BRAND UTILITY — Less suck, more sales.

Marketing an Ad Agency differs little from marketing any other product or service.  Ad Agencies vying for business spend countless hours and dollars trying to convince clients they are smarter and thus better than that “other” agency.  Every few years a marketing trend surfaces and agencies “brand” the problem and their solution with a new and unique buzz word.

In the world where Direct Marketing begat Integrated Marketing, then later flourish into Social Marketing, advertising gurus faced with an increasingly informed, educated and digitally enhanced consumer have finally decided they can no longer blow smoke up a client’s or consumer’s sphincter – you need substance. You need Brand Utility.

From Grid Boutique to Chain Store Mogul – expanding your retail operations in Secondlife.

In a virtual world where inventory is unlimited after creation, it’s all about volume. Even low profit can become substantial profit when you multiply it by ten profitable locations.

Once you have a profitable main location it is time to consider the pursuit of low-cost, low-prim satellite shops to help move your top-selling products, acquire new customers, increase brand awareness, and subsequently increase sales.

 

Finding the Right Space

Rental spaces on the grid are very similar to your average shopping mall but there are some very notable differences.  To begin with, most retail space in Second Life is a secondary attraction (and subsidizer) of a social attraction.  Unlike the shopping mall, the bulk of foot traffic arrives with an intention other than shopping.

While this may appear to set retailers at a disadvantage from the start, there are some important considerations to keep in mind:

Foot Traffic and You – cashing in on conversions.

Foot traffic, or SIM Traffic as we call it on the grid, is simply the number of bodies that walk through the door each day.  As a savvy retailer, your job is to convert as many of those bodies into paying customers.

To improve your conversion rate you must first understand how to calculate it.  The formula is total transactions for a given time period divided by the total visitors during that same time period.  If your store had ten visitors and you had one transaction your conversion rate would be 10% (transactions/visitors).

Conversion rates will vary greatly from your main store and remote locations.  Shoppers visiting your main store have made a conscious decision to visit your establishment with the intent to shop.  Small retail spaces at entertainment and social venues primarily attract impulse shoppers.  Space layouts, product offerings and designs should address those primary audiences accordingly.

Once you have calculated conversion rates for your locations you can then begin to work on strategies to improve them.  Sure you could haphazardly make visual changes and hope for the best, but knowing what is and isn’t working is the key to ongoing success.