August, 28^th, 2018

By Anna Chertkova

Retail is no longer about products, it is more about customers now: “The pattern of communication has changed, but not the job of communicators”, says Amedeo Guffanti, general manager and shareholder of 77Agency, in his interview to Business Insider Italia.

Below are the 5W1H of his view.

When: within the next years
At the beginning we used digital to power consumption online, now we are using it to reverse the slump at physical points of sale. The challenge of the next few years will be to increase the number of stores AND to transform shops from places where goods are displayed to a reality where clients are offered personalized service. This way digital will stop being only an intermediate, and will bring an added value for a better customer experience.

What: utmost precision
We @77Agency have developed GotU, a platform that exploits behavioral look-a-like patterns of Facebook in customized and highly targeted campaigns around each point of sale. GotU allows us to reach potentially interested users in the vicinity of stores with customized promotions and campaigns.

Why: study more and perform better
It is essential to know where the user connects and, above all, the local specifics of the area in which he is located in order to communicate with him correctly. For example, in a city like Treviso a choice of shops is comparatively limited, while in Milan we need to take into consideration both longer traveling time and a much wider choice of shops, compared to smaller towns.

On the other hand, mobility has radically changed the experience of media consumption. Internet has gradually surpassed television: Google reaches 94% of the Western population and Facebook with its applications (Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger) counts over two billion users. Amazon is also advancing: the e-commerce giant has been investing a lot in advertising lately.

Where: within a 2km radius… online!
With GotU – awarded by Facebook as the best innovation in 2016 – we @77 have already created 85 thousand local campaigns within a radius of two kilometers. Digital has moved online the sale of some products, while all other still remain on sale in physical stores.

How: profiling & consistency
It is true that a buyer’s location does not have any importance for online purchases, while the same location becomes essential if we aim at bringing customers into a shop: with respect to all privacy rules, we still can map the entire planet and understand how many people live near a certain point. We get to know the socio-demographic profile and interests of these people. We also discovered that if we reach them between six and ten times a month with a customized message, we can make them do a step from online to offline, and get them to visit the shop we targeted.

Who: forward-thinking retailers
Our experience with GotU demonstrated that every Euro invested by our customers has generated seven Euros of sales. Among our customers and testimonials there are both big brands, from Fratelli Rossetti to Burger King, and smaller companies that want to communicate with their customers so as not to be overwhelmed by the online world.