I wonder how many retailers are ready for the changing face of retailing? What do we know about our customers, browsers, and our competitors customers?

Here is a powerful reminder that a real time link to the mind of your customer and market place are critical to your survival in the months to come.

In "Toops Scoops: Culture of the Recession," FoodProcessing.com reveals a change in attitudes that could prove costly for those who assume the patterns of the past few decades are a guide to the future.

Consumers spending less on wellness, more on consumer electronics.

What has the recession wrought? Nearly half (44 percent) of U.S adults report their diets are becoming less healthy as food prices rise, 52 percent buy fewer organic products and 48 percent spend less on health and wellness overall, according to a new study from Faith Popcorn's BrainReserve (http://www.faithpopcorn.com), New York cultural trend tracking firm.

Sonar surveyed 1,011 consumers online (50 percent men and 50 percent women over 21 years of age) between May 29 and June 6 for BrainReserve's “Culture of the Recession” survey. BrainReserve then analyzed the results against 17 cultural trends that it regularly monitors, reports Marketing Daily.

As other recent surveys indicate, Americans are cutting back on everything from food and beverages to out-of-home eating/entertainment to day care. Two-thirds (66 percent) are cutting back on overall spending, while 84 percent are making changes such as reducing shopping trips. Fully 90 percent of women and 79 percent of men (84 percent overall) are “buying less stuff,” and 90 percent are considering opting for a simpler life. .

You should go to the link or to FoodProcessing.com to read the full article.

Christmas is coming, so many retailers will make or break the year in the next 6 months, it will be financially dangerous to get caught out as the winds of the consumer mood change.

I have been saying for months that the mood of the consumer is changing from a WANT mindset to a NEED mindset.

This will heavily influence traffic patterns, choices of retailers, brand selection, basket size and the expectations that most consumers have for the retailer they give their business to.

We help our clients stay close to customers and the market.

For our clients, the market and customers are speaking loud and clear.

Buying patterns are changing and that change will accelerate.

There are better ways to get ahead of your market. I am seeing Retailers who get it, making a difference in their markets.

Martin Hoffmitz

By the very nature of what we do, building Web 2.0 tools that engage retailers customers, browsers and potential new customers in interactive, knowledge based two way relationship. We gain knowledge and influence with ever expanding relevant groups, for our Retail client's growth.

There is a real sea change coming and I don't think retailers are more than 5% ready for it.

Consumers are in the fifth inning of a financial squeeze that will change the psychology of the average consumer. We are seeing huge volumes of evidence from the feedback we gather right now.

Consumers will swing from a "Want" mentality to a "Need" mentality. Retailers that I work for are begining the preparations now. I do not think that most Retailers are even putting this on the map. Retail is very reactive, but I know that reactive organizations will be playing market place catch up within six months, and they will regret it, sorely.

Martin Hoffmitz

If sales are weak, you need to undestand and act fast: Christmas is coming, will Santa or Scrooge be visiting your retail concept?

Janet L. Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Speaking July 7 at the University of California at San Diego Economics Roundtable, noted the decline in US consumer spending.

"However, shoppers again cut back in August, reducing sales at the nation’s retailers for the second month in a row.

The US Commerce Department reports that retail sales fell by 0.3% in July. Most economists expected sales to increase by 0.3%. Sales in July fell 0.5%, the weakest showing in 5 months.

Sales declined in electronics, appliances, clothing, building supplies and at department stores."

Now is the time to act, Consumers are moving quickly from a "wants" to a "needs" based shopping mentality.

We are finding that Retailers that have a good knowledge and relationship with the three keys to the future, are faring better than those who are clueless.

Three Keys:
1. Customers
2. Browser/visitors - no purchase during the initial visit
3. Targeted Acquisition Customers (New and your Competitor's Customers)

The Three Keys unlock Three Opportunities for growth and profit:
1. Relationships
2. Knowledge
3. Influence

First: Gain large scale one to one relationships with each of the first three groups. Make sure these large scale relationships will give you deeper knowledge and insight into the real nature of each of these groups.

Second: Build knowledge and insight into the wants, needs, desires and psychographics of these groups.

Third: Your investment starts to really pay off as you take action to improve your Customer Experience and use the relationships, knowledge and influence you have built on a large scale to influence all of the groups that matter to your financial well being and profit.

RESULTS: MORE CUSTOMERS MORE OFTEN BUYING MORE

Beause you know and own the relationships, you have the influence, (through web 2.0 market conversation and conversion tools)

You GROW when others struggle.

Martin’s Comments on the August 13, 2008 article in the NY Times:
Retail Sales Feed a Mood of Decline
By ...   more »

Could you also share what were the measurement methods used for Cleo? How many touch points were measured? Were all the touch points measured all at one go or in phases? Were different methods used for different touch points?

Martin's Answer: Our approach is game changing for retailers that want to aggressively build sales.

