This is part of the presentation from Richard Keeves to the Retail Forum held at the Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia on 18 June 2013 as part of the Smarter Digital RoadMaps for Retailers pilot program. More information on this is at the www.DigitalRoadMaps.org website.

1. Perth Retailers share their
Online Lessons for Success
18 June 2013
Retail Forum

2. Presented by Richard Keeves
Program Director,
Smarter Digital RoadMaps for Retailers Pilot Program
and
Director of Smarter Web Strategies.com

3. Thanks to CCIWA and the many supporters
and special guest helpers during the program.

4. Website: Digital RoadMaps.org
• Funded by the WA State Government’s WA Business Online
initiative
• Partnership between Chamber of Commerce & Industry of WA
& Smarter Web Strategies.com
Background to the Pilot Program

5. • Survey of Retailers
• Coaching Program
• Webinars
• Developing Resources
• Database of Service Providers
• Website for the Resources
• LinkedIn Group
Background to the Pilot Program

6. Coaching Program
• Three ½ Day Workshops with Guest presenters
• Group Breakfasts (monthly)
• Individual Coaching sessions
• Website Reviews
• Individual Support & Guidance
• Guidance and joining in discussions with existing &
new digital Service Providers
• Introductions to new Service Providers
• Planning & preparing Digital RoadMaps
• Troubleshooting & Mentoring

7. Webinars
1. Introduction to Digital RoadMaps (Presented by Richard Keeves)
2. What makes you Unique? (Presented by Richard Keeves)
3. Building Trust (Presented by Richard Keeves)
4. Defining and Finding Your Ideal Customers (Presented by Richard Keeves)
5. Strategies for Growth (Presented by Richard Keeves)
6. New Trends in Retailing (Presented by Piers from Vivid)
7. Everything you know about Brand is Wrong! (Presented by Michel Hogan)
8. Stop Delighting Your Customers (Presented by Michel Hogan)
9. Google Places & Google Business Photos (Presented by Marianne Annereau)
10. Smarter SEO & SEM (Presented by Andy Dalton)
11. Conversion Rate Optimization (presented by Mark Garner)
12. Improving Website Checkout Processes & Reducing Shopping Cart
Abandonment (Christian Holst and Jamie Appleseed, Baymard Institute, Copenhagen)
13. Taking Payments Online (Presented by Richard Keeves)
14. Getting Smarter with CRM (Presented by Nick Bennett)
15. Getting Smarter with SMS (Presented by Paul Mulvenna)

8. Resources
• Planning the Digital RoadMap
• Assessing Your Business
• Growth Strategies
• Smarter SEO & SEM
• Planning Your Website
• Using Social Media
• Conversion Rate Optimization
• Online Payment Processing
• Selecting Shopping Carts
• Defining Ideal Customers
• Brand Building
• Behavioural Targeting and Re-Marketing
• Learning how to use Google Analytics
Provided to Coaching group members, in
Webinars, and/or on the program website

9. The LinkedIn Group

10. So, what’s a
Digital RoadMap?

11. #1
#4
#3
#2

12. 1. Purpose
2. Greatness
3. Uniqueness
4. Ideal Customers
5. Benefits
6. Essentials
The Business… and its
We start by defining

13. e.g. Becoming The Chosen One
With Smarter Strategies for the Digital World
And we focus on Strategies
that make sense
Why, What, How…

14. • Set Goals, Objectives and initial Action Plans.
• Usually combination of Small Tweaks today AND
Bigger Changes moving forward
Today  3 Years’ Time  12 Months
THEN Chunk down, Plan next 4 Quarters.
We do Possibility Thinking for the Future,
choose the priority areas to focus on and
prepare the initial Digital RoadMap
Implement, Monitor & Improve
Update Quarterly & roll forward.

15. And a bit about Technology
My “Choosing Technology” Mantra
– Increased Flexibility
– Reduced Risks
– Better Options for the Future

17. The world
is
ON SALE

18. Sad
Retailers 
Happy
Customers 

19. What do customers really want?

20. When do customers want to shop?
ANY
TIME
24.7.365

21. ANY HOW
ANY PLACE
ANY WHERE
How do customers want to shop?

22. Some Observations about the Pilot Program…

23. 1. It’s time. “Prepare for the Digital Journey or
prepare to retire.”
2. Most retailers work ‘in’, not ‘on’. There is
lots to learn, lots to do and so little time.
3. All plans change, BUT having a plan is better
than not having a plan.

24. 1. Every business is Unique. Most don’t know it.
2. Everything is about the Customer. Always.
3. All customers are NOT the same.
4. To make improvements, changes do not have to be BIG.
Most businesses can make SMALL tweaks and get
better results.
5. Customers don’t like Pain. Identify & remove Points of
Pain. Make life more convenient for customers and
reduce friction points.

25. Price is important.
So are
 Value,
 Trust,
 Service,
 Availability and
 Convenience

26. • Most retailers have been ‘ripped off’ in the past by web dev firms.
• Many retailers probably did not know what they were buying.
Who was responsible?
More Observations

27. Web Development Companies
• do not understand retail.
• are limited to their own areas of technological expertise.
• don't always admit their limitations.
• often over-state their expertise.
• may be biased or worse. Wrong or even Deceptive.
• are not well-liked or well-trusted by retailers.
• don't really like being judged by the results the retailer
may or may not achieve.
• just create the website. The retailer needs to manage it.
Most web firms

29. = V i t a l
for retailers selling online

30. = V i t a l
1. Getting Found Easily with SEO
2. Cost-Effective Accountable Advertising with Google AdWords
3. Understanding Website Activity with Google Analytics
4. Building Trust with Google Places, Business Photos & Reviews
5. Enticing Qualified Visitors with SERP Text and Rich Snippets
6. Running a good website using Google Webmaster Tools
7. Understanding Usability with Google In-Page Analytics

31. Mobile Business is booming
• Massive Threats
• Massive Opportunities
• Misunderstood
• Under-used

32. Conversion Rate Optimization

33. Small Tweaks can mean Big Results
• Increasing Conversion Rates from say 2% to
3% of website visitors can give you a 50%
increase in sales.
• Increasing from 2% to 4% DOUBLES YOUR
SALES.

