Although many people think otherwise, the digital and physical worlds are not completely opposite and separate, and when it comes to sales, it's essential that they work together to win over customers and deliver increasingly better experiences, and that's precisely what drive-to-store is all about.
This technique, which is very popular in retail, seeks to boost sales by combining physical and digital channels, and investing in this strategy will certainly make a difference in your business. Keep reading!
What is drive-to-store?
Drive-to-Store, or "drive to the store" in a free translation, is a strategy that integrates the online and offline worlds with the goal of attracting customers to your physical store. Through marketing actions such as local searches, email marketing, social media, or advertisements, you spark customer interest in your products or services and encourage them to visit your store for a complete and personalized experience.
The concept of drive-to-store is simple: use online channels to bring the customer offline. In the physical store, the customer can see the products up close, ask questions of experts, and complete the purchase. This integration offers several benefits for you and your customers, such as increased sales, customer loyalty, and much more.
Although it may seem contradictory, people are increasingly doing their shopping online – which makes this strategy so effective, as people use the internet as a way to research before making purchases.
- Two studies commissioned by Google Brazil indicate that the habit of shopping online and researching before making purchases — digital or physical — is well established in Brazil.
- One survey, conducted by the consulting firm Offerwise with 2,000 consumers, shows that 9 out of 10 Brazilians surveyed have started researching before purchasing a product.
In other words, people are constantly seeking information to make their decisions, and they leave home daily for their routines, maintaining direct contact with physical stores.
3 Pillars of Drive to Store: The connection between digital and physical
For this connection to actually happen, three main pillars exist: offering experience, personalization, and data to understand which customers should be targeted in this strategy.
1. Omnichannel
Omnichannel, or omnichannel, is a strategy for integrating online and offline channels, offering a seamless and consistent shopping experience to the customer. It manages demands and the audience, regardless of the channel they are using, providing the same context and offering a single experience, even across different interactions.
This pillar is crucial for drive-to-store sales, after all, the consumer cannot find extremely different experiences when they are on the website and when they are in the physical store. Imagine a practical example: a customer, during their lunch break, walks down the street and enters some stores to look at products for their home. When they return to the company, they search for what they were interested in on online stores to get more details and compare prices.
Moreover, the potential customer gets in touch via WhatsApp to ask questions and, seeing the advantages of closing the deal, returns to the store later to actually finalize their purchase.
Simply put, there have been many interactions with the same brand in a short period of time, across different channels, and this is where omnichannel is crucial. If the company has this strategy consolidated, it offers a seamless and fluid experience to the customer, regardless of when and where they interact with the brand.
2. Customization
Being drive-to-store isn't just about creating generic content to reach the largest number of people, but rather about tailoring offers and information to the profile and preferences of your consumer.
People want to feel valued and special to the business, and to truly offer an experience, it's necessary to invest in personalization. Knowing your customer, using data strategically, and mapping their pain points and needs is crucial at this point, and personalization is a way to achieve brand success.
From the moment a customer becomes aware of the brand to the after-sales service, the entire customer journey must be monitored so that the company not only makes sales, but actually offers the best solutions and personalized possibilities for its audience.
3. Geolocation
Geolocation is the ability to identify and track the geographic position of an object, person, or device in real time, using signals such as GPS, cell phone towers, IP addresses, or Wi-Fi.
This possibility is crucial for drive-to-store marketing, after all, it's necessary to know who the people interacting with your brand are and where they are located in order to target communications and benefits to them.
How does drive-to-store work as a sales strategy?
As we mentioned, drive-to-store is a great tool for businesses and also gives consumers more choice and advantages. The connection between the digital and physical worlds is increasingly strong and valued by customers, especially when we talk about the proximity of the public to brands/companies.
Considering the search engine near me, the drive-to-store model makes even more sense. After all, people are looking for products and solutions that, once found quickly, can be accessed in person, combining convenience for the customer and sales for the business.
Since 2017, Google has been talking about the trend of searches for "near me," and in that year alone, searches using the term "near me" grew by 75%. In other words, search engines are also guides for people to find services, products, and establishments in their vicinity, and it's necessary to have ways for the algorithm to find your business so that it can be exposed to the public.
Drive-to-store for businesses
- Increased traffic to physical stores: Through targeted campaigns, the company can attract more consumers to its physical stores. By being able to target ads to people who are physically close to a store, the greater the number of people who become aware of the brand and its solutions, consequently increasing sales opportunities.
- Increased sales: with more consumers entering your stores, the chances of sales increase. Furthermore, drive-to-store strategies can include incentives for consumers to make repeat purchases, such as discount coupons or exclusive offers. Therefore, we can expect higher conversion rates and an increase in the average purchase value of your target audience.
- Increased customer loyalty: By offering positive experiences to consumers who visit their websites and physical stores, companies can improve and deepen their relationship with customers. It's worth noting that satisfied customers return to make purchases, become loyal to your brand, and may even become brand ambassadors.
