5 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR THE RETAIL MARKETER

   EMBRACE THE OMNICHANNEL SHOPPER.  People gather information from more sources than ever and want to survey the virtual landscape from their phone, tablet, laptop, desktop – and through the unalloyed advice of others.  It’s a brave, multi-dimensional world, retailers and brands.  Stop obsessing over showrooming and start obsessing over connecting with your shopper.

   IMPROVE YOUR ANTENNAE.  Consumers aren’t the only ones employing technology; so are your competitors.  Big Data is a big competitive advantage to more than the NSA.  Are you winning at understanding the big picture?  If you’re unsure, you’re losing.

   DON’T FEAR CHANGE.  The Ron Johnson and JCP debacle notwithstanding, marketing at retail is an inherently experimental, experiential realm.  If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind.  Test.  Analyze.  Repeat. 

   BE AUTHENTIC.  Don’t stuff the ballot box and use black hat techniques to influence purchase decisions based on trumped up input.  Instead, find ways to genuinely engage shoppers, understand their needs beyond a survey or focus group.  You’ll be rewarded with greater loyalty – and results.

   SHOP.  I’m continually amazed at marketers who spend so little time in the marketplace.  Are you in stores every week?  If you’re not, no matter what your job is, you’re not doing your job.  There’s no substitute for spending time in stores, soaking up the experience, seeing what works and what doesn’t, observing behaviors firsthand.

   Do these things and 2014 can be your best year yet.

MORE EVOLUTION THAN REVOLUTION

   As the year draws to a close, many of us focus on family, festive gatherings and food.  As we wrap up Christmas shopping and the presents we buy, retailers and manufacturers are wrapping up 2013 and looking to the future.

   Amazon recently announced plans to use drones to swiftly deliver some goods to their metropolitan clients within the next five years and are expanding their reach into grocery delivery too.  Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, announced the purchase of 127 European malls.  Many of North America’s larger retailers have only modest plans for growth in 2014.  Consumer packaged goods companies, retailers and those that serve them continue to evolve as they seek profitable means of delivering value.

   Drones notwithstanding, selling through store environments continues to be the primary means of moving products from manufacturers to consumers.   Stores engage consumers’ senses, meet their desires for immediacy, provide social stimulation and represent the most economical means of delivering products to homes.  

   Not too many years ago, cellphones and overnight package delivery were the things of science fiction.  Today, 80% of 18-to-34-year-old Americans own a smartphone.  There are more cellphones than toothbrushes in the world.  Technology keeps getting better, faster and cheaper; retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are using it all to serve their customers.  Technologies may change quickly but human nature won’t change so radically in our lifetimes.  

   So, calm down, Jane and George Jetson: groceries and most Christmas gifts are still coming home in your trunk for the foreseeable future.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR?

   As we flip our calendars and move into a new year, take a moment to consider what kind of year you want.  For me, Happy isn’t the best adjective for what I seek.  How about you?  Let me suggest some others.

   Heady: Make 2013 potent, even intoxicating.

   Hearty: Let your year overflow with meaty challenges that, as you overcome them, each makes you better.

   Helpful:  May you find ways to help but also allow yourself to be helped.

   Historic: Let the year ahead prove noteworthy and memorable.  “Remember 2013?  Now, THAT was a year!”

   Healthy: May your health and that of your loved ones be hale.

   Heartfelt: Be earnest, even passionate, in whatever you undertake. 

   Humorous: Laugh at yourself and your circumstances – not others – and encourage others to do the same.  Life’s too short to take it all too seriously.

   Handmade: Craft and mold the year into what you want.  Get your fingerprints all over it. 

   Hospitable: Pick your friends – but not to pieces.  Even when you vie with rivals, compete without being a jerk.

   Hardworking: May you do work worth doing and do it with gusto.

   However you choose to describe the new year, make it your own.  Just as no two people are alike, so too are no two years alike.  Best wishes for your own, personal, one-of-a-kind New Year.