The new starting point

As marketers and entrepreneurs, we have to start asking the question, “What does it mean to sell to a virtual customer?”

We now live in a world where every day feels like Cyber Monday. 

With the simple click of a button, customers can order a product, a class session or an entire service package. They also expect speed of delivery. 

The starting point has been moved forward. The customer has gone full digital, and there’s no turning back. So, we might as well keep up.

This is challenging for a brand that kicked off its 2020 working on its brick and mortar strategies. It’s a puzzle for a business that started the year working on how to optimize offline channels, while still hemming and hawing around digital capabilities. 

Some stats from Salesforce might help.

• In 2020, digital revenue increased by 71% year over year

• Purchases from social media went up 104%

• Curbside pickup revenues went up 127%

Spalding is known for supporting recreational centers, but with those places shuttered due to social distancing rules, they took their business to the driveway. They prioritized stocking products online, improved their membership program, and offered incentives for people to buy online. Spalding’s transactions jumped 421% and membership grew by 50%. 

Going full digital may seem like a tall order for any brick and mortar business. Yet, digitization can yield dividends.