The Survive & Thrive Guide - 2020 - 28

Keep Selling
Social media, email and websites help promote and
sell existing inventory during stay-home closures
BY KIM BAKER AND JOE TACOSIK
SmartSolutions
R
etailers will find a lot of success in using their
online channels to talk to customers during stayhome
closures - or at any time, really. Social
media is a great way for retailers to develop their own
community and engage with their current and future
customers. Social media, no matter what network you
may be using, gives you an easy way to share any store
updates like changing hours or new services.
Now offering phone orders and curbside pickup? Great!
Shout it from the social media rooftops. Share photos of
your stay-home products or home-office décor. Feel
free to get a little personal on social media. Share what
you're doing while you're at home. How are you making
the most of your at-home time? Showcase the products
you offer in your own home office. Or highlight some of
the makers whose products you sell - tag, share and tell
those stories.
If you have an email list with customers who've
opted in to hear from you that way, now is the perfect
time to be communicating directly with them through
their inboxes. Even more than sharing product photos
or updated store hours, your email list should be a key
driver of visits to your website and online store. Link all
your product photos to the page online where customers
can buy them or pin them to their Pinterest wish list.
Make it easy for people to click through from your
email to your online store - or dial direct from their
smartphones - to order for curbside pickup or delivery.
When your brick-and-mortar store is closed, your
website is your storefront. Make sure the homepage
reflects the message you want to tell. Make sure your
message is prominent: " Now open 24/7 online! " Or,
" Now taking phone orders for curbside pickup! " Or,
28 THE SURVIVE & THRIVE GUIDE
even, " Order online for free local delivery! " Now's a
good time to " shop " your own online store as if you were
a customer. Is it easy to shop? Is it easy to share links? Is
it easy to check out and pay?
If you're able to offer online or phone ordering, make
the most of it. Share your store on social, via email and
online. Interact with other local businesses, sharing,
posting and tagging them on social media and, even,
in your own emails. Keep your customers engaged
and use this as an opportunity to further develop your
relationship with them.
One of the biggest challenges facing retailers is the
existing inventory they're currently holding - and how to
move it without taking a loss. One way businesses can get
creative is by utilizing their existing inventory to offer new,
" experiential " product offerings, such as bundles or kits.
By bundling together a handful of similar items - to
create a " project bundle, " for example - you are not only
utilizing existing inventory sitting on the shelf, you are
also creating an experiential item that families or friends
can buy and take part in together. Bundling products is
also a great way to advertise specific products that many
customers might not initially think of using together,
making it not only an experience, but an educational one,
as well.
Kim Baker is director of marketing services and Joe Tacosik
is a content marketing specialist with SmartSolutions, a
partner to Gift Shop. Our team of expert marketers bring
unique perspectives and diverse experiences together to
provide a one-stop, full-service marketing solution to help
your business thrive. For more information on how your
company could benefit from an email marketing strategy, call
616-520-2135 or visit www.smartsolutions.media.
http://www.smartsolutions.media
The Survive & Thrive Guide - 2020

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