Strategic Advice

The day to day business of running an online enterprise can make it difficult – or even impossible – to take sufficient time out to look at the longer term growth and development of the site. Real TSP works with the majority of its clients to fulfil this essential strategic development role and to ensure that the online channel integrates well and contributes fully to overall growth plans.

Positioning the online channel

"The same, but different" describes the positioning of an online channel relative to its offline counterpart. A website is a highly visible and centrally managed marketing tool and is thus an effective medium for conveying or repositioning the desired brand values. But because of the distinctly different habits and expectations of online and offline shoppers – as well as different competitive environments - the propositions must reflect this.

Real TSP works with retailers to reconcile these differences and to develop profitable online value propositions in harmony with overall company objectives.

Satisfying the multi-channel customer

With profitability at the top of the agenda, we work with our clients to ensure that a multi-channel strategy delivers tangible benefits to their customers by providing a true multi-channel experience. For example:

• Returns and exchanges in store
• Order online and pick-up in store
• In store terminals for customers to order online items that are out of stock
• Check online to see product availability in local store and reserve items

Understanding and modelling cross channel synergies enables Real TSP to develop highly personalised cross-channel marketing strategies to increase shoppers' spend both online and in-store.

Rationalising your outsourcing arrangements

Many retailers are unsure whether to develop resources & skills internally to manage their own business or to outsource the challenge to specialist companies. For those that outsource, the challenge becomes managing multiple suppliers. This is often made difficult by the technical complexities of co-ordinating incompatible systems.

Real TSP can help evaluate alternative in/outsourcing strategies. We use our technical and operational expertise to assess both the direct and hidden costs/benefits of each of the options.

For example, if marketing and technology services are provided by different companies, some marketing campaigns are never implemented due to prohibitive costs.

Building and incentivising teams

The range of skills required within an e-Commerce team is varied. In addition to traditional job-related skills such as marketing, sales and fulfilment, the team must have good commercial, operational and political attributes to ensure the growth, success – and internal support – of the online channel.

For many of our clients, we have put in place innovative techniques and fully automated mechanisms which incentivise and reward store personnel to promote the online sales channel.

Offering the right range

Making the right decision about whether to put all products online or a more limited selection can have a dramatic effect on the number and value of sales made.

We work with our clients to develop effective and profitable strategies to optimise buying and merchandising for the online channel within the overall retail operation.