Clicks and mortar Creating loyal customers through seamless customer engagement
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Clicks and mortar
Creating loyal customers through
seamless customer engagement
May 2014
Contents Introduction 3 The importance of seamless customer engagement 4 Roadblocks to achieving a 360-degree view of the customer 6 Building loyalty with omnichannel strategies 7 Epsilon recommendations 9 Conclusion 10 Epsilon solutions 11 epsilon.com 2
Introduction
Sorry, stores. Consumers just aren’t that
into you any more. Shoppers are breaking
free of the brick-and-mortar confines that
used to limit their purchasing options and
are taking advantage of the rapid rise in
digital communication channels.
They are leveraging new technology that If you don’t offer a seamless customer
allows them to research, compare, and experience across multiple channels,
purchase products wherever, whenever, you risk sacrificing business and eroding
and however they choose. Increasingly, customer loyalty. Too many retailers still
consumers are shifting their loyalties to operate in silos, hampered by legacy
enjoy robust online experiences, unique information systems and organizational
social media interactions, multiple delivery structures that limit, and often discourage,
options, and even in-store engagement. cross-channel interactions. To break down
those barriers and generate long-term
loyalty, you must embrace an omnichannel
approach that meets and engages customers
wherever they are.
epsilon.com 3
The importance of seamless
customer engagement
We are only at the beginning of an But those days are over. During the last
evolutionary cycle that will progressively holiday shopping season, 92 percent of all
pull customers into the digital arena. To shoppers went online to research and/or
remain viable to consumers and retain a purchase gifts, according to a 2013 report
competitive edge in the market, you must from Burst Media.1
understand how this changing landscape
“The challenge now is that consumers are
is reshaping consumer behavior and
always ‘on’,” Leary adds.
realigning the dynamics between your
business and your customers. This trend is dividing retailers into “the
haves and have nots,” Leary says. The
“The path to purchase has really changed,”
“haves” are the companies that can provide
notes Jack Leary, VP Industry Strategist -
a consistent customer experience across any
Retail & CPG, Epsilon. “It used to be very
and all channels, according to Infosys,
linear. Marketers reached customers when
a global technology consultant.2
they sat on their couches in the evening,
watching TV, reading the paper or a Most of the industry, though, falls into
magazine. Now consumers are multi- the “have not” category. While the vast
tasking using their mobile devices and majority of retailers (90 percent) agreed that
working during leisure activities.” consistency across their brand’s engagement
points affects customer loyalty, fewer than
half are tracking their customer data across
physical and online channels.3 Bridging
these two critical avenues is the first step
toward building a continuous connection
70 69
MORE THAN
across a broad spectrum of engagement
% % opportunities that will generate long-term
customer loyalty.
The percentage of The percentage of
consumers that said consumers that said
they wanted consistent consistency will
product availability determine their loyalty
and customer service to a given retailer
across physical
stores and online
shopping venues
Source: Infosys
1
Infographic: Shopping Trends for the 2013 Holiday Season, Corra, Nov. 19, 2013
2
Rethinking Retail: Insights from consumers and retailers into an omni-channel shopping experience, Infosys, 2013
3
IBID
epsilon.com 4Seamless
customer engagement
It’s no longer about one channel,
but multiple channels. Social,
e-com, in-store—engage
d
ar
in an omnichannel world.
10
C
S
01
THI N K
NE
Any way you touch a
E 0
JO
lty
1
00
T
consumer is a channel. O M N I CHAN N E L
N
01
JA
ya
01
WO R L D
Lo
01
01
B R E A K D OW N
S I LOS
Retailers must track customer
data across all channels
BU I L D
and use every opportunity to Build an efficient internal
engage and generate loyalty. SE AM L E SS
system for synchronizing
Use third-party data for more E N G AG E M E N T
all data being collected. And
insights and leverage your don’t collect data unless you
loyalty platform database. know how you are going to
utilize it.
Be customer centric instead of AC H I E V E
product centric. Knowing your
LOYA LT Y
customer allows you to generate
relevant offers at optimal moments
to insure they will act on them.