We build and interactive, "real time" NERVOUS SYSTEM for your business. Imagine continuous, engaged conversations with your:

CUSTOMERS -engaging invitations issued on the receipt.

BROWSERS - in store POS and handouts in the store.

POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS - tagging of all advertising and direct mail.

What if you could measure all of this, all the time, in REAL time, and do it affordably, with measurable payoff?

Imagine being able to measure the thoughts and shopping experiences of very robust groups of all these potential buyers and then using that insight and relationship, to:

Increase store traffic

Increase Browser Conversion

Increase Per visit transaction and wallet share

Steal competitor customers

Increase referred friends

Increase visit frequency


Simply, and at a lower cost than ever possible.

That is what a REAL TIME CUSTOMER NERVOUS SYSTEM can do for the aggressive retailer.


Call for more information:
Martin Hoffmitz
Vice President, Client Partnering
BehaviorWorx Inc.
#202 - 222 Islington Avenue
Toronto, ON M8V 3W7
Email: martin.hoffmitz@bwxi.com
Office: 416.251.0111 x250
Mobile: 647.287.4491
Fax: 416.251.9489
Web: www.bwxi.com

Who will the retail winners be in the next four quarters?

That is the question that really matters. To you.

...   more »

With changing markets, it will be absolutely critical to know, and own, knowlege based, relationships with your customers and all those others, that make up your growth potential.

Browsers, competitor customers and potential new customers. In the next few quarters, you will be fighting like never before, for every potential sale.

How prepared are you?

Do you know how you can move fast to win in this fast changing market?

Now more than ever, you need knowledge, relationships and influence with your entire market: ...   more »

Businesses that neglect to invest in customer service are putting their customer relationships at risk, according to the second annual TD Canada Trust Customer Loyalty Poll.

Ninety five per cent of Canadians said their customer service experiences can make or break a relationship with a particular brand or company, up 10 per cent from last year.

The study found that good customer service has a ripple effect; in fact, 89 per cent of people will share their positive stories with their friends and family.

Tis speaks to the importance of strong online customer service programs to complement and amplify the instore experience


See: http://www.newswire.ca/fr/releases/archive/June2008/19/c5708.html

Cash registers hummed in the United States in May as retail sales shot up by one per cent, double what economists had been forecasting.

The U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday that the retail activity for the month is the biggest increase since November 2007.

The increase came after the U.S. government issued 57 million rebate cheques to consumers to stimulate the economy.

Economists said the rebate cheques should give the economy a short-term boost.

"We expect this level of retail activity to ease somewhat after the rebate cheques get spent, with consumer spending retuning to softer levels in the second half of the year," said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities, in a commentary. "Nevertheless, this heightened level of consumer spending will certainly provide some much needed boost to the U.S. economy in [the second quarter]."

The U.S. government reported that sales at general merchandise stores, such as department outlets and discount stores, grew by 1.2 per cent — their best performance since March 2007.

Auto sales were up by 0.3 per cent in May, but that was a turnaround from April's decline of 2.1 per cent.

Rising gasoline prices helped push sales at service stations up by 2.6 per cent.

Factoring out gasoline prices, overall retail sales would have risen by 0.8 per cent.

Cash from the US government stimulus checks helped push U.S. retail sales up at twice the rate expected in May. A full percentage point gain in retail sales in May was reported by the US Commerce Department. Higher gasoline prices gave a lift to service station sales last month, but even with those stripped out, sales rose 0.8 percent, the biggest gain in a year. Consumers purchased clothing from sporting goods to electronics.

A wide variety of retailers enjoyed a good May, including the biggest increase at department stores and other general merchandise stores in a year. Discounters like Wal-Mart and Target, saw the largest increase in 14 months. People who could afford it bought electronics or clothes.

The May increase was double what economists had been expecting. This indicated that the economy is receiving a major boost from the $50 billion in economic stimulus payments the government sent out in May We do not accept what Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics said that consumers have returned to their free-spending ways despite weak consumer-confidence readings and the credit crunch.

Via our research in Customer Experience Measurement we are seeing cautious consumers who are shopping for value and believe it or not, a pleasant in-store and online shopping experience.

We favour what Nigel Gault, an economist at Global Insight, a forecasting firm said "The May retail sales report has dramatically changed the landscape,", wrote in a note. "Consumer spending has held up much better than gloomy sentiment surveys would suggest." Smart retailers take note!

As the attitudes of consumers toward value and spending change, we expect to see consumers looking for value to a much greater degree over the next six months.

Issues of greater competition for consumer dollars will move to the fore.

Retailers are far more concerned than ever, about understanding the reasons for buying with them versus the competition, with an eye toward tipping more of the balance in their favor.

Retailers are beginning to work harder to grab and keep every consumer dollar from competitors.

See: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iLEvyX9FwCjOgVTYPI8yvv3NwBKA for a complete report.

