Is Your Brand Ready to #OptOutside? How to Follow REI’s Bold Leap into Customer-Centric Marketing

For many retailers, the day known as Black Friday has become one of the most important dates on their calendar. Last year, shoppers in the US spent just over $9 billion on the day after Thanksgiving, counting for a sizable percentage of many stores’ holiday sales. This is why it was so surprising when outdoor equipment retailer, REI, announced that they would be closing all 143 of their stores this Black Friday and encouraging their employees and customers to #OptOutside instead. It remains to be seen if this bold move on the part of REI will make a dent in the company’s sales over the entire holiday period or if they will make up the difference elsewhere. What we do already know is that the early reactions to this decision have been extremely positive and there are some valuable lessons to be learned from this campaign from REI.

Customer-centric marketing is still marketing.

Make no mistake about it, this decision by REI is marketing. They have an entire section of their website dedicated to this #OptOutside idea and they are encouraging others to join them and to “tell the world.” A company does not take these steps for a simple announcement of a change in store hours. You go to these lengths for a marketing campaign. The fact that this is a marketing campaign should in no way take away from what REI is doing with this idea. They are voluntarily skipping out on one of the biggest shopping days of the year in order to do something that will benefit their people. Not only are they losing out on the sales from that day, but they are paying their employees to head outside! So this day is costing the company in a number of ways. Yes, this is marketing, but that does not also mean it is not an amazing and honest decision by this company. Marketing does not need to be a shady or deceptive thing, it simply needs to shine a light on your company. If you can do that while also doing something positive, that is a win-win situation.

Stay true to your ideals.

The main reason why this campaign from REI is so perfect is because it is absolutely in line with the company’s overall ideals. This idea makes sense coming from REI in a way that it would not if it was being done by Wal-Mart. That is not a knock on Wal-Mart, it is just the simple truth that this kind of a campaign would not be on brand for that retailer, while it is for REI. When planning your own campaigns, remember to remain true to your company’s ideals and mission. No one likes marketing that feels disingenuous, so by being true to who you are, your efforts have a much better chance of being well received.

Make the hard decisions.

On-brand or not, this decision could not have been an easy one for REI to make. There is no way to deny the fact that they will lose sales by closing the store on Black Friday. Still, they made the hard choice to follow through with this initiative anyway. That is an important lesson. Doing something new and unexpected is rarely easy. Sometimes it can be really, really hard. If you have thought through your plan and decided that it is the right direction for your company, you will need to make that hard decision and press forward. Depending on the structure of your company, making hard choices may require buy in from multiple people. Have these discussions and evaluate all the angles, but in the end, do not allow a hard decision to prevent you from making the right decision.

Do the opposite of your competition.

REI’s decision to shut their doors on Black Friday is so surprising because it is the exact opposite of what other stores are doing. Other companies are expanding their hours of operation, with many of them opening on Thanksgiving to get a jump on the shopping frenzy. A company that stands up and decides to take the exact opposite approach of what everyone else is doing gets noticed. When planning your own marketing or promotional ideas, look to what your competitors are doing and think about how you could turn the entire situation on its head. Dare to be wildly different and take the opportunity to show the world how you are different from your competition and why that should matter to them. Taking a unique approach can be incredibly powerful, especially in the world of the Web where everyone seems to be playing a game of “monkey see, monkey do” and just rehashing the same old campaigns and approaches over and over. If you want to break that mold, you can start by moving in the opposite direction of everyone else.

Tell the world.

The best marketing idea in the world will fail if you do not share that idea with the world. You need to promote your campaign so it reaches your customers and potential customers. In the case of REI, they didn’t just put a small sign on the doors of their stores to let customers know about their Black Friday plans. They shot videos, made a website, and created a whole campaign around their #OptOutside hash tag. When planning your marketing campaigns, be sure that you couple a great idea with a strategy to communicate it effectively. REI has done this perfectly and the incredibly positive reception they have received from people fed up with the ridiculousness of Black Friday has helped propel this campaign even further. All the while, people are talking about REI in a powerful and positive light. Yes the company may lose some sales on Black Friday, but what they are gaining in terms of public perception and promotion is priceless!

Have a plan.

In addition to communicating what you are doing with the world, you should also have a plan to capitalize on the results. REI is not stupid, they know that the business will still come and I fully expect them to run sales the rest of that Black Friday weekend. People who appreciate what the company has done for their employees and customers may make it a point to shop with them that weekend as a show of support. In the end, the company may even make up those lost Black Friday sales that weekend or over the course of the holidays. This has to be part of their ultimate plan – to do something positive and different while also positioning it in such a way that they will be able to recover anything that may have been lost. It’s a great plan for all involved.

In summary

REI took a bold stand in their efforts to break away from what every other retailer is doing with their Black Friday promotions. Instead of fighting for attention on that crazy shopping day, they have decided to take a different route. Because they stayed true to their ideals, made some tough decisions, and were unafraid to shake things up and be different, they are the store that people are talking about leading up to Black Friday, which is interesting since they are the only ones who will be closed that day.

