REI: Recreational Equipment Incorporated Customer Engagement and Media Plan Robert Robinson COMSTRAT 564 CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND BRAND DEVELOPMENT Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Washington State University November 30, 2016
Table of Contents Executive Summary...2 Engagement Plan Framework 2 Objective 1: Awareness.4 Strategy 1: Attention.4 Strategy 2: Evaluation...5 Objective 2: Sales..5 Strategy 1: Recency...5 Strategy 2: Proximity 5 Objective 3: Advocacy.6 Strategy 1: Value Exchange.6 Strategy 2: Community 6 Customer Touchpoints and Media Plan...7 Conclusion: Matching Media to Consumer Touchpoints 9 References..10 1
Executive Summary: The relationship between a customer engagement with a brand has been fundamentally changed through interactions with social media. The field of marketing has moved beyond a traditional linear approach as a sales funnel concept which basically viewed advertising campaigns as a sequential mapping of customer contacts. The advertisements focused on gaining customer attention with the goal of moving them to the point of purchase. With the development of social media, brand interactions are now being built into the product. The focus is more on designed brand platforms of engagement that meet the needs of the customer. Not only have points of contact expanded with customers, they are becoming more personalized as companies focus more on the customer needs, lifestyles and communities. This proposal is based on an REI personal shopping experience concept (PSE). It was developed as a means of responding to customer desires for a more efficient way to shop and gather information about products that might meet their needs. It offers a shopping experience that builds customers preferences, interests, and product information. A study of key customer segments represented by Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby-boomers suggested that although they have different interests in outdoor activities, they are all looking for information in a more holistic and efficient manner (Robinson, 2016). Customer time is valuable. The personal shopping experience offers an efficient use of time in searching for outdoor products and sporting equipment. The customer has the option of saving searches and information that they wish to refer back to when they are evaluating a product at the point of purchase. The platform will also offer ideas based on customer segment special interests. A more efficient and insightful shopping and research experience can work to increase touchpoints through expanded opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and build loyalty through word of mouth interactions on social media. Engagement Plan Framework: The key to developing an engagement plan is personalizing interactions with a brand to meet customer needs. The development of a brand can no longer rely on the sales funnel concept which is linear in conception. In the past, brands worked to create a media buzz through its advertising as the means for creating awareness (Satell, 2013). Promotion focused on getting customer and potential customer attention to describe the product or service, convince them of its value and then encourage them into action like evaluating and developing a 2
commitment to the product or service. The idea was to systematically push customers from awareness, interest, evaluation, commitment and referral in their path to purchase. However the funnel concept does not adequately capture customer touchpoints. With the diversification of channels of communication new platforms of engagement have generated alternative approaches in meeting customer needs. The funnel concept promoted a linear or sequential mapping of customer contacts. This model failed to capture all the touchpoints. Customers may now interact with a brand at any stage, moving back and forth with product information, awareness to consideration. The funnel implied marketing as separate from the product. Now the marketing is built into the product. The customer engagement plan proposed for the REI brand is built on the model developed by Greg Satell (2013). It puts forth the ideas that the digital age has generated a new approach. Instead of pushing information on to the customer by grabbing attention, it focuses more on the business objectives of awareness, sales and advocacy. Within each of the three core objectives there are six tactical strategies as can be observed in the chart. This model is applied to customer engagement through a new REI personalized shopping experience. REI s brand represents excitement and adventure in the outdoors. In order to capture these elements to personalize customer needs were developed from a persona study (Robinson, 2016). A common theme across customer segments was the desire for information and products related to their interests to be easily accessed and centrally organized. Currently, a typical website visit lists the products available and the different categories. If a customer is interested in related activities sponsored by REI they can search throughout the website. A study of key customer segments represented by Millennials, Gen-Xers and Babyboomers suggested that although they have different interests in outdoor activities, they are all looking for information in a 3
