Traditional communication mediums alone will not necessarily reach the consumer a retailer wishes to attract.

Doug Knorr, president of Knorr Marketing, told the Western Home Furnishings Association, "Putting money on the bottom line requires a holistic marketing approach. Advertising alone cannot accomplish this goal. Instead, retailers must address every part of their business – from store branding and operational cost-cutting to public relations, websites and social media."

Related: Erika Sparrow was recently named Vice President of the Home Furnishings Division of Knorr Marketing where she will produce marketing communications plans, branding initiatives and promotional campaigns for independent rent-to-own accounts (see story).

Knorr led a two-part workshop titled, "New Game, Same Goal…Win!" that was conducted over two days during the 2009 Western Home Furnishings Association Conference and Expo held in Maui May 17 - 19. Knorr writes a column for the monthly NHFA Home Furnishings Retailer magazine Turn it Around.

To support his assertion that a holistic marketing approach is needed for successful retailing today, Knorr said "The Internet has taken center-stage in terms of enhancing retail today. It is the only medium that allows the public to 'self-elect' what they want to view 24/7 at their own convenience."

To emphasize the important role the Internet plays in public communications today, and why a retailer must present relevant website information to the consumer, Doug cited the following statistics:

- There were 220,141,969 Internet users in the United States as of June, 2008. That's 72.5% of the population, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. .

- During the month of November, 2008, Nielsen Online reported that 169 million of those total Internet users were online.

The monthly data showed 51.6 percent or 87.2 million of those active online users were female. The average female spent a total of nearly 64 hours and 52 minutes on her PC and logged 54 sessions during the month.

48.4 percent of users (82 million) in November, 2008 were male. The average male spent a total of nearly 69 hours and 14 minutes on his PC and logged 60 sessions during the month.

- Internet usage appeals to all races, too. In fact, 68% of African Americans reported they were online, according to a 2008 survey by Yankelovich. Among Black teens, the number of digitally connected is even higher, with 90% reporting they are online. Of all Black Americans, two-thirds say they shop online

- The Pew Internet & American Life reported that 81 percent of all Internet users look for information online about a service or product they are thinking of buying.

- 46% of women in the U.S. surveyed by "SheSpeaks" use social networks. More than four out of 10 women in their 40s surveyed in October, 2008 by "SheSpeaks" had a social networking profile. And over 70% of women with children ages 13 to 17 had talked about products on social networks, compared with 62% of all responding women.

- 62% of Internet users read reviews of companies and products.

- 80% of these Internet users said that the reviews affected their buying decision.

In other words, traditional communication mediums alone will not necessarily reach the consumer a retailer wishes to attract. And, while the Internet does include advertising, it is primarily an information-driven communications medium.

Doug went on to explain how non-advertising strategies, such as public relations, also play a major role in branding a retailer as well as driving traffic to a retailer's website. He noted that a national survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation in March, 2009 asked online respondents to rate their likelihood to read and act upon five types of online "advertising." The results?

- Articles that include brand information: 51%
- Email offers: 47%
- Sponsored search engine links: 39%
- Banner ads: 25%
- Pop-up ads: 13%