![[2021 컨슈머]⑩ Giuseppe Stiliano “Retail 4.0, building relationships is key”](https://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/202101/31/2021013100045_0.jpg "[2021 컨슈머]⑩ Giuseppe Stiliano “Retail 4.0, building relationships is key”")
Input 2021.01.31 06:30
Build relationships with people and reborn as a community-oriented
We need to win customers’ hearts through service, sociality, and sustainability
Coronavirus infection (Corona 19) has pushed the offline distribution industry to the edge of a cliff. Unlike in the past, when products were provided and customers visited and purchased on their own, online has developed, and now is an era in which companies are taking customers.
“The future of distribution lies in H2H (person-to-person transaction) beyond B2B (business-to-business transactions) and B2C (business-to-consumer transactions),” said Giuseppe Stiliano, the WWP operator of global marketing group, in an interview with Chosun Biz. Explained.
In the end, the store becomes a place to build relationships with people through experience and must be reborn as the center of the community. He lectured on retail and marketing at several Italian universities and published his latest book,’Retail 4.0′. I heard from him about the future of the distribution industry after Corona 19. The following are questions and answers.
“Retail 1.0 is a time when employees in uniforms simply sold products in stores in the late 1800s. Retail 2.0 means shopping malls in the 1960s. Restaurants, bowling alleys, and movie theaters were built, and department stores were built with family and friends without the burden of purchasing products. It became a place to spend time.
With the advent of e-commerce such as Amazon in the 1990s, it was the retail 3.0 era. Reviews influenced customers’ purchases, and as technology developed, they started recommending products that customers would like. Retail 4.0 is online acceleration and democratization. Customers can easily access information about products and services online without visiting the store. Direct communication on social media is also possible. Eventually, the H2H era has opened beyond B2B and B2C.”
-Please explain in detail about H2H.
“H2H is the concept that there are people who live and breathe behind all companies. We live in a society where artificial intelligence and machine learning are prevalent. In that case, it is important to implement the elements that smell people. It is more important to implement human-like distribution marketing. It should influence the customer’s feelings and purchases.
It is to build trust by establishing relationships with people through service, sociality, and sustainability. Service prioritizes people’s perspectives over companies. IKEA makes your store look like a home or office and recommends matching products. It naturally suggested purchases and simplified the customer’s selection process.
Sociality is that the burial becomes the center of the local community. It should be a meeting place, not just a place where products are sold. In 2016, Apple opened a flagship store (a store that maximizes the brand image) in San Francisco’s Union Square. An outdoor space (plaza) was prepared for people to use even after business hours. Acoustic performances are held every week with free Wi-Fi and chairs. Apple attracts people and acts as a community.
Sustainability is about taking into account future generations and using resources. Apparel company Patagonia travels across the United States in vans and provides clothing repair services. Donate 1% of total sales or 10% of profits to environmental protection organizations. We continue to care about the environment in situations where our customers prefer fair trade brands or products that contribute to environmental protection.”
“Customers don’t necessarily come to a store to buy. Customers can already discover and purchase products online in a variety of ways. Stores should be perceived as a place to have fun, learn, and feel a sense of belonging, not as a place to buy products. do.
Research shows that over 85% of consumers around the world are willing to pay a quarter of the price of a product in exchange for a memorable experience with a product. You can also hold a cooking class after opening hours at the bakery, or take a class at the fish shop. Now you have to sell your lifestyle.”
-Distributors are well aware that online is accelerating, but few companies successfully convert online. What virtues are necessary for a CEO who leads innovation?
“The role of every retailer is to present a vision and inspire energy. It is also important to take responsibility and exercise authority as a leader. On the one hand, you need to understand the degree of change an organization can handle and absorb. Ambition. You have to be humble with it, because we don’t know how the retail industry will change in the future.”
“With Corona, we have entered the’season of consolidation’. Companies from different industries merge, leaving an important footprint (for distributors). It is essential to be agile and manage business in a balanced way. If different industries depend on each other, they can respond flexibly to changing environments.
-Customers are always dissatisfied. What does it take to satisfy customers and survive to the end?
“For the past few years, the retail industry has valued real estate and location. Opening a store in the best place will solve everything. In the online era, this approach is losing logic. In recent years, many retail companies have closed down, and some experts have gone out of business. They even speak of’Apocalypse’ and’Armagedon’ (Last War).
Customers in the Corona era purchase products from multiple companies through very irregular routes. The purchasing pattern is also unpredictable. You can shop anytime, anywhere, and customer expectations are rising. By integrating online and offline content, it is necessary to increase brand awareness and attract fans with an engaging and meaningful experience. In order to succeed, you have no choice but to provide a’special experience’ that no other company can replicate.”