Merchandising,the,Web,and,Off, marketing Merchandising on the Web and Off
Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t
Now that I have several new products coming out in succession, I've beenthinking a lot about how best to feature them at my Web site. My thoughtshave turned to how supermarkets and department stores highlight certainproducts, and I've found useful analogies between catching the attention ofa customer wheeling a cart up and down the aisles and a shopper on the Web.Here are some merchandising techniques you'll find in bricks-and- mortarsstores and their counterparts on the Web:1. New products. In stores, these often smack you in the eye when you firstwalk in. On the Web, popular sites feature new products in a prominent spoton the home page.2. Seasonal items. My local supermarket places these at the ends of theaisles and in a special interior aisle set aside for barbecue supplies insummer, Halloween candy in fall and rock salt in winter. On the Web, theyoften are featured on the home page but not centrally, getting less of aspotlight than the new products.3. Combinations of items. In department stores, you'll often see signssaying, "Buy three for only $25." Amazon.com is currently promoting booktitles in this way, bundling two related titles together for an appealingdiscount, making sales of those items jump.4. Non-traditional combinations. In supermarkets, instead of simply puttingfruit with fruit and condiments with condiments, this involves puttingcaramel and piecrusts next to the apples and lemons on top of the fishcounter. On the Web, this seems feasible at sites selling more than onekind of merchandise.5. Add-ons. In supermarkets and department stores, these are the impulseitems near the checkout counters, and in shops with personal service, it'sthe sales person asking, "Would you like a tie to match?" Again, I haven'tseen this implemented on the Web, but it seems as if it could be programmedinto the shopping process.6. Customer mailings. At a lot of stores, you can sign up to get notice bypostcard of upcoming sales. The online counterpart is pretty common, aswith e-mails about cheap flights for the coming weekend.7. Loyalty programs. Here, a department store promises 10 percent off todayif you sign up for our store charge card. A supermarket offers a freeThanksgiving turkey if you spend more than $X,000 all year. Bonuses forbuying frequently work well online too, because they can easily beautomated.8. Ads. You'll often see inserts in the local paper announcing the week'sspecials at supermarkets. Online, the equivalent would be banner ads or adsin ezines announcing promotional prices for a limited time.David Weltman of Future Now puts it this way: "Merchandising is making sureawareness of your product or service breaks the preoccupation of yourshopper and becomes part of his or her buying process." I'd amend thatslightly, because good merchandising doesn't always interrupt the shopper'sabsorption. Put the right item in the right place in your store or Web siteand it smoothly becomes part of the shopper's experience. Ka-CHING! Article Tags: Department Stores
Merchandising,the,Web,and,Off,