View your organization from the
perspective of the consumer and Consumers are shifting their
you will create a more compelling loyalties to those brands that are
brand experience. willing to meet them with robust
online experiences, unique social
GET A media interactions, multiple
delivery options, and even in-store
3- D V I E W
engagement. Seamlessly engaging
O F YO U R shoppers with the new technologies
CU STO ME R they use shows you are a brand
building a relationship that serves
the customer and your bottom
line well.
epsilon.com 5Roadblocks to achieving a
360-degree view of the customer
The biggest hurdle separating you from programs isn’t being merged with Point-of-
customers is data, not the lack of data. Sale (POS) transactional data. Online and
At last count, U.S. membership in loyalty offline sales divisions are often separate
programs was 2.65 billion and climbing, entities with different marketing depart-
according to the 2013 Colloquy Loyalty ments and competing sales goals.
Census.4 What’s more, the average household
Even if you have a Chief Marketing Officer
belongs to 21 loyalty programs.5 Even if
(CMO) responsible for coordinating all of
members are only active in half of the
these moving parts, he or she may be
programs they join, billions of data points
hamstrung by legacy information systems
are still pouring in every day, providing
that don’t coordinate all of the informa-
unprecedented access to individual shopping
tion coming in from these disparate groups.
patterns and preferences. The problem is
Without the breakdown of silos and the
that you don’t know what to do with all of
proper structure in place, you can’t build
the information you’re collecting.
a seamless customer experience. As a
“Marketers have access to more data than result, you risk missing cross-sell or upsell
ever before, but making sense of all that data opportunities, eroding consumer loyalty
is a challenge for many,” Leary says. and losing customers all together.
The reality—and ongoing challenge—is that Tearing down these silos and building an
consumer information tends to sit inside efficient internal system to synchronize all
corporate silos. Data gleaned from loyalty of the data being collected can still pose
issues. You may have a narrow view of how
your customers are interacting with your
company. You may also lack context for how
your products or services fit into the full arc
In this competitive retail environment, it’s of a customer’s life. Without that broader
crucial to use every opportunity to engage framework, it’s impossible to become truly
relevant to your best customers.
customers in-store and online to generate
loyalty. Offering a seamless experience to
customers helps you provide a consistent
experience, connect purchasing venues, and
integrate merchandising across channels.
4
Bulking Up: The 2013 Colloquy Loyalty Census, Colloquy, June 2013
5
IBID
epsilon.com 6Building loyalty with
omnichannel strategies
Marketers have multiple channels in which So how do customers perceive your brand?
to touch consumers. Using more than one Has your company developed a corporate-
channel is great, but combining them all— wide, consumer-centric strategy that
social, e-commerce, and in-store—is a loyalty leverages all the data you’ve captured?
builder. The payoff is a well-rounded relation- Utilizing the engagement platforms you
ship that is as much about your customers currently have in a new ways is a solid
as it is about your brand. You’ll acquire more strategy to build upon. Here is how you
meaningful data about your audience, and in can do exactly that.
return have the ability to build more relevant
messaging that serves both the brand and
consumers throughout the customer lifecycle.
1 Connect at every customer touch point.
An integrated customer engagement For example, Walgreens waited to launch its
strategy starts with good data. Build a Balance Rewards loyalty program until it could
system that combines information collected piggyback onto a new POS system that was
from every customer touch point, including being rolled out companywide in 2012.6
POS, loyalty marketing, and online data sets.
2 Leverage your loyalty platform.
Since loyalty platforms are built from the strategy. FedEx launched a new loyalty
ground up as real-time customer databases, program targeting small businesses with the
they provide the perfect foundation on which intention of using that platform to plug into
to build a seamless customer engagement the omnichannel world.
6
Late to the Loyalty Game, Walgreens Pushes the Envelope, Ad Age, Oct. 29, 2013
epsilon.com 73 Be reactive to your customers.
Understand how you want to communicate rate than Business as Usual emails because
with customers and how you are going to they provide immediate information in
respond when they engage. A rules-based response to a consumer’s request.7 Hilton
system can leverage real-time customer Hotels & Resorts’ HHonors program, for
information, allowing you to generate example, uses cookies to track online
relevant communications and deliver them browsing. When a member is researching
at the exact time that the customer is most vacation ideas, Hilton immediately delivers a
likely to act on it. In Q4 2013, real-time, highly customized offer designed around that
triggered emails had a 58.5% higher open person’s travel history and current interests.
