mariasipila

Godmother of Growth

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Have you read already the Brand Mash-Up book written by me and Maria Ekström? Mash-ups are the newest and most innovative method for gaining traction and building value for your brand. Brand mash-ups are also often called brand partnerships, brand endorsements, and brand collaborations. Brand mash-ups represent different processes for either connecting existing brands with each other or connecting new brands with established ones. The book covers various examples of partnerships, from luxury brands teaming up with sneaker manufacturers to clever gaming and design collaborations. Buy here: 

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brand-Mash-Up-Collaborations-Partnerships-Re-Invented/dp/9517994877

US: https://www.amazon.com/Brand-Mash-Up-Collaborations-Partnerships-Re-Invented-ebook/dp/B07WPF2YFG

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Photo by courtesy of Scott Brinker 

FOCUSED APPROACH IS GOOD FOR YOUR BRAND

The marketing technology landscape looks broader than ever. Just look at this picture of the players in the field. How do you know which of these to use? 

Most important for marketers is to define what they would like to achieve. Let’s say you have an early-stage design or a start-up company it’s probably enough to build brand awareness and dialogue with consumers through the right kind of social media  and influencers and use basic marketing channels like your website and a blog.  Then it’s just about getting the basic tricks like SEO and quality content strategy in place. When you know what it is you would like to achieve it’s a lot easier to select exactly the right kind of technology to support your goals. Using too many vendors may in fact, be bad for your image and you may end up with negative user experience. So the focus is important. 

Probably the best way is not to spend too much time trying to compare all these players but rather start with the ones that get high recommendations from your colleagues working with similar issues. Then it’s just about trying things out and experimenting with different tools. There are cost-effective and even free tools available so marketing today is not an expensive exercise.  

You may want to develop a roadmap for technology marketing so that you know which steps to take and in which order. Possibilities are endless so you may want to add more sophisticated methods as your company grows. In next phase you probably need more data analysis and systems that will help your marketing people to support salespeople. 

Sipila Consulting is providing brand strategy support for early-stage companies to make your brand look credible, simple and beautiful. See more at: 

https://www.sipilaconsulting.com/brandstrategy

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BRANDING PLAYS A ROLE IN GO-TO-MARKET

When talking about go-to-market you often hear this term used when the company is in the stage of international expansion or is targeting a particular geographical market. I think people often get this term wrong. Whether you are starting with an innovation, a start-up or a large company, you need to plan your go-to-market strategy.

Go-To-Market planning at its best starts a lot earlier. It can start as early as when you have your first demo or a prototype. Well-conducted Go-To-Market takes into account unique selling points, competition and above all customer needs. Go-To-Market is really about packaging your offering ready for the market(s) and making it appealing for all stakeholders. It's about launch strategy taking into account to whom you are selling your product rather than the internationalization strategy where you are looking at the dynamics of a particular market and your product-market fit (although this can be part of go-to-market). Branding plays an important role in this and to get the go-to-market right you would need to work with designers and marketing experts. Even business model canvas is not concentrating on things like story, visuals and target group which are part of go-to-market. Technology commercialization is focused very much still on technology choices, protection, product features, pricing strategies, product development, team building and distribution. All this is necessary but for products to align with customer needs, marketing needs to play a role in the process. Here are some questions you can start with:

Value proposition: What value is provided to users?

What kind of feedback have you received?

What is your story?

What kind of users do you see using your product or services?

What kind of visual world are you providing to your customers?

Go-to-market happens in networks where users, branding and technology specialists are working together to launch not only the best but most appealing innovations to the world.

Maria Sipila from Sipila Consulting is specialized in go-to-market and brand strategies for all sizes of companies from start-ups to large companies.

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About skills and AI (article in Finnish)

Kauppalehti julkaisi artikkelimme osaamisesta ja tekoalystä.

