This past week, I attended a conference for retailers. Most of them were from the traditional brick-and-mortar world—unlike the virtual retailers I’m used to working with. Maybe everyone was just having a bad week, but I sensed a great deal of fear from this group. I shared my observation with an advertising agency and a media buying company —separately. Surprisingly, they gave me the same explanation. They pointed out that many of these retailers had multiple jobs within a few short years and it wasn’t by choice. In other words, with decreased sales comes pink slips. With our economy in the toilet, it’s no wonder that fear permeated the conference. And with fear comes caution.

Armed with this knowledge, I approached a few of the retailers to ask them what new marketing techniques they were using to combat slow sales. Much to my surprise, I learned that most were adopting a “hunker down mentality.” Although they were interested in nontraditional advertising methods, they cited a lack of time, knowledge and most importantly, the lack of confidence as barriers.

Part of me had to laugh because as an industry, we have made great strides in building consumer confidence in electronic retailing, but apparently we missed a step. We overlooked the importance of helping traditional retailers understand how e-retailing can increase their sales. E-retailers have been using affiliate marketing, social networking and multiple channels to not only reach new customers, but also actively engage and retain them.

Think about the chicken and the egg—if you’re a retailer reading this—do you try new things in a sluggish economy or is this the time to hunker down? I think we would all agree with a major advertiser who said, “When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise.” Perhaps the better question is not if should you advertise, but how should you advertise?

I invite all retailers to join me and my direct response friends in Miami at ERA’s eRetailer Summit, where we will continue this discussion and help you learn not only which risks are worth taking, but also how to take them.

Barbara Tulipane is ERA’s president and CEO

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