By Paula Rosenblum, Managing Partner
10/6/2009
Last week I attended RIS News Cross Channel Retail Executive Forum (CCREF) and had the privilege of moderating the closing panel which was, in fact, called “What’s the Buzz On-line?” Executives from American Apparel, 1-800-Flowers, and American Tire Distributors came to discuss their latest initiatives. As it turns out, much of the on-buzz line is about cross-channel opportunities and brand-building.
Let’s start with 1-800-Flowers. While a lot has been written about the company’s Facebook selling initiative, panelist Ram Ganesan acknowledged that the initiative thus far is much more about brand building and top of mind awareness. Still, the more I thought about 1-800-Flowers, the more I was impressed with its brand. Back in the day, your local florist had an “FTD” logo in its window if it was part of the FTD network. Now, when I order flowers, I never even think about the retailer who actually fulfills the order. I ordered from Flowers, Flowers performs all the customer service, and Flowers gives the discount if the local florist has an issue filling the order. It’s a stunning turnaround. It’s channel transparency and brand opacity.
Then there’s American Apparel. It is common knowledge that the company makes its product in the US, has its distribution center in Los Angeles and ships product to stores around the world from that location. When the company built its eCommerce site it had two goals: to create the feeling that everything about the shopping experience was local wherever the consumer might be located, and to continue to leverage its LA distribution center, even for individual shipments. It has been very successful with both initiatives. Panelist Raz Schionning is responsible for the customer experience on line, and has worked hard to insure a feeling of customer intimacy on the site.
The final panelist, Doug Wilson of American Tire Distributors (ATD) had perhaps the most fascinating story with a more mundane product. As RSR has pointed out before, the demise of US automaker dealerships, coupled with the recessionary trend to keep cars longer is turning out to be a boon for small one and two bay local garages. Most of these local repair shops have little to no web presence or capabilities. Many may not even take credit cards. Using technology provided by Shopatron on ATD’s web site, www.tirebuyer.com, ATD can help customers select the best tire based on where they live and their driving habits, select a local garage, schedule a time for installation, pay for the product and get directions to that local garage, all with a series of mouse clicks. All garages are also expected to be members of Shopatron’s service so that the payment can flow directly to them, without passing through ATD’s accounts. The service is still new (roll-out was September 2), but on-line marketing will commence soon and expectations high.
While their products are completely dissimilar, ATD’s aspirations are similar to 1-800-Flowers…to be the “go-to” brand for tires. Of course there are some differences – the consumer will ultimately know who is installing his tires and will create a direct relationship with the garage, but the convenience of on-line ordering cannot be overstating. In addition, in an industry that has the reputation for overcharging and unnecessary repairs, ATD hopes to be considered a trusted advisor in selecting the right tire at the right price point.
So, “What’s the Buzz On-line? Mostly it’s an opportunity for cross-channel transparency, and brand consistency across all selling channels. It’s not quite as new as social networks (a story for another day), but it definitely is demonstrably monetizable.
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