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Now it’s time to lift the role of a brand as growth accelerator

https://www.sipilaconsulting.com

Growth consultants are very keen on talking about company culture and the elements that are part of the company culture. In my book Heart of Growth (Kasvun sydän in Finnish), I cover these cultural elements of growth from various perspectives. The core of a great company culture is the people that are the heart of the company. Their actions define how a company is perceived among customers. Also, the product-market fit needs to be perfect. However, when you talk to growth company CEOs the brand seems to come last. The brand being almost an operational must do instead of a core strategic element for growth. I think now it’s time to lift the role of a brand as a growth accelerator. A great brand means great business. Companies with the highest brand value like Apple and Google are the ones that are also growing at fast speed. Facebook is one of the fastest-growing brands in terms of brand value which is seen in revenue growth as well. Companies with the highest brand value provide superior personal customer experiences and have an emotional connection to consumers. This means sales which affect brand value. 

Services are designed to please consumers at least they should be. The best brands are the ones that are listening to consumers across various channels and taking actions in an agile way according to the response by consumers. Recently a highly respected person in business life posted about poorly functioning application by an airline company on Linkedin. The post got thousands of likes and over a hundred responses on what else was wrong with the airline services of this particular company. Best brands are continuously learning how to be better! Social media today is a tool where the brands are praised or disliked. For brands, this is a great opportunity to improve and become among the most liked brands. Consumers will define at the end how your brand is doing. And consumers have become more and more demanding. They would like to have products and services that are exactly right for their personal needs and they are busy. AI is doing a favor for consumers because it enables finding the right kind of products and services faster and easier. This feeds growth for the benefit of consumers and at the end for the companies. After all, it’s all about the brand.

Maria Sipilä, CEO of Sipila Consulting is a growth consultant and works with  top brands. Check Sipila Consulting growth consulting services: https://www.sipilaconsulting.com

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What’s cooking in tech in Finland

There’s a lot happening in Finland at the moment so I thought I’ll spend a moment to summarize some of the general news in tech.

- Amazon has started to recruit staff from Finland to their centers around Europe. They are especially looking for cloud and software competences and hoping to recruit engineers leaving from Nokia/Microsoft. If they don’t find their place in Finland and there are not enough opportunities available (which is pity of course), this is best use of talent. Finnish companies should also look for software talent more actively and invest in training.

- Gaming sector is growing fastest in the world in Finland, thanks to Supercell Clash of Clans and Clash Royale as well as the Angry Birds movie that recently hit the charts around the world. There are next big ones just waiting around the corner. For example Nextgames just recently raised $10M from investors.   

- Edtech is the new emerging sector coming mainly from ex Rovio people. Learning games and online education will be the big ones in the near future. Finland as having the best education in the world is an excellent testing platform for various ideas and concepts around education. Also as being number one country in digitalization, online platforms can easily be developed in Finland. Schools have been lacking behind in digitalization and are only now taking bigger steps towards this direction. There’s naturally a question of how to balance the different tools in education to enable kids to have the best learning environment without being exhausted in digitalization. 

- Healthtech has huge potential to become the next growth sector and has been steadily growing during the years. The new social and health reform is bringing new thoughts for the sector. And hopefully increases the need for new innovative services. There are over 300 companies operating in health tech. Samsung and GE Healthcare have their incubator programs for early stage startup companies and have announced massive investments into getting more digital health startup ideas from Finland. Health Spa association and Vertical accelerator are examples of publicly supported activities. Many of the startups are funded by Tekes (also collaborating with GE Healthcare), the Finnish public funding agency. One example of companies to watch is Netmedi which is developing Kaiku software for cancer patients.  

- Finland also enjoys most venture capital investments related to GDP. The next big gathering of investors will be in November in Slush, the Europe’s leading startup event.  

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Kiitos Camilla Tuomiselle sanojeni pukemisesta tunteiksi!