34. STOP LEAKS

35. Let’s hear from some of the Retailers
in the Coaching Program…

36. RETAILERS SHARE THE LESSONS…
• This segment of the Forum was recorded on video.
• Check back at www.DigitalRoadMaps.org to access this
info.
The next slides were not shown during the presentation
due to time constraints – as we had valuable and lively
discussion in the Retail Forum.
(This slide was added after the presentation.)

37. Some Other Lessons & Comments
from Coaching Program members
1. What benefits have you got from being part of the
coaching program?
2. What problems or issues has the program caused or
raised for you?
3. What issues do you see for retailers in the digital world?
4. What else would you want to add?

38. Benefits
“The main benefit to me so far is getting like minded people together and sharing
ideas.”
“Discovering how different retailers are tackling the online retail space.”
“Access to a great knowledge pool.”
“Has bought a lot of clarity to our forward planning through use of Goals & Key
Actions over 3 Years. At same time brought the “language” of Digital into every day
understanding. Eg Tech Talk that is used “against” retailers now has an
understanding making it less of a concern when dealing with suppliers to the E-
Industry.”
“The introduction of the Review of our Web Site document – as well as that of our
competitors - has produced a genuine roadmap for improvement. This is now used
with our Web Site supplier team as a target and KPI, reviewed regularly. The Target
is to lift the score and then to measure outcomes from the web site.”

39. Benefits
“Access to tools and resources to optimise and progress our Digital Roadmap.”
“Unbiased, trustworthy and independent counsel to aid in the navigation and
connection with applicable service provider partners.”
“Thought provocation leading to actionable outcomes.”
“The program has focused us on where our business is heading and given us some
good guidelines to follow. The program has also made us question our business and
really look in-depth at what we do.”

40. Problems
“The bottomless pit in investing online and the fact the technology is being
superseded so quickly. How can a retailer who is experiencing diminishing
margins justify investing into unproven technology.”
“The challenge on keeping focused on your core business whilst experimenting in
the retail space.”
“Too much content too quickly – not enough time or assistance to work through it
all – has become overwhelming.”
“Caused nil problems. Identified where the gaps are in our E-Business activity
and presence.”
“Challenged my time management skills. Information overload – still have
significant amount of content from the program to review.”
“It has raised LOTS of question. Seemly more questions than answers so it’s
frustrating. ( not a really bad thing)”

41. Issues for retailers in the digital world
“Finding the balance between economies of scale, physical shops, and online
presence. Too labour intensive will cause problems.”
“Finding a cost effective system to conduct business on. Control vs cost.”
“If they don't understand this stuff they aren't going to have a business.”
“Being left behind. This program has genuinely helped the uneducated (or more
dangerously those with a little knowledge) gain solid knowledge about what the
Web is, what it can do and how to go about developing a genuine E Strategy.”
“Challenge of optimising spend to achieve Return on Investment. Enacting change
in the Organisational Structure to realign internal resources to service the Digital
Savvy consumer.”
“How can small business compete with the large on-line retailers, who have the
funding and staff to keep abreast of the latest Web idea, Digital innovations etc. “

42. Other comments…
“I guess the biggest benefit of a genuine E-Coach is having someone
who is not constantly trying to add to cost rather being there to guide
the business toward maximising presence and benefits from the Web
Site.”
“What you can understand, you can control. The barrier therefore is
knowledge. But I know I can’t become a master of all, so I need to
employ this knowledge.
“The trick is to employ a group of trusted and cost effective people to
minimise the risk, and not burn too much cash before profits are
generated.”

43. “Maybe you need to go backwards to go forward. In our case destock
and experiment. Adapt the current retail model into a leaner outfit
and change employees’ and customers’ mindsets. Then re-emerge as
a stronger player in the new retail world.”
“If you get online right, it is low capital high rewards. If you don’t,
welcome to the graveyard. The catch is your investment has little
residual value if it fails to succeed. That’s the stumbling block with
retailers, so your payback period has to be very quick.”
“This program has taught us a lot of new stuff... And shown us we
have a lot to learn. It is quite overwhelming, but it is new and exciting
this digital world. This course is helping us understand how to
approach the digital retail market and expand our business.”
Other comments

44. “Big will not always be best.”
“The rules haven’t been written.”
“As discussed in some of our sessions the simple fact of “if I get a
website I will be alright” is not true. That is only the beginning, then
the site must be maintained and kept up to date.
“Then the related issues of SEO etc must be addressed, then “Real
World” issues i.e. having the correct products, transport issues,
payment and returns etc.”
Other comments

45. Thanks to CCIWA & the many supporters and
special guest helpers during the program.

46. Richard@smarterwebstrategies.com
Phone: + 61 413 755 468 (Mobile)
+ 61 8 9467 1884 (Office)
Twitter: @RichardKeeves
What’s next?
Hopefully, more smart use of
Digital RoadMaps.
Let’s stay in touch.
www.DigitalRoadMaps.org