Your webroom is as important as your store showroom
May 21, 2013 | microsites, Stores4Stores
Your online presence is critical to drive traffic to your stores because it is now common practice for shoppers to begin their journey to your store via an Internet search. In fact, according to a recent study, by BIA/Kelsey, “nearly all consumers now use online media to shop locally.”
Potential customers want to:
- confirm which store is nearest to them
- verify the store’s address and operating hours
- research product offerings or view sales items
Webrooms foster customer interaction
These are just several of the many important functions that your corporate website, or store specific website performs. Customer contact shouldn’t just be a one-way street where companies statically display information. As an online showroom, or webroom, your website can also be a place to foster customer interaction.
The same study went on to note “19% of respondents report making an appointment online…for a service other than a restaurant reservation” and that the “increase in audience fragmentation presents challenges for advertisers looking to connect with local consumers.”
Connect with customers online first
But that challenge is easily turned into an opportunity through the strategic use of technology matched with the expertise that you already have in your showroom.
Using Stores4Stores, an intuitive, easily deployed and scalable SaaS tool, the existing sales staff can easily communicate with the customer. The corporate message is defined, and controlled through templates and managerial or corporate brand moderation. Yet a personalized shopping experience can begin because the connection to an associate is made with the customer at your company’s webroom before they even head for your showroom.