 TYÖELÄMÄTAIDOT JA YRITTÄJYYS TULEVAT LUKIOIHIN

Työelämätaidot ja yrittäjyys ovat osa tulevaa koulujen opetussuunnitelmaa. Opiskelijoilta vaaditaan laaja-alaisia taitoja, kuten esimerkiksi ongelmien tai tarpeiden havaitsemista, ratkaisujen löytämistä ja tiedon soveltamista eri tietolähteitä yhdistellen. Opettaja ei enää kerro pelkkiä faktoja, vaan uudessa mallissa opiskelijoilla on merkittävä rooli siinä, miten he faktoja hyödyntävät ja soveltavat oppimaansa. Myös tietoon pitäisi osata suhtautua tarvittaessa kriittisesti. Kaikista ei tule yrittäjiä, mutta yrittäjämäisestä toimintatavasta on hyötyä monilla aloilla. Uusi opetussuunnitelma kiinnittää huomiota myös viestintätaitoihin, joita tuskin voi korostaa liikaa, jos haluamme, että meillä on ulospäinsuuntautuneita, avarakatseisia ja kansainvälisiä nuoria.

Tänä päivänä korostuu epävarmuus tulevaisuuden uravalinnoissa osaksi, koska emmehän varmuudella tiedä mitkä tulevat olemaan lähitulevaisuuden kasvu-alat. Robotisaation myötä osa työpaikoista saattaa hävitä, mutta toisaalta avautuu myös uudenlaisia mahdollisuuksia. Työkin saattaa muuttaa luonnettaan yhä älykkäämmäksi. Erityisesti tämä koskee Suomea, jonka vahvuutena on huippuluokan koulutus ja erikoistuminen usein niche-sektoreille samaan aikaan, kun Aasiassa tuotetaan yhä edullisemmin ja tehokkaammin. Tulevaisuuden työelämän muuttuminen voi olla Suomelle merkittävä etu, jos sitä osataan hyödyntää oikein. Osaksi epävarmuus johtuu työpaikkojen vähenemisestä, jäykistä työmarkkinoista ja yhä kasvavasta nuoriso-työttömyydestä. Siksi nuoria pitäisikin kannustaa löytämään omat yksilölliset vahvuutensa lukioaikana sen sijaan, että ohjaamme heitä massana tiettyihin yksittäisiin oppilaitoksiin. Tämä edistää myös onnistumisen edellytyksiä nuorille itselleen ja hyödyntää Suomen kilpailukykyä tulevaisuudessa.

Kauniaisten lukiossa tai rennommin sanottuna Granin lukiossa on hiljattain kehitetty GraniWorks, joka koostuu lukiolaisen bisneskoulusta ja lukion omasta osuuskunnasta, jonka puitteissa on turvallista ja kannustavaa harjoitella yrittäjyyttä tai saada kokemuksia työelämästä. Opiskelija pääsee ideoimaan, kokeilemaan, tekemään, innostumaan, onnistumaan ja epäonnistumaan yhdessä muiden kanssa. GraniWorksissa tärkeintä on tekeminen ja kokemus siitä, että tuloksia syntyy vain ”luutaan tarttumalla” ja töitä tekemällä. Sipilä Consulting on ollut mukana luomassa tätä muutosta osana tulevaa uutta opetussuunnitelmaa yhteistyössä Kauniaisten kaupungin, lukion opettajien ja opiskelijoiden kanssa, jotka muutoksessa on nostettu keskiöön. Lukiolaisen bisneskoulu tarjoaa mm. starttipaketin yrittäjyyteen ja polun ideasta innovaatioihin. Opiskelijat pääsevät vierailemaan erilaisissa start-up kiihdyttämöissä ja näkevät hyviä esimerkkejä erilaisista liiketoimintaideoista. Opiskelijat oppivat löytämään haasteita ja ongelmia ympäristöstään, kehittämään ratkaisuja sekä markkinoimaan niitä. Ennen kaikkea GraniWorks on paikka, jossa opiskelija voi löytää pienellä avulla juuri sen oman juttunsa ja voi lähteä lukiosta maailmalle mukanaan diplomin lisäksi repullinen hyvää itsetuntoa ja kokemuksia. Jatkopolku opiskelijalle itselleen voi olla myös helpompi, kun kuilu korkeakouluun tai työelämään ei ole turhan iso.

