With talk of Sears Holdings (SHLD, Financial) closing stores in the wind, I grew curious about the on-line initiative the company says will help pull it out of the hole. “Shop Your Way” will draw more customers to the Sears website and introduce new and younger customers to its products. More eyes will mean more sales, Sears president and CEO Eddie Lampert says.
I am rooting for Sears because I remember shopping there as a kid. I’d hate to see the retail icon go away. So I signed up for “Shop Your Way,” a rewards system that allows you to collect points from shopping at the department store. The points can be redeemed for goods and services at big brand names like Uber and Under Armour. (You also have the option for cash back deals and all sorts of discount coupons.)
I wanted to see what all the hype was about. But I’m no better than your average would-be customer, so I also asked some of the best internet marketing experts to tell me how this strategy could work.
Here’s what they said.
Attracting page views
Jesse Reynolds, who does research for a big digital marketing agency in New York, tells me it’s the same ol’ same ol.' Remember when the airlines started giving people mileage points? You get customers to buy your product with promises of other products at a cheap price, discount or even for free.
Reynolds, of EfferentMedia, says companies like Sears had to cut deals with businesses like Uber. These companies make elaborate calculations to make sure they aren’t giving away the farm. Then, everybody gets together to create “an ecosystem.” This ecosystem is cool because it carries with it “an existential value.” That means it draws a lot of page views and, one would hope, more customers.
And page views were what Lampert says Sears is after. So far, so good.
But Reynolds says quite flatly that this is not a marketing tool that will incentivize sales, just eyes, and not necessarily new eyes.
“I wouldn’t see it as the end all and be all,” he said. “I would look at it more as a unique way to generate customers.’’
Please buy this
Justin Quick is the chief marketing officer for the Chicago-based Netblaze. He is launching tthe digital marketing and brand consulting platform in April after amassing nearly a decade of experience in the digital marketing arena.
He has some interesting ideas about web marketing.
Quick tells me he wouldn’t tell customers about a point system. He would be stealthier.
“The way I would do it is to track it internally so the customer doesn’t expect it,’’ he said. “So when it hits a certain point, I’d reach out and give them an actual reward.”
In his opinion, a point-based rewards system is a poor sales strategy because you haven’t provided anything the customer doesn’t already “have.”
“If you have a reward system and I buy from you, then I earned those points, they are mine,” Quick said. “They are not a gift from you, nor are they a way of you thanking me."
As the seller, you are often likely to believe that you got people to buy your product by dangling a reward.
And, yes, in some cases, loyalty programs often work because they motivate customers to keep shopping and collect just enough points to meet a goal.
But when it’s all said and done, said Dr. John Dinsmore, assistant professor of digital marketing and rewards initiatives at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, you’re likely going to be rewarding your most loyal and active customers for doing something they would have done without the incentive.
Adding up the points
The digital marketing experts that provided help on this article offered up some good ideas that would improve the “Shop Your Way” program.
When I got on the website, for example, I had zero points to start.
Josh Brown, a digital strategist at Fieldboom, a San Francisco-based marketing firm, says a customer would have probably been more enthusiastic about earning points with a head-start.
“One thing that can be done to make a point system more effective is to give customers an artificial start for signing up,” Brown said.
“Instead of making it 800 points to redeem a product, give a customer 200 points and make it 1000 points for redemption.”
The point system can be tricky. When I first signed up, I learned from the website that I could earn 10 points or more for every $1 spent on qualified purchases.
But I found it complex and confusing. For example, a $17 discounted pajama gets me 17 cents in points. A Vanity Fair Women’s Coloratura Sleepwear Short Flutter Sleeve Gown, also discounted, is $36 and I get 0.21 cents in points. The Body Solid Vinyl Dipped Red KettleBALL set sells for $488.07. (That is marked down from $610.99, according to the website.) I can earn exactly $4.88 in points if I purchase the equipment. (Some items, I won’t get any points at all.)
The marketing experts said consumers want simple and easy solutions.
Anna-Vija McClain, president of a marketing strategy and services agency, known as Piccolo Marketing, told me about the rewards programs she encourages with her clients, usually small business owners.
“Our digital marketing efforts tend to be more organic and authentic,’’ the Nashville marketer said. “What I do know about smaller business owners is that they want fast, easy solutions that are not overcomplicated.”
Just to sign up for “Shop Your Way,” I had to submit my name, address, home and mobile phone numbers, email, password (maybe even have to get a PIN). If I get too many emails, I can always unsubscribe!
But here’s what had me really do a double-take. Reynolds of EfferentMedia told me at the end of our interview:
“You know, the problem is that there are conglomerates doing this in such a big way.”
Ebates, Reynolds says, has “perfected” this. People can access the app anywhere. “You don’t have to worry about it, as you shop, you accumulate points without having to go out of your way to do anything.
“Whereas in Shop Your Way, you have to get on the computer, at least?” ("Shop Your Way" offers an app.)
I immediately jump on the Ebates website and it flashes, “If you’ve never heard of Ebates before, get ready to make some easy money.”
They just need an email and a password. And, I get a $10 bonus offer to sign up.
People seem to be already shopping their way over there.
Like I said, I’m rooting for Sears and “Shop Your Way” as it expands its reach. But playing catch-up can be rough business.
