Brand U nation started with the expansion of the Web and the Internet. How did it start? Investors and managers at first were in love with the simplicity of the Web company model. There were no stores, no people, no real estate, no inventory, and no salaries to weigh down a company’s balance sheet. All efforts were focused on capturing, retaining, and pleasing customers.
The ‘bricks and mortar’ storefronts with all their employees were supposed to go the way of the business dinosaur. Well, this was too simplistic. Shoppers still want to deal with people. So, the Internet business model changed again. After the buzz of the demise of ‘brick and mortar’ storefronts, retailers now realize the secret “to maximizing the potential of both is to weave them seamlessly together so that the consumer can buy any time and anywhere.”
So, ‘bricks and mortar’ outlets morphed into ‘clicks and bricks.’ The new thinking is that storefronts are integral to the retailer and customer relationship. Storefronts create a people-to-people relationship with customers. Storefronts are considered three-dimensional billboards. The customer can check out a product at the retailer, order from home, pick it up at the store or get human customer service at the store if there’s a problem.