GraniWorks lanseerataan syksyllä 2016.

Sipilä Consulting haastaa muutkin lukiot Suomessa mukaan tekemisen meininkiin.

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Slush engines. New kind of revolution.

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Slush is exactly what is needed in this turbulent world!

I’ve been blogging about Slush since 2011 and participating in Slush from its start. As a jury member years back I've seen great development in pitches! If you would like to turn back time, check boardman2020.fi (in Finnish) and search for “Slush”. In 2011 there were 1000 attendees. This year there were 15 000 attendees! In 2010 it was all about Rovio, thinking BIG and about being different in a positive way. There was even a cute reindeer in a logo that time! The basic idea like Peter Vesterbacka at this year’s Slush stated is still there: “It’s no Silicon Valley here. It’s dark, ugly, wet and cold. Still so much energy inside the building!” Huge amount of student volunteers make this event again something to talk about!

However it feels like today we are living in a much larger disruption compared to 2011. We can see large corporations, high schools, universities, public organizations, investors, industry specific organizations, accelerators, embassies, politicians…all attending Slush and looking for partnerships with start-ups. There’s a stronger need for change than ever. To keep the society and businesses running, it’s evident that completely new approaches are needed. If you were at Slush you probably noticed the engine decorations. There was even an engineroom. Remember industrial revolution? I think this is exactly a similar kind of revolution we are living in. Change doesn’t affect only large corporations. It affects everyone, personally and business wise.

What is the meaning of Slush to Finland’s economy then? It’s clear that new jobs will be created in growth companies. Slush is a good base for attracting talent. Also there have lately been examples of foreign companies setting up their data (Google) or technology center (Zalando) in Finland because of safe and favorable infrastructure or available engineering talent. As former Nokia executive and currently a Venture Capital investor Roman Kikta put it: “Finland is a country of innovation and education and it all started with Nokia”. This year there were 800 investors and most of the large VC’s were hanging around and looking for the next Supercell. It didn’t come as a surprise when Prime minister of Finland Juha Sipilä (not wearing hoodie by the way) stated in his opening speech: “Investors, remember to spend a lot of money here in Finland!” It seems that especially gaming and digital health companies are attracting investors to Finland. But this is not all about Finland’s show. About 1700 start-ups from all around the world are at Slush. This year’s winner is Care Monkey from Australia. They have automatic emergency data available and secured on mobile devices. The service is for sports clubs, scouts, businesses, schools etc. Finland for them became a stepping stone for global market. Slush brings together people from all over the world who would like to change the world.

What is really interesting is that indoor navigation is finally becoming reality. At least the technology is there waiting to be commercialized. There are two interesting ones from Finland: Indoor Atlas and Nimble devices (Steerbath). Without Steerbath navigation in my Slush app it would had been quite difficult to find specific startups I wanted to meet onsite. Steerbath uses Bluetooth spots of the building and Indoor Atlas magnetic positioning. Indoor Atlas just recently received $10 million investment from Baidu, China’s top search company. These kinds of innovations are just a few examples of those that will change retail experience in the near future completely.

Revolution is on its way already and it’s arising from start-ups. What we need now is the legislation in Europe to follow these developments. It should not only be fast to set up your company but also there should be freedom to be able to agree locally different terms of employment for example or having more flexible labor laws (overtime, weekends, holidays etc.). Access to talent is also easier when there’s more flexibility in recruiting across different countries in Europe. European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen mentioned at Slush that new financial instruments like risk financing are needed to boost growth. Horizon2020 by European Commission has nearly €80 billion in funding to help European start-ups in their growth paths. So at least there’s a strong will in European, national and local level to help start-ups grow. At the end companies will establish their offices where there’s talent available, excellent structures meaning easiness to do business and markets for growth. Slush proves that in Finland there’s impressive pool of start-ups than can easily become global success just like Rovio or Supercell. Slush is exactly what Finland and rest of the world needs in this turbulent world!

