Shopfloor PROFILE: WHO?
February 2 Live!
April 2019
ertonline.co.uk
35
he regularly monitors feedback data from his site to get an idea of what customers are looking at and what pages and products are popular. He continues: “For example, if there’s a Which magazine best buy or if something has been mentioned on a programme or in a magazine, we find that a lot of people log on and look at these particular models, and then come into the store afterwards. “It’s really interesting, you can see the various
products people click on and how long they’ve been looking at it for. As you expect, it was all about TVs on Black Friday, so we had a massive peak of people looking at TVs; throughout the year, the white goods tend to be a steady browse, and steady sales as well really. “The problem we found with having a website
that has everything on it,” Mr Renaut says, “is that a lot of people always buy the cheapest product. So, if you’ve got a range of washing machines online, you don’t have a salesman standing there selling the benefits of why they should look at one model over another. “People just log on and have a look at the sale
items, like £199 for a washing machine, when really we want to be selling them a £399 or £499 washing machine. And that’s what I’ve got sales people for, which is why I want customers to come in the store.”
A warm welcome For the customers that are shopping online using the Dacombes of Wimborne website, there is always an attractive home page to greet visitors and tempt them to other parts of the site. If a manufacturer is running an offer and there are promotional materials to use, Mr Renaut is keen to take advantage. Similarly, seasonal product ranges often take centre stage in order for the retailer to capitalise on consumer habits and shopping trends – such as refrigeration in the summer and brown goods in the winter months. And what leads customers specifically to Dacombes of Wimborne? Mr Renaut says that it is critical to give the customer all the reasons why they should buy from him – such as advertising free local delivery and installation. More importantly, he likes to promote the five- star reviews that the business receives. “For example, if the customer’s looking for a
new TV, it’s likely that they’ve done their product research, but if they land on my page they need to know that we are the company to buy from. “We’ve got to stand out. Up-to-date reviews on
a website is a must really; that’s very important because everybody reads reviews nowadays. “But there has also got to be a reason for customers to leave reviews for you. Just asking nicely is no good. We often enter our customers into a draw so if they leave a review, they’re then entered into a competition. Recently we had our 200th review winner in the local paper. It’s really worth your while just taking five minutes of your time to set that up.”
Keeping it local As with many retailers these days, Dacombes of Wimborne likes to add a personal service and look after the customer; that’s why it is important for the website to appeal to people within the local area. Using tools such as search engine
optimisation can help with this, and it is crucial to grab the attention of your key demographic and encourage repeat business. “I don’t think it’s necessary to have an up-
to-date website nowadays – it’s essential. You need to compete with so many other online retailers. And everybody is online today, even our 90-year-old customers come in with their printed off bit of paper and say ‘I want this’. It’s essential; you have to allocate time to setting up and maintaining a first-class website. I suppose, if you don’t then your competitor will!”
Future-focused Looking ahead, later on this year, Dacombes of Wimborne will be unveiling an even more updated website with further technological enhancements. This includes offering personalised delivery information, working in conjunction with the diaries of Mr Renaut’s installation team – and he believes this adds another service level to the business that will be especially helpful for certain distress purchases, such as washing machines, when customers need this information the most. Mr Renaut is tight-lipped on further details,
but he confirms it will be quite a transformation and an exciting re-launch when it is complete. “There’s a huge amount of work to be done on
it, like linking up with the drivers and installers; they’ll have apps on their phone so when they are near the customer, it could send a text to the customer to say, “we are 10 minutes away”. Or it could be done via email; there are lots of ways to link between the whole experience to benefit the whole customer journey. “There’s a lot to get your head around, but
if it’s done right and done well, there’s huge potential for retailers to merge their online and in-store business. And there’s a lot of help available, too, you just have to look for it.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