Saskatchewan's booming resource economy helped push retail sales in the province up by 13 per cent in 2007 to $13 billion, or double the growth of 2006, according to a new report released Monday by Statistics Canada.

The province's retail sales growth rate was more than double the 5.8 per cent national rate of expansion last year. Across the country, retailers sold an estimated $412 billion worth of goods and services in 2007.

US-based consumers expect to be able to exchange ideas online with retailers, manufacturers and other consumers by 2015, as part of their shopping experience, a survey by retail industry research and consulting firm TNS Retail Forward. 30 percent of US respondents feel enthusiastic about joining online shopping communities to increase their buying power, 11 percent are likely to do it and 75 percent expect such communities to be formed by 2015.

The report revealed that US consumers are especially keen on engaging in dialogues with manufacturers through websites and online surveys on the way products can be improved. 38 percent believe this is an appealing idea, 16 percent claim they feel inclined to do it and 80 percent expect it to become reality within seven years. 14 percent of respondents embrace the idea of social networks that provide information about the hottest stores and retail trends, 5 percent would be interested in participating and 80 percent believe there will be such websites in 2015.

There are many cutting edge ways to not only get feedback, but initiate interactive "magnetic" relationships that learn, relate and attract more customers, more visits, and more spending.
Behaviorworx is one of the most successful companies helping winning retailers, to increase profits from interactive relationships, far and away better than the "survey" of yesterday..

Source: http://epnn.com/content/view/16755/419/

The big shopping centre anchor tenants are working hard to bring back customers lost to cool specialty shops and online retail venues

For example J.C. Penney, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Kohl's have changed their retail merchandise mix and in-store environments. Note the celebrity-designed fashions, mobile marketing and better fitting rooms.

It is all about youth culture as well. Get the kids to come in without turning off their parents. Here is the logic. Consumers are cutting back on spending. The reasoning: But, even as parents tighten their belts, they still spend freely on their children. If kids can get their parents to drive them to stores, the parents will end up shopping for themselves, too.

This trend supports our assertion that online experience marketing – targeting kids who are more web savvy is a powerful way to build revenues.

Understanding the needs and experience of each target group is critical to success, and successful retailers are going one step further, introducing a range fo cutting edge tools that give them real time feedback and continuous engagement from their customers, and the marketplace.

They need a "retail magnet" and a number of suppliers are taking the latest engagement and feedback trends to the next level of success..

"Many retailers have been struggling in recent months as cash-strapped consumers pull back on nonessential items like furniture, clothes and jewelry due to soaring food and gasoline prices.

They will need low cost, low risk growth strategies, with a measurable benefit to the company.

"The consumer is focused on buying what they have to have, not what they want to have," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a New York-based retail consulting firm.

Historically, macro-economic forces have not slowed down TJX's value-oriented customer. A slowing economy can motivate consumers to shop off-price. We expect this trend to continue in 2008."

That is good for Walmart and Costco, but where does that leave everyone else?

Here is our perspective. The bulk of the work we do is with multi unit operators, We gather feedback and create engaged two way relationships with buying customers, browsers and potential new customers. Most of our clients have physical locations (bricks) We gather feedback from web customers as well (clicks). When customers become finicky about what they are spending, engagement is critical.

Engaging a broader community: customers, browsers/low brand users, competitor customers and new customers is critical. The trick is to engage a larger share of the existing and potential market for clients goods and services. Our particular angle is engaging this broader group into an interactive, fun, rewards based, LONGITUDINAL relationships. UP TO 75% OF OUR FIRST TIME RESPONDENTS GIVE PERMISSION TO ENTER INTO A CONTINUOUS INTERACTIVE RELATIONSHIP FOR KNOWLEDGE AND PROFITABLE ACTION (CONTINUOUS MARKETING AND TARGETED PROMOTIONS). People buy what they buy but think about where and when they buy. They want fun and rewards, while they have a voice in the brand and the experience.

Building interactive, knowledge driven relationships with vast numbers of your customers and POTENTIAL customers can be used to more effectively shape your offering and promote the traffic you are seeking. Because this effort is Web2.0 Centric all this becomes very measurable with data that can help you squeeze out profits from the tight current market conditions.

Reference: http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSMAR66661120080506?sp=true

If Burger King’s profit soars through the roof, how would that make you feel?

As an executive and a decision maker at a medium to large retailer, hospitality or restaurant company, it should make you very envious.

What do they know that you don’t?

Consumer spending is like fishing with the tide. The tide of dollars is either flowing your way or it is not. Do you know which way the revenue tide is flowing? In addition, a wise fisherman will be where the fish are.

How do you catch more of the tide… and more fish?

1) You need to know more about the currents in your market and the timing of those market currents.
2) You need to know more about the fish, what attracts them, and how you can catch more of them.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get the fish to “jump into your net” with just the right knowledge of their habits, likes, and dislikes?

You can bet that Burger King and other successful retailers know a lot more about the currents and the fish than you do.