[mariasipila]

NEW KIND OF LUXURY IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR RETAIL

I was fascinated by the recent article at Washington Post about changing attitudes of consumers towards luxury products. This segment has been fairly stable for many years but suddenly consumers are changing their attitudes.  Wealthy consumers don’t like to wear flashy looking jewelry or show off logos as much as before. Typically at least in Europe people are even asking model numbers to be removed from their cars before buying. Consumers know what they want and they want to have more genuine products and experiences. They want to have something that delights them and gives them pleasure, a good feeling rather than something to impress their neighbors with. 

Luxury brands have been hesitant to move online. But now the fact is that already up to 90% of high income consumers shop online. Luxury for consumers today is to find practical, easy services that are amazing and fun whether online or offline. Experience and uniqueness have become key words in all retail. Experience that makes you feel good is the new luxury. 

All this has already opened up a totally new category in the luxury definition. Finnay is revolutionizing gift giving, combining online and offline by offering premium or you could call them casual every day luxury products. All items are finest selected products like premium chocolates, local coffee company or bakery products, local chocolate company products, even reindeer pate (and father of CEO Riikka Lindström is actually a Santa Claus in Finnish Lapland!), beautiful Finnish textiles; bags and purses by Johanna Gullichsen, Ivana Helsinki, Taiga Colors, Lumi (means snow in Finnish) products, Finnish Alvar Aalto products, Magisso design items for your home, Moomin products, Kalevala Koru jewelry etc. You can find the beautiful selection of Finnish design products from one place but also premium European brands like Alessi, Kartell and Missoni. You can even buy a flying experience to your friend using Finnay’s service! There are already over 55 partners in this gift service and more are coming all the time. Currently the company operates in Helsinki, Berlin and Frankfurt.

The company offers various options for delivery. Most fun is to use the treasure hunt mobile application, Finnay Wayfinder where the gift receiver is guided by the app to the local shop. The gift remains as a surprise all the way until the gift receiver gets to the shop. This service combines online and offline in a modern way and enables gift receiver to slow down and explore the local city and maybe buy something else from the shop too later on. If you are in a hurry you can even skip the treasure hunt and use the map instead or choose home delivery. You can even buy a gift to Berlin from anywhere in the world to your friend and she can pick it up from the local shop and have fun with the app at the same time or you can get it delivered directly to her home. Delivery through the coolest local design or boutique hotels currently in Helsinki and Berlin are options for busy business travelers. No shipping involved. Ecological way of shopping is part of the new luxury for sure. The company will soon have London, San Francisco and Los Angeles on board. Finnay is aiming to touch the lives of millions of people around the world with this new kind of gift giving. Learn more about Finnay at http://www.finnay.com/

For Nordic and why not also for the local designers the definition of new luxury is good news. Local brands may be able to reach luxury segment in a totally new way. This can be done by offering genuine products and experiences that enrich and delight the everyday life of consumers.

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For start-ups strategy is a mindset

If you are familiar with strategy discussion you probably have heard about saying “culture eats strategy for lunch”. Without having best people there is no use for a good strategy for sure. However, one can also think that without clear and focused strategy it doesn’t really help to have the best sales sharks in the world.

After coaching hundreds of start-ups I am more and more convinced that despite wonderful people in the team, the more competitive the market is the more difficult it is really to break through without a good strategy. Even best people may end up to dead end. Imagine how much profits you may be losing by entering new market time after time –by having wrong strategy.

When you have figured out where you would like to go (vision), you would need some kind of strategy to get you there. Having the right product to right market is part of the thinking you would need to do. Who are the other players and what is your competitive edge? What are the opportunities and risks? How to enter the market? What messages to use? Should I take more personalized approach, start with specific segments in mind, try low price points first to enter new market and later take the highest segments (innovators dilemma) or what? Your strategy slide can be a few lines but it can provide you the greatest return on investment to write it down. Clear thinking pays off!

