Article

Roundtable: Experts talk digital customer engagement

Four digital signage and in-store merchandising experts talk about the customer engagement challenges facing retailers ahead of this year's DSA event.

September 4, 2014 by Christopher Hall — w, t

The Digital Screenmedia Association will host its next DSA Symposium — featuring executives from PepsiCo-Frito Lay, Dave & Buster's, TopGolf and Fleishman-Hillard among its speakers — on September 22 and 23 at golf entertainment complex TopGolf and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden in Dallas. The event is targeted to professionals from retail, restaurant and other B2C companies who want to learn best practices for omnichannel customer engagement, according to the DSA.

"The worlds of design, interactive digital networks and connected customers are coming together, and we will talk about the complete solution," DSA Executive Director Paul Flanigan said in announcing the event. "Brands, retail, hospitality, education and many other verticals can learn what it takes to create the complete model for their audience by attending this event."

The Symposium features a full day of keynote sessions and panel discussions on Tuesday, Sept. 23, including examinations of the following topics:

Understanding Connected Experiences: Connected and mobile experiences have led to a new way of thinking about consumer engagement. This session will focus on what it takes to understand this new and connected consumer.
The Design of Digital Engagement: New architecture and venue design are pushing the boundaries of aesthetic digital engagement. This session will present veteran designers who are bringing digital experiences of all shapes and sizes into their design for clients.
The Omnichannel Approach: Customer engagement is often many screens spread over different channels and locations. This session will focus on understanding what it takes to bring all these channels together.
The Future of Engagement: This session will expose attendees to the future of digital engagement, the venue, the customer, and the innovation that ties it all together.

The DSA submitted a series of questions to some of the event's speakers to give a sense of the things they'll be looking at in September, and to provide some of their insight into the technology-consumer connection.

Ron Bowers, the senior vice president of business development for kiosk and in-store merchandising solution provider Frank Mayer, will be hosting the discussion, "What Do We Do Now?" which will be putting the day's glut of information together and looking to the future.

Margot Myers, director of global marketing and communications for research and analytics specialist Platt Retail Institute, will be moderating "The Future of Engagement," discussing emerging trends and future store formats for digital engagement. The session will include participants from Two West and Chute Gerdeman and include content from Platt Retail Institute's research on retail and emerging trends.

Tom Nix, CEO of digital signage software provider Scala Inc., will be talking with Shelley Pisarra, senior director of shopper insights and analytics for PepsiCo-Frito Lay, looking at "The Shopper and the Solution."

And Scott Silverstein, global technical marketing manager for Arrow Electronics, will be hosting the discussion, "The Technology of Consumer Engagement," which will examine the challenges and best practices in creating an omnichannel approach.

We've re-created their answers here in a round-table format with some editing for space and clarity:

Q: What do you believe are the most important issues facing customer engagement through digital technology today?

Bowers: The customer-centric model of consistency and convenience. Customers are both connected and unconnected. Both have certain desires and needs they seek in their experience, and it's absolutely critical that digital technology not just connect with the customer, but also embrace and partner with the customer regardless of their depth of connection.

Myers: I believe that it's important for retailers to embrace technology to improve the customer experience, but it needs to be done strategically and in an integrated fashion. Retailers who chase after the latest technology without knowing that it will address a defined business goal might as well be shoving $100 bills down a rat hole.

Nix: The three important issues facing digital customer engagement today are:

Getting people to look up from their mobile device. I walk through so many retail environments and look around at the consumers with their noses in their smart phones. Retailers and venues need to engage and bridge the gap between the mobile device and the consumer.
Providing additional value on the shopper's path to purchase. Today the consumer is armed with reviews, recommendations and highly targeted offers when they shop online. It's critical that omnichannel strategies execute these attributes in the store by tying off the path to purchase or offering a way to drive to the Web while the customer is in their physical location.
John Wannamaker said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." Today digital marketing teams live by the mantra, "If it's not measured it's meaningless." From day one, the ability to measure and optimize effectiveness of in-store digital campaigns has been difficult for many retailers who are just starting to make the investments in technology. The long-term commitment to continuous optimization requires data driven marketer expertise, and solution providers who can partner to provide deeper insight through advanced analytics.

Silverstein: The splintered marketplace continues to make it difficult for end-users to pick the best technology/solution to meet their application.

Q: From your perspective, how has the ability to connect with consumers altered the digital engagement discipline?

Bowers:It has opened the eyes of many suppliers to the fact that it is not the technology alone that is the most important factor of the solution, but more how is digital technology combined with a total solution that satisfies the brand marketer, retailer and consumer needs?

Myers: In some respects, digital engagement takes pressure off of retail sales staff, but it's critical for retailers to understand that personal engagement with customers adds value and brings customers into stores. Having a customer download your app is not the same thing as establishing a relationship with them that encourages loyalty to a brand.

Nix: Consumers today are smarter and more capable than ever, especially with the prominence of mobile devices. It is increasingly evident that the most important screen is the one in the consumer's hand. Mobile devices are the link between end-users and their customers, providing the opportunity to affect choice and communicate real value. As companies adopt connectivity to their screens through NFC or Bluetooth technology, anyone who doesn't offer a strong user experience that creates value will soon find themselves losing customers.

Silverstein: The user experience can be customized now. With omnichannel and geofencing technology, I can target a consumer with specific info I know they are interested in, which creates a much more intimate and personal relationship, resulting in higher value to both the buyer and the seller.

Q: What do you say to brands/users looking to move beyond just digital signage into more integrated models of consumer engagement?

Bowers: It's critical that the user find the right partner to help them deliver the right solution ... this is a great start in figuring out the right relationships that truly deliver on the investment of consumer engagement.

Myers: It used to be that we could simply help clients think through their business strategy and determine if digital signage was right for them. That was the first step past the phase of "Oooh, flat screens and videos; I want those in my store." It seemed like in the early days, brands and end-users were hanging digital signs just because it was cool. Now, digital signage is just one component of an omnichannel marketing strategy that incorporates a brand's website, social media presence and mobile user interface. So, there are more types of technology and more channels, but the guiding premise remains that any brand or user must look at these diverse technology options and determine what makes sense for them in terms of who their customers are and what business objectives they plan to achieve through the use of technology.

Nix: We see retailers who are leveraging their unique physical presence as strength and using it as the basis of their competitive strategy. The simple act of putting pretty pictures on a screen isn't the value creation moment for the retailers; it's seen as a cost center. The value comes from being able to do more by providing real ROI, real customer engagement and measuring it all to continually optimize the experience. We see retail digital marketing teams bringing their best practices from the e-commerce side of the business and applying it inside the store. For a complete omnichannel strategy, it's essential that retailers invest in their largest physical asset — the store environment — and form relationships with customers who use their mobile devices as a tool in a multiscreen environment.

Silverstein: It's critical to leverage Intelligent Systems/Internet of Things and to use the available analytics to improve the customer experience. These help drill down the cost of the business.

Click here to learn more about the Symposium and to register for the DSA event — and to find discounted hotel room rates for attendees.

Cover image from a 2013 DSA Symposium courtesy of the DSA.