Let’s get something straight, because this bugs me: A customer is not a consumer. These are two different people.
A customer is someone who buys things. A consumer is someone who uses things. Customers become consumers. You can’t be a consumer unless you’re a customer. A customer walks in the door; a consumer walks out.
Glad we got that settled. So now the question is, “How do I turn customers into consumers?” That’s easy: Get them to buy and use your stuff.
Yep, even the buyer will consume something here.
Okay, not so easy. You want them to come back, right? You want them to never go anywhere else for what they need.
Customers are loyal to products. Consumers are loyal to brands.
How can you do that with retail branding? You have to look past the products on the shelf and have customers display irrational loyalty to your brand. I could buy milk at six places between my house and my SuperTarget, three miles away. But I don’t. I buy it at SuperTarget. Why? Because I like to buy it at SuperTarget. Price is not a factor. It costs a little more at the local market, but SuperTarget is farther away, so it’s a wash.
The reason is because I’m consuming the brand, not the product. If we didn’t consume brands, we would all be buying generic stuff.
And after a while. . .it might not matter.
An optimal retail experience has much less to do with what products are on the shelves and more to do with how those products are promoted.
In one post, I talked about a local retailer in which all the TVs in the home theater department were off. This retailer competes with another large retailer less than two miles away that has a home theater department where all the TVs are on. The latter charges more for the same set. Which one would you go to?
The goal of an in-store experience is to turn brand customers into brand consumers. A good brand is like a drug. The more you like it, the more you want it.
I buy my shoes at REI. I could not care less about what shoe I’m buying. I like REI. There’s a Famous Footwear right next to the SuperTarget. I have bought shoes there too. But I like REI. Why? Because I like REI. Their brand experience is outstanding. I have chosen to spend my money where I enjoy spending it, not necessarily what I enjoy spending it on.
You are loyal to product brands, of course. You love Nike. At some point, you’re going to have to decide where you buy your Nike shoes and socks and shirts and sunglasses and cologne. Do you buy them at Macy’s? Dick’s Sporting Goods? Donnie’s House-o-knockoffs? More often than not, you’re going to go to the location that appeals to you the most. There can be various reasons — bigger selection, prices are generally better, etc. — but at some point, you will go there regardless of those factors because that is where you like to go.
So where does digital signage fit into this? Digital signage is an extension of your experience, not just a channel for promotion of a product. The value experiential digital signage has on your brand will always be greater than the amount of money you make selling time on it.
Digital signage brings your brand to life and connects to the customer in ways that no other channel of marketing in the environment can. I never heard a single person walk about of a store and say, “Wow. That’s gorgeous. Very cool.”
But I have heard that about digital signage.
