Gearing for Success series

Maximise your marketing efforts
Multi-channel marketing: Why you need it

Steve Ogden-Barnes, Program Director for Monash's Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS), addressed a sold-out crowd of alumni, pharmacists and business people at the latest Gearing for Success breakfast seminar on Tuesday 26 September at the Grand Hyatt.

With his strong knowledge of the retail industry, particularly in the UK and US, Steve used stunning figures and intriguing examples to justify the need for businesses to use multi-channel marketing to their advantage.

His presentation explored eight multi-channel marketing options, relating to:

1. Store environment - Store space should be used effectively, an example being the arrangements of products on shelves. Good service is also vital, such as having enough of a customer's favourite brand in stock. Lastly, stock levels need to be managed so that, for instance, customers are not faced with too much choice.

2. Promotions - Calculate the benefits of a particular promotion before embarking on a campaign. Be wary of "promotion fatigue", keeping in mind that customers tend to be simultaneously bombarded with information from a variety of retail outlets. It should also be noted that an effective promotion can be carried out without offering customers a discount.

3. Web - The Internet can be used as a useful marketing device and its use by retail businesses is continually growing. It has been found, however, that customers tend to use retail web sites for research purposes rather than to make their final product purchase. Customers also want to know that what they view on the web is reliable information posted on the site by a trustworthy source.

4. Catalogue - The benefits of catalogues, as with promotions, should be calculated prior to production. Due to the 'bombardment' factor mentioned above, it is advised that retail outlets produce catalogues that stand out from your average discount brochure.

5. SMS - SMS can be used to a business' advantage, particularly companies needing to make appointments with their customers. Text messages, for instance, are commonly sent these days by hairdressers wanting to confirm an appointment with a customer and drycleaners wishing to notify a client of clothes being ready to be picked up.

6. Digital media - Businesses are beginning to make use of in-store digital television, with studies from the UK proving that in-store brand messaging has led to increased sales. In-store TV also works to reduce 'store clutter' such as cardboard signs and other paper-based promotional material.

7. Local Area Marketing - Local Area Marketing (LAM) is an activity used by businesses to promote themselves at the local level. Local area marketing starts with an understanding of the local market and exploits unique local opportunities include door-knocking and supermarket demonstrations.

8. Competitions - Competitions are considered to be a fantastic, though under-utilised, marketing strategy. Businesses should use competitions to engage their customers while obtaining important information on them, such as contact details and product preferences.

Download Steven's slide show presentation (1.35 MB)

Download Steve's audio presentation (62,209 KB)

Pictures from the breakfast

Steve Ogden-Barnes presenting
Steve Ogden-Barnes presenting
MC: Professor Colin Chapman Dean, Victorian College of Pharmacy
Breakfast guests
Breakfast guests

About Steve Ogden-Barnes

Steve Ogden-Barnes is a Program Director in the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS), part of the Monash Faculty of Business and Economics.

Steve joined ACRS in 2002 upon returning from the UK, where he lectured in retail, business, management and corporate strategy in the higher education sector.

Steve's commercial experience includes store development, retail management, staff training and management education and HR project work. He has particular interests in performance management and measurement, developing employee participation, and entrepreneurship and innovation in the retail sector.

The next Gearing for Success seminar

Register your interest for the next breakfast seminar, to be held on 22 November 2006 in conjunction with the Faculty of Law. The guest speaker has been confirmed as being Mr Tim Costello AO (BJuris 1976, LLB 1978, DipEd 1979).