Channel Mastery - Ep. 72: SIA Panel Preview

“Our north star, i.e. our dear, omnichannel consumer, should be empowered to acquire the product on their own terms, through the channel they want.”
- Kristin Carpenter

EPISODE PREVIEW:

Today’s episode of the Channel Mastery podcast is a solocast – short and sweet. It’s a preview of a panel I’m leading at the Snowsports Industries of America and Outdoor Retailer trade shows, taking place at the end of Jan., 2019.( NOTE: The panel takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 29, at 2:15 pm, in the Denver Convention Center conference center, room 401.)

It’s titled “Managing the Gap: How Successful Retailers Can Bridge the Digital Divide, Capture Attention and Build Trust with the Omnichannel Consumer in 2019.”

If you’re operating a specialty brand, lifestyle brand, or specialty retail operation today, every single word and concept in that title should be on your radar in securing a kick ass 2019!

Specialty retail will grapple with the digital divide in 2019 as we continue to share our omnichannel consumer’s online decision journey with the juggernauts: Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Their data-driven strategies and level of nimbleness create a disconnect and friction for the consumer when it comes time for them to land in our realm, and in our channel experience. The panel, and a coordinated series of Channel Mastery episodes running in January through early February, will give you the information you need to take this on.

In a word: We are going to figure out how to continually and effectively place the almighty consumer on the pedestal they deserve. Today, you’ll also hear a bit about my phenomenal guests, who will be sharing their expertise on the panel and on Channel Mastery.

Then, I’ll give you a quick preview of what I see as a few BIG themes for 2019. It’s early, but never too early to start shaping a strategy that understands our competition and leverages our strengths.

SELECT QUOTES:

“The research, the news, and the information that’s published…around the changing omnichannel consumer isn’t created for us. It’s created for large, multichannel brands and mega-retailers. And on this podcast our mission is to filter through the headlines and those resources, and to make the news and ideas relevant to specialty brands, specialty retailers and specialty business leaders.”
“The juggernauts [Amazon, Facebook, Google] are doing everything they can to shape the consumer’s expectation, to get in front of that expectation, and to innovate around it. Basically, that’s what’s making it difficult for us to do what we do [in the specialty sector]. But not if you have the right information, and if you understand how to augment that experience of the omnichannel consumer.”
“Every channel, every brand experience, every retail opportunity. That’s what we call the digital divide on Channel Mastery.”
“Our north star, i.e. our dear, omnichannel consumer, should be empowered to acquire the product on their own terms, through the channel they want.”