Retail firms need efficient and engaging Web sites that communicate important store information that helps users start their shopping before they even walk through the door. Positively engaging customers from the point of contact to the point of sale is a key to securing customer loyalty. Most retail Web sites fail to harness the full potential of online service features and thus fail to serve the needs of their customers end-to-end. Retail firms also need more effective reporting and forecasting tools for such things as inventory status and sales figures.

 

How the Virtual Earth Platform Meets Those Challenges

The Virtual Earth platform can help you create a unique Web site that enables your customers to not only visualize store locations but also access multiple layers of information, such as inventory status, department location, special events, and services availability.

 

Through this flexible platform, your organization can present the visually driven information that best meets the expectations of your customers.

 

Typical Applications

Here are a few ways your retail firm can use the features and functionality of the Virtual Earth platform:

• Provide customers with clear concise access to locations, driving directions, and other peripheral information.
• Highlight sales, special events, and unique departments by location. Then provide an overlay that maps out different departments within stores and helps customers determine the best entrance to use based on product and brand placement.
• Describe location, inventory, and service availability using uniquely branded pushpins and information boxes.
• Help customers find what they are looking for with customizations such as store floor plans.

 

Benefits

A Virtual Earth implementation can help both your organization and your customers realize multiple advantages:

• Encourage customer loyalty and satisfaction by providing information that can help shoppers determine which of your stores best fits their individual needs—either by closest location or by specialized inventory or services.
• Help customers easily find your stores by providing them with 3D or bird's eye views of your locations, and make distinctions between your stores, such as calling out flagship stores and other branches with unique products or services.
• Help predict inventory demand and sales revenues and identify other sales opportunities by compiling sales history and demographic data of local customer populations, such as customer needs and behaviors.
• Visualize business metrics, distribution networks, and supply chain shipments by integrating the Virtual Earth platform with business intelligence applications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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