Are you going to fish or cut bait? Does Starbucks (sales were down 8% in the last quarter) know the tides? Or have they lost track of what really matters?

It is important to know your customers intimately, but you must know a lot more. Burger King knows its potential customers, and its competitors’ customers, very well. That is where the growth is coming from.

Do you know who is eating your lunch? Do you know how to eat instead of being eaten? As the economy tightens in the coming year, you had better be able to answer these questions. The days of easy growth are closing fast. Your competitors will be looking to grow their market share, and it may come from your hide.

If you can acquire a deep knowledge of your market and potential market with strong, actionable, interactive relationships, you can harness that knowledge to grow your business.

Here is an example: A retailer we work with discovered, as we engaged with tens of thousands of their customers and browsers, that a larger portion of the traffic in the stores was much older than the retailer’s younger demographic.

Why?


Martin Hoffmitz
VP, Client Partnering
BehaviorWorx Inc.
Tel: 416.251.0111 x250
Mobile : 647.287.4491
Fax: 416.251.9489
Email: martin@bwxi.com
Web: www.bwxi.com

As I stand in the seemingly endless line at the grocery store check out, I look at the displays around me to occupy my mind. There’s candy, gum and an endless number of magazines delving into the supposed secrets of the stars. These things have occupied the check out shelves for years. Same old, same old.

One thing that is new, however, is the rack of gift cards. I can buy a gift card for just about anything my heart desires … a day at the spa, a movie night with the kids … not to mention the retailers. There are so many of them, that I begin to wonder who’s buying them? Surely people don’t have that many gift-giving opportunities. They must be buying them for themselves. But why?

From the retailer’s perspective, its an obvious win. The customer purchases a gift card and is locked into doing business with that retailer until the balance on the gift card has been spent. But for the customer? It would seem that this same point would argue against gift cards. But people love them!

One recent phenomenon has had a tremendous impact on the number of gift cards in circulation, especially those for the large grocery chains. Charitable organizations of all kinds have entered into agreements with retailers whereby they purchase the gift cards at a discount and then sell them to their community of people at their face value. Everybody wins! The retailer writes off the discounted portion as a charitable donation against taxes, the charitable organization receives an ‘easy’ donation, and their community members contribute to the charity at absolutely no cost to themselves. The retailer, in fact, wins doubly as this group of people is tied into doing business with them alone.

Gift Cards can be a real solution for marketplace saturation and differentiation.

Mystery Shopping

After 12 years selling Mystery Shopping to Corporations in Retail and Hospitality, I understand why the employees and managers at the stores being shopped hated these programs.

A 200 unit chain might pay between $100,000.00 and $200,000.00 dollars per year for a program that provides one site visit per MONTH.
Yes, one visit, that was all they would spend on average. How would you feel being judged on one drop in to your office at random by the CEO of your company?

Lesson 1 - One visit per month is NOT FAIR it does not represent the real experience of thousands of customers over tens of thousand of interactions. As a real window into the world of customer experience, it is very crude.

Who are these people? We often joked about what our corporate clients would think if they met the average shopper. I want to preface this by saying that most good Mystery Shopping companies do their very best to screen and train shoppers, but really, Shoppers average between $5-$11 dollars for a visit that often takes a total of 1-1.5 hours of training, screening, prep, travel and reporting time.

Would you jump at the chance?

We ran studies that estimate that 10 percent of the shoppers were diligent, and that as much as 60 - 70 percent of the information that the rest supplied was of poor quality at best.


In addition to that, they are not customers. What do they know or care about the brand?

Lesson 2 - Listen to the voice of customers and potential customers, yes that includes your competitors customers.

If I were an employee or manager, I would resent it. Big time. And they did.

It was the best we had at the time though.

Today there are better methods, that employees and managers actually enjoy and look forward to.

Really.

Today we get interactive and reach out to customers, browsers and competitors customers in ways that astound operations teams.

Gift Cards: Are Retailers Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth?

“Why are gift card sales growing so fast and how can retailers get the most value to customers while avoiding the pitfalls?” asks Martin Hoffmitz, Vice President, Client Partnering, at BehaviorWorx Inc. “Gift cards are growing fast because they address a customer need – one stop, easy gift buying that takes the ‘letdown’ factor out of gift giving. Customers love the convenience but hate surprises.”


The Trojan Horse of Gift Cards in Retail

Do you remember the story of the Trojan Horse? It was a seemingly insignificant gift that changed the course of a war.

Let’s review: The Greeks could not take the walled city of Troy, and so they decided to build a large wooden horse and gave it to the people of Troy as a tribute. The attacking Greeks pulled back and left behind the gift – a gift filled with enemy soldiers. The people of Troy brought the gift horse into the city, not knowing what was hidden inside. That night, the soldiers came out and defeated the people of Troy.


Strategy and Intelligence Changed the Course of War

Make no mistake: The changing economy and tight spending trends will make 2008 an intensified war for many retailers.