- Strengthening the brand: by focusing efforts on having a greater online presence and encouraging customers to visit your physical store, the trend is towards increased brand visibility and recognition among consumers, which can lead to increased preference for the business.
Drive-to-store for consumers
- Easier and more complete shopping experience: with this strategy, consumers benefit from their research and receive increasingly more information, regardless of the channel they choose to access, making their experiences with brands increasingly satisfying.
- Algorithm-based decisions: when conducting research, especially near me, consumers can make faster and more assertive decisions with the help of technology. On Google, for example, when searching for an establishment/solution, the results are based on location, establishment rating, number of reviews, and responses. In this way, the algorithm delivers what it deems best for the customer's decision-making.
- Personalized service: the trend of online and offline communication leads to increased personalization for the customer, and the brand gains access to information about preferences, interests, and history. In this way, the consumer experience becomes increasingly individualized in their purchases.
How to implement a successful Drive to Store strategy?
Now that you know more about what drive-to-store is, its pillars and benefits, we've gathered some best practices to help your strategy deliver great results for your brand. Read on and consider how they can be put into practice:
1. Optimize your website and online platforms for mobile devices
Mobile phones are like extensions of consumers, and we can't deny that when we talk about the public's experience with the brand.
Smartphones are already the primary means of shopping in global e-commerce: according to a study, 72% of consumers use mobile devices to make purchases, even when they are in physical stores.
In other words, it's necessary to keep this in mind and work to ensure your website and app offer good experiences for the public. Responsive design, considering loading times, adapting to different sizes and templates, easy and intuitive navigation, and other factors are essential.
Make it easier for your customers to connect through user-friendly navigation, so that searching for information about your products/services or making purchases from your brand via smartphones and tablets is not a challenge.
2. Use geotargeting
As we said, geolocation is one of the pillars of drive-to-store, and it's essential that the company excels in this area, which cannot be overlooked. After all, according to research conducted by the National Confederation of Retail Leaders (CNDL) and the Credit Protection Service (SPC), 77% of consumers prefer to shop near where they live.
To achieve this, two strategies can be used: investing in ads to stand out in search results and investing in your organic content.
For paid advertising, it's crucial to know your audience well; after all, you need to communicate your message effectively and not simply appear in search results for the sake of appearing. Clearly state your deliverables and create ways to draw the audience's attention to your brand.
When we talk about organic investment, a local SEO is extremely important for the business. This is the method that search engines use to optimize content for search engines, taking into account the geolocation of the device performing the search; in other words, your business can be shown without paying anything – if it's relevant.
To achieve this, it's crucial to invest in your Google My Business profile so that the algorithm can gather information and understand why your business should be shown. Remember that a complete Google My Business profile helps your business achieve a top 3 ranking in the Local Pack, and according to Moz, an optimized profile on the platform impacts the Local Pack ranking by 25.12%.
3. Create personalized campaigns and incentivize the customer
It's necessary to attract the right people, and therefore, following another of the pillars, personalization is essential. Knowing your audience and delivering what they expect is a major differentiator for standing out both online and offline.
For drive-to-store marketing, it's important to think about rewards. People make better decisions when they see some kind of benefit from their actions, so offering personalized vouchers for in-store purchases, combining online and offline discounts, and other such actions are important strategies for engaging your audience in both worlds.
4. Integrate social networks
As we've discussed, it's essential to be omnichannel, so pay attention and integrate your social media networks. Know where your customer is and be there offering content, information, sales, personalization, and experiences.
More than that, remember to have strategies to integrate your channels and communication; in other words, no matter where your customer chooses to look for you, they will find the same experience with your brand.
Statistics on drive-to-store:
- 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a physical store. (BrightLocal)
- 85% of consumers consider online reviews an important factor when choosing a place to do business (BirdEye 2021).
- 50% of consumers who research online visit a physical store within 24 hours. (Think With Google)
- 72% of people who conduct a local online search will visit a store within 8 kilometers of their current location. (Gartner)
- 86% of customers use Google Maps to find local businesses . (Google)
- 28% of all local searches result in a purchase. (eMarketer)
- 50% of consumers who research online visit a physical store within 24 hours. (Google)
- 70% of consumers who visit a physical store after researching online make a purchase. (Forrester Research)
- Drive-to-Store can increase foot traffic in physical stores by up to 30%. (eMarketer)
- Drive to Store can increase sales conversion by up to 20%. (eMarketer)
- The sales conversion rate in physical stores is 10 times higher than in online stores. (Shopify)
- The average purchase value in physical stores is 20% higher than in online stores. (Forrester Research)
Conclusion
It's clear how important drive-to-store marketing is as a sales strategy, isn't it? Aligning digital and physical strategies is crucial for reaching your audience and attracting customers through a wide variety of means.
Therefore, investing in experience is the best way to impact people and win over more and more customers for your business.
How does your physical store interact with your online communication, and vice versa? Now that you know more about this topic, reflect on your strategies and understand how we can help you on this journey!