Interesting book - Plug your business

I just finished reading 'Plug your Business' by Steve Weber.

In the end of the book he stated:

• The most valuable asset of your company and brand is the credibility of the public

That's and interesting statement when working with customer service excellence.

You can buy the book from Amazon - there's a link from this post.

Multiple channels - a step into spring

Multiple channels - but still a long way to cross-channel operations

The launch of the Jack & Jones Online Portal represents a look into the future of retailing for Bestseller. Now, we have multiple channels (retail store and online shop are channels) for the same brand.

The creation of the Jack & Jones site, and the shift to the platform, IBM Websphere Commerce, has been a focused, ongoing project with participation of many parties.

“Jack & Jones is the first brand to go live on the new platform – a platform which is the first step towards real multi-channel retailing for Bestseller”, says Kim Østergaard from Bestseller Online and adds, “Every competitive case study shows that online sales will not reduce turnover from the retail stores, which is essential for Bestseller’s future entrance into this multi-channel world. When customers buy something from an online shop, up to 40% of them buy additional products in the physical retail store later on.”

Today’s consumers are more demanding than ever when it comes to expected levels of service and how they interact with a retailer. They want to shop whenever and however they please, through any channel, without making any sacrifices. Ultimately, consumers buy from retail brands, not retail channels. For them, the distinction between retail stores and online shopping is irrelevant.

You do not just get multi-channel (or cross-channel operations) by adding a web-sales channel – even if it shares the same brand name as the physical retail stores. Customers do not buy from channels – they trade with brands. Different channels can fulfill the brand experience by delivering customer service excellence, but the experience needs to be consistent from channel to channel.

“We see teamwork as the key parameter for gaining success in multi-channel retailing”, says Kim and continues: “therefore we have made the following statement: You need to act like one brand with one team before you can talk with one voice."

Online brand portals are a good and relevant marketing tool to boost sales in retail stores. Multiple channels are not multi-channel – but is a step in the right direction.

Jack & Jones - a site look

New Jack & Jones Online Portal Universe

The online portal features a cutting edge Jack & Jones community website, Facebook profile, as well as a cool VIP lounge where you can take part in many different kinds of virtual entertainment. Members of the VIP lounge (the name for Jack & Jones member club which is anchored in both retail stores and online shop) can, for instance, read interesting and entertaining blogs written by Jack & Jones e

mployees, and participate in competitions. In time, the VIP lounge will become much more than just a member club – and be further developed with an even more extensive game lounge.

The idea behind the new Jack & Jones portal universe is to combine the worlds of retail shopping and at the same time find relevant brand information. The usability of the portal is designed to make online shopping and inspiration for retail purchases a fun experience for the consumers. The online portal also has a strong focus on the improved Store Locator functionality – which includes map functionality, searches and driving directions.

The new online shop is only open for Danish customers. In a couple of weeks, the online portal will also have an English version, and at the same time it will replace Jack & Jones’ present website.

The Jack & Jones and Bestseller Online team is right now adding rich-media content, videos, interesting category views, user ratings, comprehensive search technology and recommendations and much more to the site.