Winning retailers will be thinking strategically, which will allow them to get ahead of the pack.

Take gift cards: They are changing the face of retail. Millions of dollars worth of gift cards sell during the Christmas season. They are then redeemed during Christmas and into January, even February.

This means thousands of new relationships, and a changing selling season. Are retailers reacting to the new trend and the opportunity, or are they getting ahead of the trend and using it to better serve the market?

Our interactions with thousands of customers, as well as their networks of friends and family, indicate that there are five areas for profitable actions:

1. Gift cards are an invitation to a whole new customer base. Since retail customers give gift cards to friends and family, retailers are exposed to a whole new group of potential new customers.

2. Gift card givers are retailers’ “brand ambassadors”. They give preferred gift cards from favourite retailers because they believe in them.

3. Gift card recipients are primed for a first new experience with a retailer. They are open to a WOW experience that will build future preference and loyalty.

4. Gift card recipients are very interested in creative ways to thank the givers. This means that e-cards, bonus points or other forms of positive feedback can strengthen the impact on the buyer (existing customer) and the receiver (potential customer).

5. Gift card recipients want redemption flexibility. There exists an entire industry for buying and selling gift cards because recipients don’t want that particular gift card. Why don’t retailers take advantage of a multi-million dollar marketplace by creating their own exchange opportunities?

Aggressively successful retailers will seize the opportunity provided by gift cards. Instead of trying to storm the walls of an increasingly tough market for 2008, they will use the Gift Card Trojan Horse to slip inside the walls and open the gates to greater market share, while their competitors sleep fitfully, dreaming the dreams that worked so well in 2007.

Toronto-based BehaviorWorx Inc. Launches New Customer Experience Feedback Program for Retail Gift Card Programs this Holiday and Beyond

Toronto, Ontario, Dec. 19 – BehaviorWorx Inc. is a self-described Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) company. The core of the business involves measurements gathered through online surveys, customer panels, interactive games, sweepstakes and instant-win prizing, which results in continuous interactive relationships that clients use for market intelligence and interactive marketing. Like everyone else, they have heard about the recent controversies surrounding time limits on gift cards that are creating distrust for the buyers of these cards. Their new CEM Gift Card Feedback Program provides interactive feedback from gift givers and recipients to help retailers increase the value and differentiation of their branded retail gift card.

“Why are gift card sales growing so fast and how can retailers get the most value to customers while avoiding the pitfalls?” asks Martin Hoffmitz, Vice President, Client Partnering, BehaviorWorx. “Gift cards are growing fast because they address a customer need – one stop, easy gift buying that takes the ‘letdown’ factor out of gift giving. Customers love the convenience but hate surprises.”

In addition to gift cards, what do retailers need to do to succeed in 2008?


RISKS – OPPORTUNITY AND REWARDS

2008 represents unprecedented risks and opportunities for forward thinking CEOs during the upcoming year. CEOs tell us that they are very concerned about changing markets, customers and economic conditions for the upcoming year.

Risks

The risks are about to wash ashore in the upcoming year. The incredible year on year sales growth cannot be taken for granted and CEOs that try to navigate from past market conditions will find that the tides have turned.

2008 has two upcoming trends that need serious depth of knowledge and attention to action in the marketplace for retailers of all stripes: keeping up with changing customers, and changing economic conditions.

Retail CEOs noted that the consumer is more and more fickle, with fast changing tastes, perceived needs and fashion trends accelerating the movements of the Butterfly Customer.

Loyalty cannot be taken for granted. With loyalty programs fast becoming a part of the retail background, retailers need new thinking and new tools in order to prosper in 2008.

Customers and browsers are telling us that loyalty is fading fast, think “PREFERANCING”

If you don’t, your customers and marketplace competitors will.

Consumers are looking for value, relevance, excitement and adventure.

They keep an eye on all your competitors and make day to day purchase selections based on their hierarchy of needs, wants and desires, measured continuously against you and your competitors’ ability to meet or exceed those needs.

Where do you rank, on that scale, and do you have a real time read on the pulse of customers, browsers, and competitor customers?

If you do have a shadow of an idea of your ranking, do you have any idea how you can change it and take fast relevant actions?

If not, you are at serious risk of retail irrelevance in short order.

Retail irrelevance will accelerate quickly into 2008 as consumers are being economically squeezed by increasing debt and lower buying power. Economists estimate that real inflation is running at 7-8 percent, and food/necessities cost increases are accelerating. (Have you noticed the heavy discounting before Christmas? You have been warned.)


Opportunities

Opportunities are going to be coming fast and furious, but retailers will need great radar to read the changing economic winds for 2008.

Consumers will still want value, relevance, excitement and adventure. They will want it all, but they will have to highlight value and relevance far more than in the past.

Attracting new customers, increasing frequency of visit (by increasing excitement), and building the sale and basket at each encounter will become far more important.