more holistic and efficient manner (Robinson, 2016). They may want to know the basics of an activity, what local opportunities are available, customer stories and experience and the related equipment they will need. The personalized shopping experience is designed to capture the brand s image of excitement and adventure in the outdoors, by bringing all the information to the customer. It is designed to work on website, mobile and in-store touchpoints that create relevant shopping experiences. It features browsing and navigation for product discovery, delivers relevant information tailored to specific customer segments as a means of increasing engagement. In this way it can create product personalization along with recommendations. The customer can save information searches to review at a later date. Meeting customer needs is a priority. It offers a shopping experience that builds customers preferences and interests. For nonco-op as well as co-op members it differentiates the brand by engaging with greater depth and better serving customers. Objective 1: Awareness REI will focus on promoting its unique personalized shopping experience and how it will create greater value in the overall brand. The new shopping experience will save time, increase understanding of the outdoor activities and make the purchasing experience more user friendly. It tailors personalized content for each of the key target segments: Millennials, Gen-Xers and Baby-boomers. Two strategies, attention and evaluation contribute to awareness. Strategy 1: Attention The key to grabbing customer attention for co-op members and potential new customers is to post an invitation to use the personalized shopping experience on the main website. This involves promoting the quality of customer shopping experience. The invitation should be offered on the landing page with a list of benefits. Using customer stories to explain the benefits will differentiate the key elements. Imagery with products will reflect the different customer segments. For example, specific offerings, activities, stories and products may be associated with millennials as one audience segment. For example, millennials like joining in with local hiking trails and having the right hiking boot. Content for Gen-Xers and Baby-Boomers are tailored to their interests as a motivator. They are looking for shared family experiences and gear. Sharing 4
of experience and referrals to friends can be encouraged with discount coupons for products through Facebook, Twitter and E-mail. Strategy 2: Evaluation Customer evaluation of personalized shopping experience refers to customers seriously thinking about the benefits of using this brand element (Satell, 2013). By creating awareness on the website landing page, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it will create opportunities for consideration and evaluation. Initially, with existing co-op customers it can be tested for feedback. As each customer segment evaluates their experience, they will rate how each type of information presented contributed to their brand concept. Finally, the quality of the products and customer service will be evaluated. Objective 2: Sales The objective for REI is to increase sales by providing a more personalized holistic shopping experience for the target customer segments at the point of purchase. This unique selling proposition personalizes customer needs and interests. Two strategies, recency and proximity contribute to sales objectives. Strategy 3: Recency Promotions close to the point of purchase help to drives sales. Customers will be offered a discount coupon for registering and using the PSE. For every $40 dollar amount spent in PSE, the customer will receive a 10% discount on new purchases. A strong presence on REI social media sites to promote the advantages of PSE will keep the benefits of the shopping experience current. Strong examples of customer experience through video examples will be included. Knowing the customer audience segment and generational interests will enhance video examples and offers. To improve sales, personalized product information with follow-up will be linked to customers who visited the website, but left before trying PSE. Strategy 4 Proximity As a means of increasing sales opportunities, registered personalized customers along with co-op members can be reached through mobile messaging. First, through social media links and 5
promotions. Also, customers near a physical location of a store can receive a cellular message with special offers. For example, using mobile technology with smart phones promotions such as mobile coupons may stimulate sales (Danova, 2014, Petro, 2014). Sponsorship activities and environmental stewardship activities provide opportunities to engage the brand with customers and potential customers. Additional promotions and discounts are offered at the point of sale on the PSE. All customers are presented with the PSE benefits on the website upon entering and at the point of sale. Objective 3: Advocacy Pull strategies that encourage value exchange and build a community around the brand lead to advocacy. It is important to create social, product and content experiences that work to increase the perceived value. Strategy 5 Value Exchange The REI Brand and the Personal Shopping Experience program can be integrated into advocacy programs supported by the company. For example, REI profits are used to support public policy that maintains public access to parks, trails, waterways for outdoor recreation (REI Advocacy Report, 2011). This value exchange can be promoted on the main website and on social media to link how a percent of customer sales goes to sponsorship activities and environmental stewardship. REI also supports small businesses that sell gear and apparel, guide services, travel services and lodging. REI products and services, promoted on the Personal Shopping Experience, will highlight the value exchange. The key here is to use the PSE framework as a means of stimulating and increasing value that goes beyond the basic transaction of a payment for product or services. The value exchange is to enrich the audience segments through personalized brand interactions. Strategy 6 Community REI Personal Shopping Experience is not a shopping cart. It is a total personalized informational search, evaluation, record-keeping search of products and all of REI s related services that are tailored for each customer across and within generational audience segments. The PSE provides an opportunity within the framework to build community with co-op members and new 6