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Five Often-Overlooked Opportunities to Build Trust with Online Shoppers

Just because the online shopping experience precludes you from cultivating personal, face-to-face relationships with your customers, it doesn’t mean that trust is absent from the equation. In fact, just the opposite is true. Because you don’t have the advantage of engaging with your customers in person, it’s critical that you examine each aspect of your e-commerce process to ensure that you are building and reinforcing trust at every step of the way. Here are five commonly overlooked opportunities to earn the trust of online shoppers:

Transparency

From the time a customer lands on your site until the time their order reaches their doorstep, transparency is key. It’s important to ensure that you address and eliminate all potential concerns upfront. Before your customers even reach checkout, they should know how quickly their order will be processed as well as the range of available shipping options and costs. Give your customers added assurance by providing delivery timetables that are as specific as possible without compromising accuracy. For example, you might guarantee that all orders placed Monday through Friday before noon eastern time will be shipped the next business day, as long as you know that you can live up to this promise without fail. This type of information is mission-critical to shoppers who are making a time-sensitive purchase such as a birthday gift or an outfit for a special occasion. If possible, after an order has been placed, send a follow-up e-mail confirming that the shipment is on its way, and include a tracking number, too. The fewer question marks that arise between the time your customer completes their purchase and the time it arrives in their hands, the more trust you’ll build.

Packaging

When your package lands in your customers’ hands, does it give the impression that someone has taken care to make them feel they are receiving something special that has been handled and shipped with care? Or does it create the feeling that someone in a warehouse grabbed a few things off the shelf, stuck them in a plastic bag and sent them on their way, with no thought about or regard for the recipient on the other end? The quality of packaging can have a great impact on the perception of the quality not only of the product inside but of the overall buying experience. As a result, you shouldn’t think of the cost of packaging as an expense; you should approach it as an investment in earning the trust of your customers. It’s important to go the extra mile to make sure you present your products in a way that protects and enhances the value of your brand. Grove is a great example of a company that has perfected the art and science of packaging. Each handmade bamboo iPhone 4 case, which can be custom-engraved with the customer’s design of choice, arrives encased in a bamboo frame, which is actually created as a byproduct of the production process. This ingenious idea embodies everything the brand stands for – sustainability, quality, craftsmanship and authenticity – while presenting the case itself as a unique work of art.

Follow-up

The process of building trust with online shoppers doesn’t have to end when your package arrives at their doorstep. A follow-up e-mail asking them to rate your products or provide feedback on their buying experience is a simple act of consideration that conveys your genuine concern for their happiness. Netflix frequently sends subscribers e-mails asking them to rate the audio and picture quality of a movie they recently watched or to evaluate their satisfaction with the service they received when they contacted Netflix phone support.

While Netflix undoubtedly cares about measuring the quality of their services, they are also seeking to build and maintain the trust of their customers by demonstrating their commitment to delivering a great experience every time.

Returns

A generous return policy is priceless when it comes to winning the trust of online shoppers. As commonplace as the act of buying products on the Web has become, there is always still a lingering hint of uncertainty that resides with customers because they cannot see, hold and judge an item for themselves before committing to the purchase and paying the associated shipping costs. However, reassuring them that if their item arrives and is not what they expected, they can return it without question and – even better – with free shipping, shows that you are fully dedicated to ensuring their satisfaction. Not only will you build trust but you’ll also give them an added boost of buying confidence that will keep them coming back again and again. Additionally, make sure that your return policies take into consideration what happens when things don’t go exactly according to plan. If you miss your promised delivery date, don’t add insult to injury by creating headaches for a disappointed customer. Instead, win back their trust by expressing your sincere apologies and graciously offering to credit back the original shipping fees and cover the cost of return shipping.

The human touch

Sure, it's okay to automate your e-commerce processes – charging a credit card, sending order confirmation e-mails, scheduling shipments and generating tracking numbers. But throughout every step of the transaction, you must also offer your customers the safety net of being able to talk to a real person. Not only should your customer service number be available, but it should be obvious and omnipresent so that shoppers don’t have to hunt it down. While it’s tempting to bury those digits because the cost of maintaining customer service staff can cut into your profit margins, you must remember that even in today’s Digital Age, nothing builds trust quite like genuine human contact. If you’re not readily accessible to your customers, you’re running the risk of losing their business to someone who is. E-mail and online contact forms are fine options, but they shouldn’t be the only options. Keep building trust and head off the temptation to give up and go elsewhere by making sure your customers can easily make the leap from virtual interaction to personal interaction. In an age when consumers have the luxury of almost unlimited options, you can’t afford to roll the dice with your customers’ trust. Establishing clear, straightforward expectations, demonstrating care and concern for your customers’ satisfaction, following through on your promises and being readily accessible and responsive goes a long way in transforming a casual online shopper into a repeat buyer and a loyal evangelist for your brand.

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