REPORT How to engage and retain your customers with quality content

In today’s omnichannel landscape, discovery, research and purchase are part of the same process, and as a result the concept of distinct marketing and sales channels has vanished. Retailers, consumer brands and business sellers alike agree that content is essential to delivering an optimal digital experience that both differentiates and translates to sales.

In a recent report called “Is Your Platform Ready for the Content & Commerce Collision?”, FitForCommerce begins by saying:

On their path to purchase, both consumers and business buyers want to be educated, delighted and inspired, just as they are in stores. Savvy retailers are turning to “storytelling” and content marketing as a way to connect with prospective buyers and make themselves stand out in crowded marketplaces.

To effectively meet buyers wherever they are in the purchase cycle, companies must:

• Provide the right mix of content and commerce for that stage;
• Deliver consistent, high-fidelity content across touch points – including email, social, web, mobile –
  both online and offline and across both direct and indirect sales channels;
• Personalize the experience where appropriate.

As retailers, brands, and manufacturers navigate this collision of content and commerce, they can take lessons from their peers and counterparts. Here are some of best practices from the report:

➤ Keep customers engaged. Keep customers engaged and returning often through informative, engaging, educational content, whether email, blog posts, how-to articles, videos, or some other content.
➤ Incent customers to contribute. Encourage customers to submit content by soliciting reviews, user guides and photos via email and on the site in exchange for money off a future order. For example, “Submit the first review and you’ll get $5 off your next purchase.”
➤ Create custom landing pages for product promotions and closeouts with easy drag-and-drop tools found in a content management system.
➤ Create a sense of urgency. Whenever product inventory reaches a low threshold, display items or badges that urge site visitors to act quickly.
➤ Place persuasion content at the conversion point. Add education, inspiration or other content to product list or product detail pages and test response to drive higher conversions.

As they shop, people are interested in learning and engaging with the retailer, brand or manufacturer and other buyers. Educational, informative content complementing the product catalog can attract traffic to the site and encourage conversions both online and in store.

The most effective content engages a consumer or business buyer wherever they are on the purchase path – from discovery to checkout – and is designed to enforce commerce features meant to drive engagement, conversion, and return visits. By providing shoppers with valuable information, retailers, brands and manufacturers can create trusted sites that attract and engage shoppers, and guide them to purchase.

Read the entire report and learn how to gain, retain and motivate customers through the mix of content and context!