Everything you do will need to be measured through the eyes of existing customers, browsers/low users and competitors’ customers.

Retailers that neglect the customer, as well as the potential customer and market, will pay with reduced market share.


Rewards

2008 will be challenging. Retailers that begin to understand the customer and the potential marketplace now will reap immense rewards as they gain on competitors with the changes in the economic situation.

Successful retailers will be thinking about market share. It won’t come from increased spending, with the economy and consumers straining under the housing, and credit retrenchment. It will have to come from competitors’ market share. Nimble retailers will be out and ready to poach market share from competitors.

The real question is: Will it be you from them, or them from you?

With gift card giving and receiving in a full tilt upswing, it might be a good time to examine what is driving this retail phenomenon.


Seven things retailers love about gift cards:

• Higher sales
• Sales continue after Christmas and New Years
• A significant percentage of gift cards are never redeemed (pure profit)
• A significant percentage of gift card redeemers purchase higher than the value of the gift (profit and volume)
• A significant percentage of gift card redeemers do not use the full value of the card (pure profit)
• Opportunities to gain new customers
• Fantasies of increased loyalty


Three things customers love to hate about gift cards:

• Gift cards force you to buy where and what you may not want to buy
• Gift cards are easy to misplace (Where the heck did I put that thing?)
• “I want to buy the $82.70 item with my $100.00 gift card. What do I do with the rest?” (they feel used and manipulated).

Retailers thrive by balancing the deeds of the market place with the requirement to enhance profits. Short-term numbers fight with medium and long-term goals. Think about the gift card opportunity. Not only are you touching a large number of customers, but you have an incredible opportunity to reach out to the social network of your customers.


Are you leveraging the network opportunity?:

50,000 gift cards mean:
• 50,000 customers
• 50,000 receivers

Our continuous interactions with these groups suggest a fantastic range of profitable opportunities.

Givers and receivers want flexibility in giving gift cards and redeeming them. Instead of loyalty, think of givers and receivers in an interactive relationship with you, as a retail concept. You provide a solution to their needs, wants and desires.


Differentiate and prosper, or commoditize and head for the bottom of the barrel:


• Can you give future benefits to the purchasers of gift cards in exchange for their loyalty to you?
• Can you use the receipt of the gift card to begin a beautiful new relationship with the person who received the gift?
• Can you educate them about the full range of value you provide?
• Can you use the new relationship to find out about them and your competitors?
• How can you facilitate flexibility in your card program so that gift cards do not become a source of frustration?
• In 2008, gift cards will continue to flood into the market. How will you differentiate your gift card programs to capture the imagination and loyalty of the market?
• As the gift card market commoditizes, will you differentiate meaningfully or will you become another member of an increasing herd?


Consider this final note on the power of differentiation:

When was the last time you walked by an Apple store? Do it soon. It is not just the product; it is the entire Customer Experience that builds interest, value and trust. I suggest that Apple stores add huge value to the pre-purchase and purchase experience. Apple prospers through attention to all of these details.

When you are in the Apple store, keep asking powerful questions:
• Why here?
• Why now?
• What are they buying?
• What is fun, exciting, and compelling?

Watch where people go, what they look at, and what impacts them.

Now ask yourself: What two things could I do to create that kind of pull and reactions to my brand?

On a final note, gift cards are like an invitation to the ball. There is both giving and getting. What better time to rise above the crowd, to stand out and make the market take notice?

Do you remember how you felt when you received the best gift ever?
Did it matter?
How did you feel?

What if you could hitch your sales to a star like that?

We will be tracking relevant news and commenting upon it using del.icio.us - the social networking tool:
http://del.icio.us/BehaviorWorxs

Toronto-based BehaviorWorx Inc. Launches New Customer Experience Feedback Program for Retail Gift Card Programs this Holiday and Beyond

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) December 21, 2007 -- BehaviorWorx Inc. is a self-described Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) company. The core of the business involves measurements gathered through online surveys, customer panels, interactive games, sweepstakes and instant-win prizing, which results in continuous interactive relationships that clients use for market intelligence and interactive marketing. Like everyone else, they have heard about the recent controversies surrounding time limits on gift cards that are creating distrust for the buyers of these cards. Their new CEM Gift Card Feedback Program provides interactive feedback from gift givers and recipients to help retailers increase the value and differentiation of their branded retail gift card.

"Why are gift card sales growing so fast and how can retailers get the most value to customers while avoiding the pitfalls?" asks Martin Hoffmitz, Vice President, Client Partnering, BehaviorWorx. "Gift cards are growing fast because they address a customer need -- one stop, easy gift buying that takes the 'letdown' factor out of gift giving. Customers love the convenience but hate surprises."

It is all about trust. One cannot expect the "fine print" on the card purchase agreement or other material to do a complete job educating consumers. With BehaviorWorx's new CEM Gift Card Feedback Program, the Company will provide an interactive feedback loop to help retailers stay on top of their gift card program, and enable them to educate and motivate their customers.

