This is a one-time investment but worth the effort. What this involves is basically to build customer database. This would help Spencers to understand buying patterns and buying preferences and regularity of buying. This will later be used to send reminders to the customer that his purchase is due. We could also ask customer if he wants us to deliver the product to his place without him having to come down to the store. This data could also be shared with Manufacturers to develop new products for the ever-changing customer needs.
This will automatically reduce the number of flops and the products would be introduced faster without having to have a trial run in test markets. We could have customer satisfaction surveys and review the ratings. We could share these details with the customer. Customers like to know that you have recognised them and identify with their requirements. If not all but atleast meet those needs that the business can supply. This needs to be marketed. This is called Relationship Marketing. We could have a loyalty programme called the Spencers Inner Circle.
The eligibility would be a certain amount of purchase within a particular time period. Loyalists could get green channel at the billing counter. This would facilitate quick billing at rush hours. A green channel would mean first preference at the counter. There will be a points system on each buy these points could be redeemed at subsequent buys. This is also a way to ensure that the customers return. A credit Facility would also be available for loyalists where they can pay at the end of the month or after consecutive buys. Customers could get a Sneak- Peak at soon-to-be-launched products.
They could try and feel the products before other stores. This is also an opportunity for the manufacturer to know what to expect. etailing This is something that is not tried out by any OCR in India as yet. Electronic retailing is one of the most revolutionary ideas in retailing. Spencers would have the advantage of being the first mover in this field. Spencers could also be the innovator in this segment. This could be done by having online product catalogues, which can be referred by the customer before placing his order. Being online the changes, if any could also be made easily.
Now goods can be sold through a handheld device say a Mobile phone or a Laptop. This could ease pressure at rush hours. The customer need not even come to the store yet he could get the benefits of being there. This is like virtual shopping. A customer who is travelling or ill can avail of this facility and benefit. Etailing also means automating the entire logistics systems. This would require putting in an oracle-based system, which would need human intervention by exception. The requirements and tabulations would be instant and automatic resulting in greater efficiency.
The key to successful etailing is the same as offline retailing which is winning levels of domain knowledge and assortment dominance and therefore the resultant superior customer proposition. Tie-ups or JVs It is just a matter of time before FDI in Muti- brand retailing would be eased. This move should not be seen as a threat. It could actually be an opportunity in the waiting. A possible tie-up with Carrefour or Kmart, who have expressed interest in venturing into India, will be a boon or at least an option worth trying. This could be an opportunity to align with global players and learn how they go about their business and procurement.
How they meet their needs and demands would a lesson worth learning. The reason they would be interested in a JV would be because it could ease the work on their part. Since Spencers is a player from a longer time and because we have the expertise they would be keen to latch on to us. Since the Indian customer is very different from an American or European customer our experience maybe of value to them. Moreover for Spencers to be associated with a Carrefour or Kmart would mean increasing the brand equity. This could also give Spencers a chance of being a global sourcing hub for their international operations.
The Cheap labour and raw materials can act as an advantage for becoming an exporting giant. The scale of business could increase by leaps and bounds. IMC TOOLS A concept for a TVC This TVC mainly stresses on the One Stop Value statement. We see a family having an enthusiastic discussion over something. They seem to be talking about some kind of a social gathering. They’re really worried if they’ll be able to get the kind of supplies they need for the occasion. The mom says she can get some sort of food supplies from this place she knows on the outskirts of the city.
The father says he can get these dairy products from these milkmen he has some personal contacts with. He’ll get them at a discounted rate. The grand mum knows this really nice bhajiwala at the corner who could give them nice fresh bhajis with a lot of variety they could buy different bhajis at some different bhaji places at these bhaji markets she knows near the station. The teenage daughter says she could get snacks from the neighbourhood shops. So what if they’re a little overpriced? At least they get quality. The mother says I need stationery and other household supplies too.
So they go about planning this really hectic schedule about how they’re going to go about getting everything. A complicated series of events where the daughter will bearing something on her way back from college and drop it home and then set out again for her class. The father says I’ll get the dairy products on the way to office or in the break and the mother says she’ll g to the twenty different shops she needs to go to which are on he outskirts of the city because she gets them cheap there. The grandmother says I’ll go the vegetable markets and get all the vegetables I need from there.
