Marketing Strategies for Retail Businesses in 2019

The savviest retail businesses are constantly searching for the latest marketing strategies and tactics. In today’s increasingly competitive retail marketplace, adopting the latest marketing tools gives businesses the extra leverage needed to outpace retail competitors. However, staying on top of the latest marketing strategies can be especially challenging.

According to Allie Deck, Content Creator at HubSpot, “Marketing moves at the speed of light… er, at least it feels that way when you’re brainstorming a new campaign or strategy, and all of a sudden, a new statistic or technology release changes everything.”

Unfortunately, staying up-to-date on the latest tools and tactics isn’t enough to unlock rapid retail marketing success — you need to get ahead of the curve. In this article, we’ll review some of the most tried-and-true marketing strategies for retail businesses and give you a special glimpse into the future of retail marketing in 2019.

The Ultimate List of Marketing Strategies for Retail Businesses

Your search for the ultimate high-growth marketing strategies for your retail business starts with a close examination of traditional marketing channels. Are these proven marketing strategies just as effective today as they were five or eight years ago? Let’s discuss:

Traditional Marketing Strategies Retail Businesses Should Consider in 2019

1. Email

For many years, email marketing was an essential tool retail business owners and marketers used to attract and retain customers. Many are wondering, is email still worth the effort? According to the Radicati Group, the estimated number of consumer and business emails sent per day reached 281 billion in 2018. The research firm projects that figure to grow to more than 333 billion by 2022. About 21% of those emails are opened.

The fact is, email remains as one of the most effective retail marketing tools in 2019. However, retail businesses must reimagine the way they use email. This year, in addition to sending in-store promotions and online sales reminders, use email as a means to nurture prospects and customers. The most effective nurturing programs incorporate a bit of personalization. According to Statista, personalized emails lead to higher open and click-through rates. Nowadays, data-savvy retail businesses leverage the power of machine learning to create hyper-personalized email experiences.

Through machine learning, retail businesses can analyze data, predict outcomes, and automatically respond. For example, a business might monitor visitors’ search history on their website and automatically deploy targeted emails based on those search results.

2. Radio

Despite the proliferation of music streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, and others, AM/FM radio is still one of the most cost-effective, top-reach advertising channels available. With access to familiar on-air personalities and local in-person promotions, retail businesses can benefit from the hyperlocal capabilities that radio advertising provides. According to News Generation, 93% of consumers listen to the radio each week. Moreover, BIA Advisory Services predicts a 9.6% increase in advertising spend for online radio in 2019.

This year, to maximize the effectiveness of radio advertising, retail businesses must create targeted promotions based on local market preferences. A hyper-personalized radio advertisement will undoubtedly procure greater engagement and in turn, produce greater profits and sales. The best part is, radio advertising is still pretty cheap — sound bites, musical introductions, and background music are low cost, with some stations offering free or reduced costs on production.

3. Television

This year, recent research indicates that the internet will catch up to television in terms of hours watched. According to Social Report, people will spend 2.6 hours online and 2.7 hours watching television per day in 2019. As internet streaming grows in popularity, retail businesses are likely to spend less money on television advertisements and more money on web video, social media, and streaming. If you’re considering advertising on television this year, we recommend pursuing online advertising opportunities via YouTube or other streaming services as a cost-effective and value-driven alternative.

The Future of Digital Marketing for Retail Businesses

As advanced technology becomes mainstream, there will be a dramatic shift in all-new marketing channels. This year, as you build your retail marketing plan, be sure to align around these all-new strategies, tools, and tactics.

1. Text Messaging

If you haven’t invested in text message marketing software for your business, you could be missing out on a valuable opportunity to connect with prospects and customers. EZ Texting reports that 90% of business text messages are opened within the first three minutes. Moreover, text message marketing allows for increased personalization through easy-to-use personalization tokens. Finally, text messaging makes digital marketing more convenient. Most retail business owners and marketers know that 97% of Americans use a smartphone at least once per day.

This year, to maximize your effectiveness as a text message marketer, deploy multiple types of text marketing promotions including in-store alerts, online sales reminders, appointment reminders, and more. The use cases for text message marketing are virtually limitless:

• Grow a customer loyalty program
• Share product recommendations through picture messaging
• Promote sales and new, seasonal arrivals
• Provide better customer service
• Ask for online reviews
• ... and more!
  

2. Social Media

For the most part, social media is still a relatively new marketing strategy that retail businesses should leverage in 2019. However, social media is constantly changing and it can be difficult to fully understand which tactics work best. This year, when it comes to developing a high-powered social media marketing strategy, prioritize the following:

• Utilize Augmented Reality: Many popular social media channels offer interactive augmented reality experiences. The most obvious example of augmented reality in a social media environment is Snapchat. Many retail businesses benefit from creating their own geofilters, giving social media followers direct access to a personalized and branded experience.
• Focus on Generation Z: The savviest retail marketers are using social media marketing as a means to engage and interact with Generation Z. Generation Z was surrounded by technology, which makes them the perfect candidate for social media marketing.
• Try Messaging Apps and Chatbots: In recent years, many retail businesses have started to incorporate messaging applications and chatbots into their customer service strategy. These convenient and easy-to-use applications automatically respond to customers’ queries, provide support, and more.
• Promote User-Generated Content: Finally, try building a user-generated content strategy to complement your social media marketing efforts. This type of content yields a ton of organic impressions, especially when influencers have a dedicated following of hundreds (or hundreds of thousands) supporters.

3. Voice Search

This year, voice search promises to be a major marketing strategy that retail business owners should consider. What is voice search exactly? In the retail environment, voice search allows prospects and customers to search for products via verbal commands. Typically, this function is initiated through a smart device such as a mobile phone or digital assistants like Siri or Alexa.

To produce the greatest results with voice search, check out these quick hints:

• Understand Your Target Audience: What are users searching for? What do they need from you? You can create voice-ready promotions and offers that align with your target audience’s unique preferences.
• Write in a Natural Voice: Try writing in a conversational tone. Mimic the way that customers might talk. This kind of tone gives your content the best chance for showing up via voice chat.
• Think Local: Try to incorporate voice search queries that cater to local audiences. Be sure to include information like your city, state, or region. Adding this type of information to your web content could give your messaging a valuable local boost.

Kickstart Your Retail Marketing Programming With Text Messaging

There’s no doubting one simple fact — text messaging is one of the most effective tools retail businesses can use to reach more prospects and customers in 2019. Finding the right text message marketing service provider can give you the extra firepower needed to unlock rapid text messaging success. That’s where we come in.

There’s a reason why more retail businesses partner with EZ Texting than any other text message marketing service provider. Over the years, EZ Texting has worked alongside more than 210,000 industry-leading businesses and organizations. The best part is, you don’t need to be a text message marketing expert. EZ Texting customer support teams are available to answer questions and guide you through every step of the process — it’s that easy.

To really kickstart your text marketing promotions, we recommend downloading our guide: 4 Strategies for Successful Text Marketing.