Retail Marketing and Branding: A Definitive Guide to Maximizing ROI, 2nd Edition

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

Selling something you have in stock at your store to someone who wants it – that's not a deal; that's a transaction. But getting ready to sell things you don't yet have to people who don't yet know they want them – that's more like a deal.

As you read this, the reality of retail is shifting from traditional transactions to real deals. Retailers operate in an environment of fragmented needs, hybrid consumption, changing channels, multiple formats, big data, and real-time decisions. Building strong brands, developing compelling propositions, and managing marketing ROI is now more complex than it ever was. New entrants, many of them pure online players, are changing the rules of the game. Ever more demanding shoppers want it all – every-where and all the time. Social media spread the news at the speed of light, whether of a good deal or of a broken promise. Retail marketing may rarely have been more challenging, but it was also never quite as rewarding as it is today.

When Retail Marketing and Branding: A Definitive Guide to Maximizing ROI first came out two years ago, it struck a chord with retailers old and new. It turned out that tools for complexity reduction and approaches for balancing analysis with pragmatism were exactly what senior retail executives were looking for. Enthusiastic feedback from readers all over the world encouraged us to up the ante for an enhanced second edition:

• all-new chapters on format development and fact-based promotion ...