Happy Holidays! Happy New Year 2011!

I wish you and your family very
Happy Holidays!

May 2011 bring you marvelous success and happiness.

Thank you for subscribing, reading and commenting. You make this great fun and ever so interesting.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 2011!

Best,

C.B.

Bibliotheek Almere For an Unforgettable Retail Experience

Imagine a Library with an unforgettable retail experience. More specifically Bibliotheek Almere in the Netherlands.

I first learned about Bibliotheek Almere in the August 2010 issue of DDI Magazine. Finally, I thought, a public space that not only recreates the Barnes & Noble vibe, but goes beyond it to create a shoppable public environment where I could see myself spending considerable time!

The DDI article, titled "A shoppable library. A retail approach puts the customer at the forefront of this Dutch public library", highlights the following:

Books are presented to customers with covers displayed rather than the traditional book spine in bookshelves format.

The library space is designed for lingering in and offers a "meandering landscape" where seating, lighting, information terminals and workspaces have been integrated into bookshelves.

Imagine five levels ranging from bookshelves, Internet areas, a read cafe, study areas and a multimedia area that is so dynamic that monitors project games as they happen and animate the building's exterior facade.

Books are arranged not by Dewey Decimal System, but rather by topics relevant to 'customers' and more similar to shops than to traditional libraries.

A curvilinear layout means an engaging adventure of discovery that draws visitors in.

Here are more details in Almere Library by Concrete Architectural Associates in the Contemporist - hat tip to the Indie Librarian.

I think I need a dose of Bibliotheek Almere. In fact, not only would public spaces benefit, but many retail spaces might, too.

I'm curious. How might you integrate some of these 'shoppable library' elements into your retail experience?

Retail Experience in the News - 12/17/10

Here is the 12/17/10 issue of Retail Experience in the News...  recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

This issue may qualify as the 'customer service' focused one given how many interesting & related stories I came across!

Retail Experience and Customer Service

• Newsweek's 10 best stores for customer service http://ow.ly/3nHT6 #retailexp 
• Shoppers prefer smartphones over retail store associates says survey http://ow.ly/3mUoJ #retailexp
• Retailers, be warned! Remember to greet customers when enter store http://ow.ly/3o20e #retailexp 
• Highlights impo of consistent comms RT @customerthink: Is customer satisfaction exploited by the fine print? http://bit.ly/etnwVq #retailexp 
• Have U noticed: military causes stand out this holiday: http://ow.ly/3pKR1 #retailexp

The Economy/Consumers

• Pew Research: older gens catching up on web http://ow.ly/3qhZK #retailexp #practicalmktr

Retail Experience Ideas

• Fascinating: listening to customers leads lululemon to stink-free yogawear http://ow.ly/3o22Z #retailexp 
• IKEA gives employees bicycles. In keeping w tagline "life-improvement store" http://ow.ly/3oXEm #retailexp 
• Love the questions @retailprophet asks in 'we don't need no stinkin badges' http://ow.ly/3pmuZ It's the #retailexp that matters, no?

Integrating Online with Offline

• Beware mobile! Phone-wielding shoppers strike fear into retailers http://ow.ly/3qieN Lots implications for #retailexp
• Did you know? Best Buy has created media network with focus on educating & branding http://bit.ly/f1Ewq8 #retailexp
• This is different: Russell Simmons uses Pandora to promote Simmons Jewelry - Facebook angle, too http://ow.ly/3pmRl #retailexp
• Care to attend a virtual Thermador dinner party? Here's how http://ow.ly/3pL8D It's about educating vs. selling #retailexp

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Graphic Created Via Wordle.

Retail Experience Issues & Paco Underhill

As you can tell from this picture, I have met Paco Underhill, founder of Envirosell, author of What Women Want: The Global Market Turns Female Friendly and accomplished retail experience anthropologist. This wasn't the first time, but it was the first time I had the presence of mind to ask for a photo!

Time spent with Paco Underhill is grounding. He reminds you of what matters in the retail experience and does so based on extensive observation. This most recent meeting took place in NYC in March 2010 as he discussed with Rich Relevance "Respect the Shopper. Harmonizing the Cross-Channel Experience." [White paper available for download via this link.]

In this meeting, Paco noted three levels of consumer convergence:

1. Mobile phones and the online world create a multi-channel world for consumers.

2.The economic crisis has acted as an accelerant for customers who are scrabbling to use technology tools to get more out of the money they have available, especially since the fixed costs in our lives - housing and healthcare - are out of our control and continue to increase.

