The newly appointed marketing chief of a mobile phone retailer has outlined his strategy for the firm, with search engine optimisation (SEO) one of its key tenets.

Ben Padley, who joined Phones 4u at  the end of last year, has said that he intends to bring the in-store and online customer experience more closely together.

The former Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) and digital marketing head for Sony Ericsson has also said that he will make high street stores the core of the business. Talking to industry press, Padley commented:

“If I’m out and about on my mobile, I should get a really immersive experience about where my local store is, who the people in that store are, (and) I can see what their specialities are.”

Padley went on to say that highlighting the talents of store staff will be a critical part of the plan, continuing to explain:

“This is truth about our business. We have great expertise in store – what we haven’t done to date is showcased that digitally for the consumer to be aware of.”

It is a new direction for SEO, which could see many ‘terms’ customers use in-store being embedded into online content. Video use of store staff could also perhaps feature online, to start to deliver that real world service before the shopper even crosses the shop’s threshold.

In bold plans outlined for the branding and marketing, Padley also revealed his eagerness to embrace smart devices and wearable technology.

However, he said that first Phones 4u will need to tackle the terminology of ‘wearables’. He said that this word simply does not do the technology justice, nor have existing devices been developed into marketable and consumable products that the public, though eager for such innovations, can understand and see in their lives.

Padley continued to say there will be a focus on upselling incentives, in much the same way that O2 has done successfully in recent years.

Steven Morris