Strategy is a mindset. It clarifies your actions so that you can focus on right things. It should never slow you down but instead make your entry to new markets or segments a lot faster. And you will have more fun too!

I am bringing again this summer Finnish start-ups to Imperial College Business School in London to sharp up their strategy to enter U.K. and global markets. Stay tuned!

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Slush 2014 volunteers. Photo: Jussi Hellsten

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Curious at Slush

It’s crispy morning and I am again super excited to be part of the Slush story. Grey Helsinki turns completely colorful when I enter the Helsinki Messukeskus building. I don’t mean the darkness which is surely present also inside, but all the action and livelihood you can feel immediately when entering. It’s dark inside and…

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Emotional b-to-b marketing

Remember the early business school books about advertising? Here’s one definition:

“Advertising is at the front of delivering the proper message to customers and prospective customers. The purpose of advertising is to convince customers that a company's services or products are the best, enhance the image of the company, point out and create a need for products or services, demonstrate new uses for established products, announce new products and programs, reinforce the salespeople's individual messages, draw customers to the business, and to hold existing customers.” – John Taylor, 1978

Today this is still very up to date. The basic purpose of advertising hasn’t changed anywhere. Only the tools are new. Social media is a tool to enhance the spread of messages. Web shop is a tool that is serving the created brand strategy and brand messages. “At the front” can be interpreted in a various way. I would say that this means that advertisers or marketers should be ready to take the leadership of the right brand messages. It’s kind of representing all that happens in the company behind the brand message including product development and product marketing actions. Product guys are very good at listing the features and specifications but it’s marketing’s job to find the USP’s, simplify the messages and above all go beyond the product or service. This would mean using imagination and emotional intelligence to highlight those things that move and touch customers. To be at the front of customers and prospective customers means about giving the power to marketers to create the brand value for the company. All should be always aligned with company’s vision and strategy. This requires that people in the organization trust the marketers to be able to make the right decisions in terms of branding. Marketers are at the front to customers and prospective customers. Not in the background. Not behind.  

Using imagination and emotion is particularly tricky in rational b-to-b business. In mobile phones business, although the operators are direct customers, end users are consumers. They make their buying decisions many times with emotions and brand image. They actually use the products at the end so they most of all should be convinced. Think about KONE elevators. Those are bought by hotels, shopping centers, hospitals etc. but KONE talks about benefits for elevator users like usage comfort for example. KONE advertising is about people using the elevators. Safety and quality becomes major criteria for many business-to-business players. For Finnish industrial companies trust is one of their major competitive advantages. Think about Konecranes. Their machinery lifts 70 million containers worldwide. If you can’t trust the company or if the use of machinery becomes a safety risk, they wouldn’t draw as much buyers as they actually do.  If the nature of business is different in b-to-b and b-to-c, creativity is still the key in all brand communication. Question then is how to communicate the competitive advantage in a way that draws attention. Also different markets may require local approach on creativity. In APAC dynamic communication works well. In Germany you may need to use more facts than emotion based communication. In the US you may ensure your ideas are big enough and relaxed to attract attention. In China softer emotional messages involving people may be just right. This doesn’t mean that global branding is not possible. It can be built based on general values, trends and needs by the end users. It all depends on what business you are in and to whom you are selling.

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How to navigate in the world of marketing strategy

Why are marketing agencies struggling to find new clients? Gone are the days when marketing or building your brand meant having a nice looking logo or typography. How many times have you seen nice looking websites or advertisements? Still those are not generating great financial performance. 

Marketing today is part of the way how a company operates overall. Cash flow, market share and profit arise from superior brands. Superior brands are created because a company operates in a superior way. Nice looking websites are not enough. Websites need to represent attractive offering created by motivated team or smooth customer experience to lead to sales.  

