9 Marketing Tips for CE Retailers

As consumer electronics retailers continue to battle the Internet, eroding profits and "down trodden value propositions," they need to make some marketing changes.

Industry veteran Peter Weedfald of Gen One Ventures, and former Samsung and Circuit City executive, recently gave CE retailers some marketing advice on his website that he calls "The Master of Retail Obvious!"

He identifies 9 marketing changes hybrid retailers need to make immediately. Here is a brief synopsis.

1. Track Buyers: He advises getting heavily in CRM software to track customers' buying history, shopping experiences, drive patterns and demographics, psycho-graphics and geo-demographics.

2. Advertising Evolution: Weedfald says TV ads are too expensive and 86 percent of all TV watchers skip ads, according to The Guardian.

3. Better Communications: He recommends smart, direct and relevant communications with customers talking about relevance and competitive value.

4. Measure Your Marketing: He cites a recent report from Hubspot that says the percentage of companies that now blog has more than doubled (from 9 percent to 21 percent) and the lead costs for social media are 61 percent lower than traditional advertising.

5. Build Your SEO: According to Nielson, 57 percent of TV viewers simultaneously search online, while 75 percent of links are "organic," not paid.

6. Do Mobile Advertising: Weedfald cites Nielson data again showing that 57 percent of shoppers have scanned a QR code in an electronics store. The next highest type of store in which QR codes are scanned is a department store with just 36 percent. He advises using QR codes to investigate coupon offers and instant promotions.

7. Create an App: ABI Research says that only 25 percent of U.S. smartphone owners have downloaded a retail app, but nearly half (46 percent) said that they visited that store more often after downloading the app, 40 percent bought more products from that store, and 36 percent told a friend about it.

8. Coupons, Coupons: Three out of every 10 consumers in an electronics store request or use a coupon, so developing a smartphone coupon strategy makes sense.

9. Focus on Youth, but Don't Forget Baby Boomers: Even though younger buyers are more energized, Baby Boomers still control 70 percent of buying power in the U.S. Weedfald advises creating a store that is attractive for Baby Boomers to visit with digital triggers to capture and stimulate buying power.