customers by raising visibility of community partnerships and promoting events and service projects. Content and social engagement with customers can be promoted through the PSE framework. People who like the shopping experience may tell their friends, building the awareness of the shopping experience as a result. Offers can be made like discounts for customers who sign on to the PSE linking the referral. Word may spread through social networks. Customer Touchpoints and Media Plan In developing a customer engagement strategy and media plan for the REI personalized shopping experience; we begin by considering the potential touchpoints or contact points. The REI brand is constantly adding new approaches to differentiate themselves from competitors. By using the touchpoints that reflect most effective communication channels for the new personalized shopping experience REI can appeal to customers across audience segments as well as personalize the content within the generational audience segments. For example, the personalized shopping experience will permit Baby-Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials to shop more efficiently overall, but also experience recommendations that match their needs and interests. Thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images and experiences with different touchpoints generate associations in the customer memory (Keller, 2009). Touchpoints for REI can be generated from brick-and-mortar stores, community experiences, social media, advertising and word of mouth. We begin by considering the customer journey to the point of purchase. According to the Satell model, customers may experience phases of engagement, moving back and forth from searching, researching, considering and evaluating before reaching the point of purchase (Satell, 2013). The customer journey may involve different touchpoints with REI as they seek the best gear or equipment for their purpose. For example, a customer searches for outdoor gear and equipment. As they conduct an online search, they observe competitive websites offer similar gear. REI is one of the top websites on the search engine. The REI website landing page experience requires customer to search the gear, research products, decide what is needed in order to make the purchase. The new REI personal shopping experience welcomes each customer with the option to personalize their shopping experience. They register to enter. The first question is What can we help you with today? The customer types in the type of outdoor activity or gear they are interested in. All of 7
the listings appear along with expert advice, classes, customer stories and REI adventure trips. Rather than searching all over the website, it comes to the customer. It keeps a record of your search so you can go back and review previously looked at items. It provides a personalized guide on the customer journey-it generates meaningful, generational based offerings. It saves time, increases understanding of outdoor experiences and overall makes the purchasing experience more user-friendly. It differentiates REI from its competitors. Custom content will engage and reach out to specific audience segment needs. The touchpoints and media plan are integrated by brand objective. Customer Engagement Strategies Brand Objective Touchpoint Media Plan Awareness: Attention Customer searches for product information. REI website introduces Personalized Shopping And Evaluation Experience (PSE). Sales: Recency And Proximity The consideration phase starts here. Customers used to experience brand information in-store, through an advertisement or by word of mouth. Now it is happening more online. Customers and potential customers are going to sites with content collections to get ideas and inspiration for products they want and need. Generational needs are identified. Search engines list REI prominently with competitors. Customer enters REI website. The new personalized shopping feature is presented (push strategies)- generational offerings Customer previews and evaluates Personalized Shopping Experience Features (PSE). Employees help in-store customers integrate REI resources in person as well as providing information about social media and website. Employees create awareness of the new PSE). Promotions close to the point of purchase, in terms of both recency and proximity, help to drives sales. In order to help drive sales, customers will be offered a discount coupon for registering and using the PSE. For every $40 dollar amount spent in PSE, the customer will receive a 10% discount on new purchases. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram generate discussion and value of PSI. Postings in media content collections like Pinterest, Houzz or Wanelo (the digital mall). REI Blog, Outdoors Blog Print Outdoor Magazine Featured articles E-magazines Outdoor Customer Story Features in multiple-social media platforms: iphone, ipad, tablets, computers. Listserv, email marketing Online forums In-store via mobile Google Ads promote REI PSE Apply Beacon mobile technology (Danova, 2014) use smart phones to identify customers and offer sales promotions in-storeo Mobile Couponing o Proximity Marketing o Push Messaging & 8
