Why digital marketing is particularly (complex) for retailers
Digital marketing is an important part of the media mix for German businesses, but there are a plethora of platforms and formats from which retailers must choose. This article discusses the unique challenges and solutions in complex retail marketing.
Retail marketing challenges across channels
The marketing world relevant to retailers is very fractured. The last few months in particular have been marked by challenges, but also opportunities. Our partners and customers in stationary retail groaned under exploding prices for paper, gas, energy, inflation, consumption decline and cost cutting became the order of the day. One after the other, the big players in advertising-intensive retail announced their departure from print brochures and the new focus on digital.
But digital now offers a range of possibilities, bringing new complexities for retailers. Various social media channels, Google Ads or Youtube? All relevant channels for retail promotion! But what do they all have in common? – Too little!
Fast pace of the digital world
Digital retail marketing is constantly evolving. Metrics that were effective a year ago may not be relevant the day after tomorrow, as technology evolves and so do customer preferences.
Different pricing models
The KPIs that matter to retailers often don’t align with digital billing standards. Instead of CPM, CPC, or CPO, it’s often the interaction with offers that matters to retailers. The solution to unify: billing and optimization based on engagement. This interaction can be defined from channel to channel. For a 15-second video on YouTube, a “view-through” would be a potential billing method.
Inconsistent formats for presenting local retail offers.
The classic digital flyer, a social media ad on Instagram or programmatic integration with Google Ads. Three different representations of retail advertising and therefore also three completely different requirements and specs needed to create them. Especially in the LEH sector, which often rolls offers twice a week and promotes new promotions, faces an incredible workload. And here we are only at the creation stage – not yet at the constant optimization of all channels.
Reaching shoppers on specific platforms
As mentioned above, channels like social media or Google are already in the marketing portfolio of many retail companies. But what about platforms that reach consumers in an even more targeted way and accompany them in the process of planning purchases all the way to the actual purchase?
Deutschlandcard, bring! or Stocard are possible touchpoints that can address shoppers in the right place at the right time. These three channels alone reach 27 million consumers in Germany every month.
The challenge for advertising: each platform must be contacted and managed individually. Either you build up a large in-house team or work with service providers such as the Offerista Group, which now bundles > 1,400 platforms under one roof – especially for the retail world.