3. Customers see one brand regardless of whether they seek us online or offline. This means that we must be consistent and unified regarless of the medium.

Paco Underhill brought up additional retail experience issues.

• We live in a world designed by men, but intended for women.
• We face intense time poverty and look for efficiencies online.
• What is global vs. local? What drives customers globally to a brand? Is it online or is it brick-and-mortar?

Given that customers see one brand regardless of the medium through which they interact with retail, it's really important to consistently spend time walking in their shoes offline and online. At the same time, it helps to actively listen to customers - offline and in-store - to understand their world and how they use mobile and digital tools to interact with us.

Ideally, as we do this, we are keeping track of the information in some manner that tracks the range of options that customers have for interacting with us... and integrates - or harmonizes - all of those conversations.  Check out Time to Harmonize Your Cross-Channel Customer Experience for added perspective.

What's your take on this matter? How do you address these customer retail experience issues in your business? How do you track these conversations across different media?

Retail Experience in the News - 12/10/10

Here is the 12/10/10 issue of Retail Experience in the News...  recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

I was particularly pleased to find several links to consumer trends and women in the marketplace. Note, too, the Twitter & Facebook stats for national retailers.

Retail Experience and Customer Service

• Shoppers look to rewards for holiday spending http://ow.ly/3m6XX What R U observing in yr biz? #retailexp

The Economy/Consumers

• Lots interesting #retailexp consumer trends to think about in JWT 2011 predxns http://ow.ly/3m73F De-teching can B therapeutic
• The growing buying power of women - cool infographics http://ow.ly/3muIQ #retailexp
• Women in the marketplace. Retailers: pay attention! http://ow.ly/3muGA #retailexp
• The state of the american woman fr Time 2009 http://ow.ly/3muMD Good overview #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

• Going local can have big payoffs/lessons learned from My Macy's http://bit.ly/hd16fb fr @retexperience #retailexp
• 5 mobile technologies retailers shld B using now. I like Milo! http://bit.ly/gxQRWZ #retailexp

Integrating Online with Offline

• Top 15 national retailers by twitter followers fr @davidrwilson http://bit.ly/h0JcAB #retailexp
• Top 15 national retailers by facebook fans fr @davidrwilson w @MarketingProfs data http://bit.ly/hP3lfU #retailexp
• Retailers doing social media right, but how do they promote it? My post: http://su.pr/1CMW9f #retailexp

Enjoy and thanks for reading!


For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Graphic Created Via Wordle.

Retailers Doing Social Media Right

Have you read the NRF Retail's BIG Blog post titled Trendspotting: 11 retailers who do social media right?

It's a fascinating glimpse into how eleven retailers - more specifically, Best Buy, Amazon, Zappos, Dell, Nordstrom, Threadless, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Burberry, Walmart and Loblaw - have not only "embraced ratings and reviews as a proven (online) moneymaker, but ... have taken social applications and outreach further" per Empowered's Josh Bernoff.

I wasn't surprised to see most of the retailers listed. I was curious, though, to see how each promoted its social media activity on its website.

Several retailer websites share a similar format - with social media presence listed via a link in a footer reference section sometimes above the fold - see Nordstrom, Best Buy, Dell - but also below the fold - see Zappos, Walmart and Threadless.

Starbucks prominently features its social media presence, including its last 3 blogposts, on its home page, as you can see from the screen shot above - the only one from this list to do so.

Nordstrom "Connect With Us"

Threadless displays its Facebook icon at the top of the page [it now uses Facebook for customer service] as well as in a footer below the fold with Twitter and RSS feeds. A link to its blog is listed under "Info".

It took me some effort to locate Dunkin' Donuts' social links.  Nothing on the home page. I had to go to "About Us" and then to "Press Room" to finally find sign of Twitter, Facebook and news. [By the way, same goes for Baskin Robbins.]

Burberry offers no sign of its very engaging flash-based Art of the Trench on its website [Note that music plays on both sites.]  You'll enjoy spending time there exploring, learning all about the trench and sharing it all with your Facebook friends.

I was surprised to discover that Nordstrom has so many Twitter and Facebook accounts and delighted to notice YouTube videos. To reach this page, you need to click on a cryptic 'connect with us' on the home page. I found no mention of the "popular blog 'threads' referred to in the Trendspotting post, although I did come across a broken RSS feed. Perhaps the missing blog? See Nordstrom: Connect With Us.