Advocacy: Value Exchange and Community A strong presence on REI social media sites to promote the advantages of PSE. Strong examples of customer experience through video examples generational content Follow-up with customers who visited the website, but left before trying PSE. Pull strategies that encourage value exchange and build a community around the brand lead to advocacy. The REI Brand and the Personal Shopping Experience program can be integrated into advocacy programs supported by the company. o o Public policy that maintains public access to parks, trails, waterways for outdoor recreation (REI Advocacy Report, 2011). REI also supports small businesses that sell gear and apparel, guide services, travel services and lodging. REI products and services, promoted on the Personal Shopping Experience, will highlight the value exchange. Customer informational search brings them to the website with the invitation to join the PSE. Website highlights the PSE features that are tailored to their individual interests as well as generational Customer Care and support touchpoints are a great way to exchange value by meeting customer needs. The PSE provides an opportunity within the framework to build community with co-op members and new customers by raising visibility of community partnerships and promoting events and service projects. Contextual Targeting Video of customer experience on PSE Offers promoted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Offers are promoted and linked to the PSE on the Website landing page. Additional promotions and discounts are offered at the point of sale on the PSE. All customers receive this information on the website. Follow-up advantages of the PSE for customers who visited website on their social media- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and web searches. This value exchange can be promoted on the main website and on social media to link how a percent of customer sales goes to sponsorship activities and environmental stewardship. Main website and social media links tell stories of how members support government policies to respect the environment. In-store, e-magazines and print magazines, blogs, podcasts share information related to the value of products, goods and services that support small businesses. Produce in-product messaging, email, mobile and social media opportunities to raise awareness of the value of touchpoints to stimulate community engagement through word of mouth. Encourage video stories of customer experience. 9
Conclusion: Matching Media to Consumer Touchpoints The primary goal of the Personal Shopping Experience is to increase the quality of brand interaction with REI from awareness, consideration and purchase to encouraging loyalty. The PSE provides a website experience that integrates all of the brand features such as the basics of an outdoor sporting activity, what local opportunities are available, customer stories and experience and the related equipment they will need. The personalized shopping experience is designed to capture the brand s image of excitement and adventure in the outdoors, by bringing all the information to the customer. The personalized shopping experience is designed as a framework to deliver content to the target audiences of Baby-Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials. It provides a more efficient experience that matches their needs and interests. This brand experience recognizes how thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images and experiences with different touchpoints generate associations in the customer memory. The matching of generational target audience preferences within this framework is designed to enhance brand experience. The communication messaging across all channels will be consistent in content on a timely basis as a means of improving consumer engagement (Ashley & Tuten, 2015; Schiff, 2014; Williams, Crittenden, Keo & McCarty, 2012). New information focused on the PSE that appears on the website will be coordinated with social media platforms and aps for mobile phones, i-pads and computers (Velji, 2016; Keller, 2009; Puhlmann, 2013). The messaging that influences and connects with touchpoints will be flexible and adaptable for each type of media like a blog post, forum or video story. The message will be integrated across all social media as a means to create customer awareness, consideration and use to shop with the REI Personalized Shopping Experience. References Ashley, C. & Tuten, T. (2015). Creative strategies in social media marketing: an exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement. Psychology & Marketing, 32(1), 15-27. doi:10.1002/mar.20761 Danova, T. (2014). BEACONS: What they are, how they work, and why Apple's ibeacon Technology Is ahead of the pack. Businessinsider.com. Retrieved from 10
http://www.businessinsider.com/beacons-and-ibeacons-create-a-new-market-2013-12 Velji, J. (2016). 13 easy and effective customer engagement strategies. Buildfire.com. Retrieved from http://buildfire.com/customer-engagement-strategies/ Keller, K. (2009). Building strong brands in a modern marketing communications environment. Journal of Marketing Communications, 15, 139-155. Williams, D., Crittenden, V., Keo, T. & McCarty, P. (2012). The use of social media: an exploratory study of usage among digital natives. Journal of Public Affairs, 12, 127-136. Petro, G. (2014). How proximity marketing is driving retail sales. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2014/10/08/how-proximity-marketing-is-drivingretail-sales/#1a41cbb13ff5 Puhlmann, A. (2013). Reaching customers where it really matters. P&A International Marketing Journal, 2. Retrieved from http://www.conoscenti.com/pdf/artikel_pa_customerjourney.pdf REI Advocacy Report. (2011). Advocacy for the outdoors and for the outdoor recreation economy. REI Stewardship Report. REI.com. Retrieved from https://www.rei.com/stewardship/report/2011/community/advocacy-for-theoutdoors.html Robinson, R. (2016). REI: Recreational Equipment Incorporated: Customer personas and brand proposal. Report for Comstrat 564: Consumer Behavior and Brand Development. Edward R. Murrow College of Communications, Washington State University. Satell, G. (2013). Rethinking marketing strategy for the digital Age. Digital Tonto.com. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltonto.com/2013/rethinking-marketing-strategy-for-the-digital-age/ Schiff, J. (2014). 7 ways to create a successful integrated marketing campaign. CIO.com. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/2377257/online-marketing/7-ways-to-create-a-successfulintegrated-marketing-campaign.html 11