Retail companies with websites and physical stores have very different digital marketing needs. Learn it.
Retail chains with physical stores and e-commerce need to view their activities as if they were practically two different companies. This is because the strategies, not only of digital marketing but also of logistics, are completely different for the two business models.
Basically, the only thing that an e-commerce has in common with the chain of physical stores is that the power of the brand reinforces one or the other (usually, it transfers value from the chain of stores to e-commerce, with the opposite cases being rare) .
Attract visits to the website or stores
The attraction of customers is completely different for both cases. On the website, the intention is to attract visitors who are browsing the internet (through their computers or cell phones) to product pages in order to make purchases online.
Such attraction occurs through digital marketing directed by specific keywords, presence in price comparators and other offer aggregators, among others. In principle, there is no attraction for local users. At most, advertising is optimized by region.
For physical stores, however, marketing must be completely local-oriented. On Facebook, attraction for offers for users in the region is made. At Google , the intention is to appear for “product X City Y” or other similar searches. The possibility to pay per share (an effective purchase of merchandise) is limited. It is necessary to cross billing data to determine if the strategy is adequate.
Differences in logistics
If in a network present in several cities it is possible to work without a stock center, depending on the direct delivery of suppliers to each unit or, at most, to have a regional stock center that serves the most diverse stores, in the e-commerce center the stock is practically mandatory.
It is easier if the company sees the operation of the e-commerce distribution center as if it were a single store. The distributors' orders all go to this distribution center and are dispatched from there to the entire country.
Even if the product is expensive freight and complex logistics, as when operating with construction materials or appliances, it makes sense to have few unique stock centers, even if it is for the region (to speed up delivery).
The operations, however, are very different. There are no stands to display products (the website itself has this function) and everything needs to be delivered by a carrier.
The company that does not have a stock center, however, does not need to set up its operation from scratch. There are good logistics companies that provide this service, in an outsourced manner, in a very professional manner and integrated with the network's ERP.
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