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Who’s dominating retail?
The #1 way to beat online mega stores.
Press send with Podium.
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03WHO’S DOMINATING RETAIL?
Who’s dominating retail—
online shopping or brick and mortar?
Who could have predicted that a small discount book website would grow into
Amazon, the multi-billion-dollar online shopping business?
Brick-and-mortar businesses can feel intimidated by this online shopping giant; it can
even seem impossible to compete. But by taking a closer look at Amazon’s success,
businesses with a physical location can improve their game and win customers back.
What is Amazon really selling? Convenience.
04WHO’S DOMINATING RETAIL?
Amazon has invested a lot of money and manpower
into creating a seamless experience for the user.
Amazon customers buy with a single click. Amazon
Prime ships in two days. Amazon Key lets delivery
people leave packages straight inside your home.
Everything is easy, simple, and fast.
By making your customers’ experience as smooth
as possible, you can imitate Amazon’s success and
gain repeat customers.
Having a physical location can even offer elements
of convenience that online retailers can’t. Two-day
shipping may be fast, but it will never be as fast as
going to a physical store and immediately picking
up an item. Instead of sending back an online order
and waiting for a refund, customers can go straight
into brick-and-mortar locations and receive a refund
instantly.
Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t going anywhere, but
it’s also essential for them to have a well-polished
online presence. This means an attractive website,
great online reviews, and a way to quickly and easily
communicate with the business.
HERE’S A PRO TIP:
Allow your customers to schedule
pick-up and delivery over text,
making those processes more
convenient and less disruptive to
their lives.
05THE #1 WAY TO BEAT ONLINE MEGA STORES
The #1 way to beat
online mega stores.
Another thing online mega stores like Amazon
or Walmart lack, is fast and convenient customer
communication. Customers may have to email
the company and wait a few hours or days for a
response. If they have a follow-up question, that’s
another few hours or days.
If a customer calls an online retailer, they can be put
on hold for minutes or hours, only to be redirected
and put on hold again.
Or maybe the online store will have a webchat,
but customers have to be on the website until the
conversation is done.
Maybe the webchat directs them to an outsourced
customer service agent with limited knowledge of
the business.
All these scenarios end up giving the customer a
headache. Headaches are not convenient.
Smaller businesses are able to communicate
with their customers in a better way. With tools
like Podium Webchat, conversations will redirect
automatically from your website to the customer’s
phone as a text message.
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Giving people an easy way to message you is
like standing in your store isles, waiting to be of
assistance to a customer. Through texting, you can
help customers find what they’re looking for, make a
selection, and check out. They can even pay through
a secure text with Podium Payments.
Look at this example from Walton Jewelers.
Without Webchat, Hayden might have moved on
after browsing their online inventory. Instead, Walton
Jewelers was able to respond almost immediately
and keep the conversation going through text.
Walton Jewelers gave Hayden a compelling reason
to visit the store and was able to quickly and easily
schedule an appointment at his convenience. They
also automatically scheduled an appointment
reminder, which improved the overall customer
experience and increased the likelihood of Hayden
actually showing up.
THE #1 WAY TO BEAT ONLINE MEGA STORES
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Close the loop with
messaging tools.
Get found by showing up first.
Every customer is a little different, but they all
crave convenience—a shorter commute, a faster
checkout, a smoother customer journey. Podium’s
customer messaging tools help customers find
your business, conveniently connect with you, and
choose you over and over. Because what’s good for
them, is good for business.
The first step in any customer’s journey is finding
your business. Finding a business today typically
means searching online. But even without a website,
an exceptional local business can still be found with
a compelling Google My Business listing. The best
GMB listings showcase glowing reviews and give
searchers a taste of what it’s like to visit the business.
98%
71%
It’s no coincidence that the businesses ranking at
the top of local search results are also the most
highly recommended. On average, customers see a
98% increase in website visits from their GMB page
after adopting Podium, and a 71% increase in GMB
listing views from local search.1 Podium integrates
with the most popular review sites to make sure
you’re showing up where it matters.
increase in website visits from GMB
increase in GMB listing views
THE #1 WAY TO BEAT ONLINE MEGA STORES
1 2019 survey of Podium customers from the retail industry
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Connect with website visitors.
Collect payments via text.
Getting found by potential customers doesn’t do any
good if you can’t close the deal. Podium Webchat
provides your customers with a convenient way
to interact with you, and keeps the conversation
going offline. The more you interact with potential
customers, the more opportunity they have to see
how amazing your business is.
Your customers don’t want to jump through hoops to
make a purchase. By texting them a secure payment
link, customers can make a purchase without any
clunky, unnecessary steps. Podium Payments
creates a seamless transition from messaging to
closing the deal.
THE #1 WAY TO BEAT ONLINE MEGA STORES
PRESS SEND WITH PODIUM 09
Press send
with Podium.
Podium offers a suite of tools that can help
communicate more with prospects and convert
more leads. From getting found online to winning
repeat business, Podium powers every step. It’s the
simplest way to connect to consumers by pressing
send—talking to customers, collecting reviews, and
gathering insights in real-time through text.
• Press send to convert more leads with
frictionless communication
• Press send to retain customers by staying
connected to them throughout the customer
journey
• Press send to save time by making work more
efficient for you and your team
Learn more about how you can add convenience to
your business with Podium: Watch a demo here.
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