Walmart's social media icons all connect to a page "Values, Tips & Tidbits" listing several Twitter, Facebook and RSS options focused on saving. I was surprised, though, not to see the elevenmoms.com site featured anywhere on the Walmart site despite being an official Walmart Moms' site.

Amazon and Loblaw are included in the list because of their ratings and reviews.

I applaud what these 11 retailers are doing right with social media.

At the same time, I'd love to understand why all retailers - especially those doing social media right - don't visibly flaunt their social media presence. Don't you like what Starbucks does?

After all, "if you got it, flaunt it!" - even with discrete placements of those recognizable social media icons...

Don't you think?

Retail Experience in the News - 12/3/10

Here is the 12/3/10 issue of Retail Experience in the News...  recapping the latest articles and links shared on Twitter with the #retailexp hashtag this past week.

Consider this the Economy/Consumer edition given how many articles I came across about the state of the marketplace!

Retail Experience and Customer Service

• Music in-store is content & should B managed carefully: Shoppers don't want 2 hear Xmas music b4 Dec. http://bit.ly/dbdBtr #retailexp
•  CMO Council study: go-to-market process has blind spots http://bit.ly/gGxdb6 #RetailEXP

The Economy/Consumers

• US economy showing signs of improvement per Beige Book. What R U noticing? http://bit.ly/fWPrlN #retailEXP
• Delicious! Women more frugal then men this holiday season http://bit.ly/brULu8 Agree? disagree? #retailexp
• How were your Black Friday/Cyber Monday? Per NYT, online sales remain strong http://nyti.ms/hCLYAg Good #retailexp news?
• Good info here: 5 major trends in consumer spending from Amex http://bit.ly/hVLcDw #retailexp - Agree?
• And top 4 trends in social commerce... http://bit.ly/fwjsdE #retailexp

Retail Experience Ideas

• RT @BeckyMcCray: Taking some of the mystery out of setting retail prices and markups: http://goo.gl/fb/rHeRb #RetailExp
• How do you apply 'active retailing' to your business? http://su.pr/4hQgNB #retailexp
• How stores are making consumers smarter. Note retailers can B Bettr EDITORS http://bit.ly/fMa0Zh #retailexp
• Intangibles of touch combined with uniqueness of locality make4 winning brick-mortar #retailexp http://bit.ly/eLbELH
• How local differentiates an apparel manufacturer http://bit.ly/g48AlQ How do U use 'local' to differentiate yr #Retailexp?

Integrating Online with Offline

• My post: How @zappos shares culture via social http://bit.ly/fLB2Km #retailexp
• 11 retailers who do social media right! http://bit.ly/eyaTNv #retailexp
  

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

For previous issues of Retail Experience In The News, see Retail Experience News.

Graphic Created Via Wordle.

Simple Marketing Now - November 2010 Update

November 2010 SIMPLE MARKETING NOW UPDATE

Welcome back from the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend.

Here follows the November 2010 update from Simple Marketing Now with posts categorized into Social Media Marketing Resources and Simple Marketing News.

[If you are new to Flooring The Consumer, I also write the Simple Marketing Blog where I discuss marketing strategy and creative, practical, simple marketing approaches and share best practices - many of which may be relevant to you and your business as you consider what's possible. The blog also acts as newsroom for Simple Marketing Now.]

Simple Marketing News for November 2010

I hope you all spent a lovely Holiday last week - for those of you in the U.S.: Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Did you have a chance to check out my latest eNewsletter? Here is the link: Simple News & Insights - Fall 2010. If you like what you see, perhaps you would consider subscribing?

Social Media Marketing Resources:

I have many good resources for you to consider starting with Meetups and Tweetups: Building Community

From a Content Marketing perspective, here are the latest posts in the series:

Getting Started In Content Marketing
The Value of Content Marketing: How Do You Explain It?
Measuring & Presenting Effectiveness of Content Marketing

Perhaps you'll find interesting my Bathroom Blogfest Social Media Marketing Analysis: Why Participate?

If you're intrigued with LinkedIn, I have a few resources for you:

• How Do I Make The Most of LinkedIn?
• LinkedIn Content Marketing Podcast - Bernie Borges
• LinkedIn Business Successes on TalkFloor Social Media Marketing Series

Finally, here are the latest links to articles and news about practical marketing on Twitter, coded #PracticalMktr: Practical Simple Marketing In The News 11/2/10

As always, Thank You for reading.

Have a wonderful December.

Best,
C.B.