Marketing strategy becomes a growth strategy. When you create a marketing strategy, you can actually start from competitive analysis, go to analyze the team including competences, attitude and passion the team has, strategic plan, balance between sales, marketing and R&D functions, market size, financial performance, products and their emotional connection to consumers –basically what it all takes for a company to grow. You would also need to go behind a nice looking website. What is it really that touches consumers? Is the company team passionate enough to create superior brands that touch consumers? Is the team motivated? How does the company differ from competitors? Is external communications effective? Do people recommend the brand to others?  

When I think about Supercell or Rovio these companies are generating growth because they operate in a superior way. Motivated teams create attractive products which consumers recommend to each other. Typography in Angry Birds marketing looks nice but there is certainly more behind it.

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Technological trick can change the game for retail

  Finnish Helsingin Sanomat (HS 4.2.2014) announced that one third of Anttila (one of the biggest nonfood retailers in Finland) retail stores will be closed. According to Anttila’s management the reason for this was the digitalization especially popularity of online shopping and increasing competition.  At the same time I am reading about Burberry’s retail renewal with the help of new technology and new pricing strategy. Burberry brought iPads to their 300 retail stores to improve in store shopping experience meaning to be fun for shoppers. They also moved from low price to high price products offering luxury image for their customers. The new strategy worked. Although these retailers compete for different customer segments, this raises some interesting thoughts on physical retail, online shops and shopping experience.  Combination of physical and digital retail is a complex entity that requires strategic touch, continous development and some speed. Before you had to develop only the physical environment but today you need to understand also the digital part which makes it all a lot more complex. I know companies that have successfully and completely moved from physical stores to online shops but it all depends on what business you are in and which customer segments you are serving. All is solved case by case. Here my outcome:

1)      Physical retail should continuously be developed further. This could be done by using new kind of technology to create personalized retail experience in stores and driving traffic to physical stores from digital environment (campaigns, online shops, social media). Social media or other digital channels are not only inexpensive but also effective way for arranging campaigns. For example IKEA has offered almost free products to drive traffic both to their retail and online store. Therefore there should be feed from digital to physical. Naturally you need to understand how social and digitally aware your customers are. Stores can create some exciting momentum in the shop. Hugely popular Hollister creates almost mysterious atmosphere in their physical shops. Its dark inside and you really need to discover the products. Layout for the clothes is relaxed and you can almost imagine being somewhere else, maybe in a small Californian surfing town. This allows you to get away for a while whether you are in Stockholm or London. Also Hollister shops offer products which are not offered online. The main business for them is still the online business.  

  2)      It’s fairly common that online shops are launched without any side campaigns. It’s believed that the store itself and the products are attractive enough to pull customers. Seldom works. You need to get the word out, provide people something for free or with a low price, create desire and then let it all roll. Creating desire means that you will identify the brand ambassadors who will recommend your shop to others. As consumers are the kings and queens and determine which brands they like and which they hate today you can’t control it too much either.

  3)      Retail experience needs to be brought from physical to online shops. Consumers want to interact and ask questions. Wouldn’t you if you were shopping in physical retail? Perhaps you have questions about warranty issues or paying methods? Or you are looking for the right colored plates for the wine glasses you just bought. That’s why you need to provide a chat service for your customers that not only improves your customer satisfaction but also improves conversion rates. Advanced analytics what Finnish company called Giosg.com (www.giosg.com) is providing along with their service allows you to identify big spenders and understand the content of their shopping bags. For company’s sales and customer service personnel it can be like a game. It’s fun, fast and allows you to serve several customers real time. All online.

  Additionally pricing strategy needs to be right. Logistics needs to work. If you can’t deliver without causing dissatisfaction, don’t do it. Instead get your customers to come to physical store to pick up their items and maybe shop some accessories too.

Small ideas can become big ideas in retail. A smart iPad application can quickly change the game for you.