check out your competitor's shipping policy; if it promises shipping in seven days, offer shipping in five days or, better yet, three days.
- Make it easier. Does your checkout page require customers to complete multiple steps (10 or more) to place an order? If so, streamline your checkout process to three steps or less.
- Make it bigger. Does your competitor sell a single item? Find out if you can sell a three-pack or six-pack.
- Make it more expensive. This may sound counterintuitive, but it works. Some consumers want "the best" and will go for the more expensive option automatically. If you can back your higher price tag with greater value, you'll pull in people looking for the Rolls Royce.
John Lawson, 3rd Power Outlet, "Top 3 Mistakes Online Retailers Make and How to Avoid Them," May 30, ROI Report
Mobile Marketing/Commerce
24. Make your app(s) free. Most businesses think charging for an app will boost their bottom line, but making your app free is the smart move. You wouldn't charge someone to visit your website, would you?
Scott Hirsch, appsbar.com,"ROI for Apps: Return on Interesting," Jan. 13, ROI Report
25. The cross-channel impact of mobile marketing and commerce is what retailers should be concerning themselves with. Technologies such as 3-D cameras and near-field communication are great, but consumers are most frequently using their smartphones for simple tasks such as checking a store's hours, looking for the nearest retail store or looking up product information.
Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research, "What Last Year's Retail Trends Mean for 2012," Jan. 17, ROI Report
26. Rethink search and navigation elements for tablets. Small text menus (e.g., items in lists of refinements) are difficult to tap on without hitting another item by mistake. This is also true for pagination numbers and buttons that are close together. Consider making font sizes and action buttons bigger than what you'd normally use on your regular website. Drop-down menus give users full refinement capability while saving screen space by hiding options when not in use.
Thierry Costa, SLI Systems, "4 Ways to Optimize Your Website for Tablets," April 4,ROI Report
27. Move ahead and don't hesitate. Retailers that insist on total package functionality to go live will miss the boat, and retailers that wait until every piece of the puzzle appears to be in place will suffer from never being ready. Those who spend undo time and effort selecting the ideal OS are going to find themselves stuck with antiquated hardware and a nonupgradable application.
John Kenney, Stella Nova Technologies, "Tips for an Effective Mobile POS Implementation," April 20, ROI Report
28. Don't make sacrifices for tablet compatibility. Though tablets may be considered a mobile device, tablet users often expect a full browsing experience similar to using a PC. Displaying a template optimized for a mobile phone on a tablet could result in a lot of wasted space. Render your full site on tablets for the best browsing experience.
Fred Lizza, Dydacomp, "5 Tips to Drive Mobile Commerce," July 18, ROI Report
29. Set up a mobile website. Apps are certainly valuable, but to be relevant all you need is an optimized mobile web experience. Most consumers say they do research and prefer to shop using a mobile website instead of apps, as browsing and searching for products is second nature to them.
Uzair Dada, Iron Horse Interactive, "Analyzing the Impact Mobile Will Have on Holiday Shopping," Aug. 9, ROI Report
Online Marketing
30. Use display as a retention tool to complement your email program. Start to deliver highly personalized messages outside of the inbox. Display is quickly becoming the optimal channel for targeted and personalized advertising to identified users.
Heather Blank, Responsys, "4 Email Marketing Trends to Capitalize On," March 2, ROI Report