In order to increase sales from existing card customers and the marketplace, retailers need to understand and own a relationship with their customers, browsers and potential customers. The power of BehaviorWorx's CEM Gift Card Feedback Program lies in:
1. The power of a robust feedback system:
a) Understanding customers
b) Understanding what attracts customers
c) Understanding their competitive position and perception
d) Understanding conversion
e) Understanding the competition's customers' needs
2. Engaging the entire marketplace
3. Real-time engagement with customers

"We know there is a lot of work to do in this sector," added Martin. "We look forward to adding a bit of holiday cheer through better customer interaction throughout the entire year. Our intent for the CEM Gift Card Feedback Program is to help retailers sell more by leveraging the relationship with givers and getters."

About BehaviorWorx Inc. (BWXI)
BWXI has the ability to get a near real-time read on public perception of a brand at any of its touchpoints (e.g., gift cards, store appearances, sales staff, product offerings, current ad campaigns, potential new products or services) and can be easily implemented across many locations. BWXI can also reach out to non-customers through viral email campaigns and direct mail. The BWXI Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) Gift Card Feedback Program for retail gift cards is the Company's core offering.

Company Contact: Martin Hoffmitz, Vice President, Client Partnering, BehaviorWorx Inc., #202 - 222 Islington Avenue, Toronto, ON M8V 3W7, 416.251.0111 x250,
martin.hoffmitz@bwxi.com, www.bwxi.com

Media Contact: Howard Oliver, What If What Next, 416-638-8582, holiver@whatifwhatnext.com

BehaviorWorxs has capitalized on the Web2.0 phenomenon that has dramatically changed the way customers want to be informed and shop and how retailers can plug into the psyche of their markets.

BehaviorWorx has created a highly innovative new Web2.0 CRM tool - Customer Experience Measurement, Management and Marketing. They use sophisticated Web 2.0 tools sitting on top of robust data-base technology that integrates extremely effective in-store and online surveying, loyalty and referral programs and creatively executed online contests and promotions.

BehaviorWorx programs delivers:
• Survey research and development
• Promotion website design
• Instant-win game design
• Customer invitation token design, printing and distribution
• Contest rules, privacy policy
• Prize sourcing, fulfillment and distribution
• Congratulatory letters to contest winners
• Posting of winners’ photos on website
• Registration with all regional gaming / contesting authorities

The company’s programs are streamlined so your total investment of time is 3-5 hours – they know your team is busy. No other company delivers a fully integrated Web2.o CRM system:
• Unlimited web surveys for a fixed monthly fee
• Branched, multi-experience survey
• Fun, interactive instant-win game
• ‘Tell-a-friend’ viral marketing engine
• Email address acquisition
• e-Coupon distribution engine (for respondents and friends)
• 24/7 support for you and your customers
• Detailed real time, drill down, management reporting summaries, store report cards, and customer comments
• Insight delivered in in-depth management presentations

Key Points:
• Examples of the results our clients have come to expect:
o 50-125 surveys per store, per month
o 43% subscribe to your e-marketing
o 33% refer an average of 3.3 friends to your brand
o 32% redemption on your e-coupons
o 44% increase to average basket size with e-coupon
o 5.2 minute average interaction with your brand
o Reporting tools allow employees to turn insight into action
o Drove 16,000 customers to 80 stores in 15 days
o Industry-leading email delivery, open and click-thru rates

You are building a customer experience engine to do business with people that have high expectations and consumer knowledge.

• Customers must be engaged to tell retailers more about their shopping experience.
• Traditional tools for taking the pulse of customers can fall short of the mark especially when customers research online and share ideas with their friends online and then come into stores that they expect will be in-stock, have superb staff and the best customer service policies.
• Management needs a consistent and constant high quality flow of information on in-store experience, products and services, advertising, and promotions.
• Attitudes to competition must also be probed – where else do they shop, how much do they spend there and why do they go there?


Key Points:
• 5,200 Customer Email Addresses Added in 1 Week: Our BehaviorWorx program added 5,200 new emails to the client’s e-marketing database in just one WEEK. Prior to BehaviorWorx, the client generated only 70 new emails per week through their website sign-up. It is important to note that these email addresses are real relationships that will grow over time.
• 44% Increase to Average Basket Size: After sending a targeted e-coupon offer to their customer email database (accumulated using the BehaviorWorx program), this client experienced a 44% increase to the average purchase amount in-store using the e-coupon.
• Increased Loyalty Card Sign-Up: Our BehaviorWorx program identified that only 50% of non-loyalty card members were effectively introduced to the benefits of memberships. New card sign- up was increased by 54% (during peak holiday season).
• In yet another client engagement, the BehaviorWorx program was used by a chain of stores to target areas for improvement. Previous mystery shopping programs were deemed by management to have not identified what customers wanted and how they experienced receiving it. The BehaviorWorx program however enabled the chain to correctly tune their customer interface with a 300% increase in customer satisfaction. They were able to successfully align service delivery with real customer expectations.

