Are Your Customers Playing Hard to Get? Here's Why They’ve Escaped—and How You Can Win Them Back!

The Evolution of Shopping: Why Your Customers Have Escaped and How to Bring Them Back

In today’s fast-paced digital world, traditional go-to-market strategies are becoming obsolete. The era of customers loyally sticking to a single shopping channel is over. Now, they surf through multiple channels, leaving companies grappling with stranded assets and outdated sales strategies. It’s time for a fresh perspective on customer behavior and channel design. Ready to dive in? Let’s explore how you can adapt and thrive in this new landscape.

🛒 The New Age of Channel Surfing

Gone are the days when customers would walk into a store, get advice from a salesperson, and make a purchase on the spot. Today’s customers are savvy, using high-touch channels for information and then jumping to cheaper channels for the actual purchase. They have become unfettered, breaking free from the channels companies designed for them.

For instance, who hasn’t flipped through a catalog before heading to a mall, or consulted a travel agent only to book flights online? This behavior has left companies with expensive, underutilized assets—think highly trained salespeople and vast retail spaces that see little traffic.

🔍 Understanding the Unfettered Customer

Customers today are more informed, strategic, and adversarial. They hunt for bargains, delay purchases for last-minute sales, and use sophisticated tools to compare prices and quality across channels. They no longer follow a linear path from awareness to purchase within a single channel. Instead, they hop between channels, picking and choosing where to gather information, evaluate options, and finally, make a purchase.

📊 Rethinking Channel Strategy

To adapt, companies must rethink their core go-to-market strategies. Instead of designing channels to capture specific demographic segments, businesses need to align their channels with actual buyer behavior. Here’s how:

• Segment by Behavior, Not Demographics: Understand the different types of shoppers—habitual, high-value deal seekers, variety-loving, and high-involvement shoppers. Each group behaves differently and needs a tailored approach.
• Design Pathways, Not Channels: Create seamless pathways that guide customers through the buying process, providing value at every stage. Your goal is to ensure customers get what they need from any channel, ultimately driving value back to your company.

🛠️ Examples of Success

Toyota has embraced an open system. Recognizing that customers extensively research before buying a car, Toyota links its website to Edmunds, a trusted car ratings site. This strategy guides informed customers back to Toyota’s site for the final purchase.

Staples offers a more captive system. By integrating online and offline experiences—allowing in-store online orders and offering various purchasing methods—Staples ensures they hold onto their customers throughout the buying process. This strategy led to a 30% revenue increase in 2002.

💡 Building Your Pathways

To design effective go-to-market systems, consider these factors:

• Product Integration: For products needing customization or ongoing service, a captive system makes sense.
• Assortment Requirements: If customers need a broad range of products, an open system is essential.
• Product Availability: For products requiring immediate availability or spare parts, an open system is beneficial.
• Quality Assurance: When product reliability is crucial, a captive system may be necessary.

🔧 Crafting Your Strategy

Determine your company’s strengths—unique products, process competence, or strong customer relationships—and design your channel strategy accordingly. You might specialize in one phase of distribution, coordinate multiple specialists, or create a blend of open and captive systems.