The Body Shop – integrating online and offline marketing channels

When comes to shopping I don’t buy everything online, I enjoy the process of going into a shop, trying on an item of clothing and taking it home.  I visit The Body Shop about once a month and I’ve also signed up to their loyalty card which gives very good discounts instore. 

Keeping customers up to date with email

I’ve never shopped online at The Body Shop but when I signed up for the loyalty card they captured which store I signed up in and as well as my email address and were able to send me the very useful email communication below to let me know the store was closing for refurbishment. 

This is a great example of how retailers can combine their online and offline activity very simply.  If you’re not already then capture store visitors’ details at the point of purchase.  If they only have to give their name and email address for ‘amazing special offer updates’ then the majority will give you that information.  You could also ask for their date of birth as well so you can do some special birthday offers emails.

The Body Shop email also encouraged me to visit their online store and shop there which I hadn’t done before.  It has a simple design and gets straight to the point, and it renders perfectly on a smart phone.

                                   

Ensure call to actions are near the top

Just over two weeks later I received an email to let me know that my local branch had reopened – good to know!  But, because I was viewing the email on my smart phone, to find the really interesting thing (the special offer) I had to scroll down the email.

                                    
 
It was great that The Body Shop kept me informed that the shop had reopened but I wish they’d have told me about their exciting celebratory offers nearer to the top of the email, that way I definitely wouldn’t have missed out as I only saw them when I revisited the email.

So if you’re a retailer looking to up your online activity why not combine your online and offline efforts, after all marketing is all about ensuring you have a great mix of different channels.