Most retail establishments focus primarily with building relationships with existing customers and not potential customers (NON-customers). That leaves revenue growth to casually walk, day-by-day, out the door.

• The challenge is to build mechanisms to engage tens of thousands of browsers and NON-Customers.
• To convert these browsers and NON-Customers into loyal and enthusiastic customers who: visit online and in person with increasing frequency, spend more money and refer their friends.
• Understanding their opinions and preferences unlocks significant new flows of revenue and increased brand value

Key Points:
• Assuming 70% customer retention year-over-year, your current customer base will completely erode within 10 years.
• Shoppers use the internet to influence their shopping experience.
• “The rapid evolution of so-called Web 2.0 tools has shifted the priorities of IT leaders and the software industry. No longer is it enough simply to host content on a website; users must now be able to interact with it. Collaboration is a core component of new software. Search has changed the way we use networks. People now really do expect to have information at their fingertips.” CIO Magazine Collaborate to Innovate, Dec 2006, Paul Gin
• A small segment of people have disproportionate influence on how the rest of us – their friends, family and co-workers – make purchase decisions. DoubleClick identified more than 1,000 influencers among some 6,000 respondents (about 17%) to its annual 2006 Touchpoints online consumer survey, based on their responses to questions that determined them to be active networkers, subject matter experts, bloggers and online community participants. The survey report concluded this is a group worth segmenting out in planning online marketing and advertising because of referrals and advice they tend to give about products and experiences with friends and family.
• BehaviorWorx recently surveyed 23,000 NON-Customers and then sent them e-Coupons. Each completed a survey to help the client understand how to convert them into customers and each was given an e-coupon to drive them into their stores.
• In another engagement, BehaviorWorx identified that cross selling of clothing accessories was occurring at rates of 27% on the sales floor and 33% of engaged respondents used the e-coupon offer they received, went to the store and made a purchase.
• In another engagement, new process tools and training based on BehaviorWorx research, findings were engaged to increase cross selling by 24% and increased revenue from accessories by 15%.

Retail operations from restaurant to clothing to service operations must make informed investment choices to preserve often narrow margins, train staff, maintain customer loyalty and build competitive differentiation. Traditional customer intelligence tools: mystery shoppers, focus groups, and merchandising analytics can be costly, slow and inaccurate. This business intelligence gap can be intensely problematic for large retail chains.

BehaviorWorx has capitalized on the Web2.0 phenomenon that has dramatically changed the way customers want to be informed and shop and how retailers can plug into the psyche of their markets.

BehaviorWorx has created a highly innovative new Web2.0 CRM tool - Customer Experience Measurement, Management and Marketing. They use sophisticated Web 2.0 tools sitting on top of robust data-base technology that integrates extremely effective in-store and online surveying, loyalty and referral programs and creatively executed online contests and promotions. The results are better flows of information from the floor to senior management, opportunities identified for chain-wide improvement, better trained and engaged employees and happier, potentially influential customers, who spend more and spread favorable word of mouth.

Target existing and non-customers of retail chains:
- In-store and online surveys
- Loyalty and referral programs
- Online contests and promotions

BehaviorWorx collects unparalleled intelligence about existing customers and non-customers for retail chains with integrated in-store and online surveys; builds loyalty and referral programs; and executes creative online contests and promotions.

BehaviorWorx creates better flows of information from the floor to senior management, opportunities for chain-wide improvement, better-trained and engaged employees, and happier customers.

Would these results impact your organization?
50-125 surveys per store, per month
43% subscribe to your e-marketing program
33% refer an average of 3.3 friends to your brand
32% redemption on your e-coupons
44% increase to average basket size with e-coupon
5.2 minute average interaction with your brand
16,000 customers to 80 stores in 15 days
Industry-leading email delivery, open and click-thru rates
Reporting tools allow employees to turn insight into action

Specialists in Customer Engagement Marketing and Intelligence for Retail Chains

BehaviorWorx R-Engagement™ guarantees involved, engaged relationships with customers, competitor customers and potential customers of major retail chains across North America with: in-store and online surveys, loyalty and referral programs and Online contests and promotions.

BehaviorWorx R-Intelligence™ supports better flows of information from the floor to senior management, opportunities for chain-wide improvement, better-trained and engaged employees, and happier customers.

BehaviorWorx directly impacts: traffic, word-of-mouth referrals, competitive conversions, basket size, click through rates, e-coupon redemption, brand interaction velocity and quality of market intelligence.

DECREASE BUDGETS –INCREASE MEASURABLE RESULTS
Here is an easy, fast way to get knock down results FAST.
NOT JUST FEEDBACK – RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU USE TO BRING IN MORE CUSTOMERS AND GROW REVENUES
Your time 3-5 hours
   more »