4 Align internal stakeholders around the customer.
The companies that are leading omnichannel overall business success. Walgreens, for
marketing are using their data effectively example, is using the data gleaned from its
to reshape their entire organization. New program to inform every customer-centric
processes and connections across internal decision, from merchandizing to store
groups need to be built to leverage the design to online strategies.8
information, consumer engagement, and
7
Q42013 email trends & benchmarks, Epsilon, April 2014
8
Fashionably Late, Colloquy, Dec. 10, 2012
epsilon.com 8Epsilon recommendations
Five years from now, engagement opportunities will develop
that we can’t even imagine today. So it’s critical that you begin
building seamless cross-channel platforms that are flexible
enough to move with customers into the future.
1 Connect your consumer data. translated into rules driven marketing.
Look for opportunities to begin to breaking Learn how to create a dialogue with
down internal silos and connect data across consumers that deepens the relationship.
the consumer database from offline and
4 Leverage external marketing
online channels. Too many organizations
providers. Technologies are developing at
continue to operate as independent busi-
a rapid pace and it is challenging to discern
nesses rather than serving the customer.
which applications are right for a given
This can help you gain greater insight into
situation. Since they evolve so quickly, new
customer behaviors. Then use this infor-
features and functionality require regular
mation to begin crafting targeted, relevant
upgrades. For most organizations, marketing
communication with your core market.
technology is not the core focus of the
2 Incorporate third-party data. internal IT organization. The internal IT
Third-party data provides greater insight group is focused on the daily operations
into your customers, helping to enrich of business systems and therefore can be
customer profiles and accelerate the strained to keep pace for marketers. Find
consumer connection. For specialty retailers a good marketing services provider with
with low purchase frequency, consumer the breadth and depth of experience that
profile enrichment can pay significant can be an extension of your internal IT
dividends because it enables you to be and deliver to your marketing needs.
relevant and targeted with your messages
5 Be prepared to experiment
to key customer segments.
and yes, fail. You’ve entered a new era of
3 Understand how your customers consumer-engaged marketing. While you
want to engage with you. Move beyond may have learned a lot, there is still much
episodic, purely campaign-based strategies more to understand around leveraging
to real engagement with consumers. Think Big Data, utilizing content and achieving
about the patterns around how consumers the right interaction mix on a customer by
engage with you across your touch points customer basis. Customers don’t expect
and determine how to ‘respond’ to them. perfection. They want to be heard, get
The traditional linear view of customer a response, and be engaged. Don’t be
engagement is giving way to interaction concerned if everything isn’t perfect. Get
models and schematics that can be into the game.
epsilon.com 9Conclusion
The key to building a seamless customer a branding strategy around the customer
engagement strategy is in understanding experience.
that it’s not about the medium, but the
By focusing on the customer, you can
message. To deliver an engaging experience
create more compelling brand experiences,
across any and all channels, you must
and then leverage technology to create a
start looking from the outside in and view
seamless experience that engages before,
your organization from the consumer’s
during, and after the sale…in store or online.
perspective. Then you can begin developing
epsilon.com 10Epsilon solutions Epsilon offers tools to help you sharpen capabilities designed to link consumer your customer data and help you gain experiences across online, offline, and insight into customer behavior. We have social channels. Our strategy and analytics the technology and creative resources to teams can help you define new key consumer help you build genuine loyalty and create opportunities and points of interaction to lasting bonds with consumers. Agility put your data to good use. With TotalSource Loyalty, Epsilon’s loyalty solution platform Plus, Epsilon’s most comprehensive enabled by the minds of our experts and compiled data, we give you unprecedented our strategists, and shaped by technologists insight to propel your business. To learn who understand marketing, helps you more, please call Steve Messina, Business engage customers to build brand affinity. Development Manager, Epsilon, at Epsilon offers real-time data management 905.425.0440. Our approach Creating effective connections that drive tangible business results About Epsilon Epsilon is the global leader in creating Ad Age as the #1 U.S. Agency from All customer connections that build brand and Disciplines, #1 World Largest CRM/Direct business equity. A new breed of agency for Marketing Network and #3 Largest U.S. a consumer-empowered world, our unique Digital-Agency Network, we employ over approach harnesses the power of rich data, 5,000 associates in 60 offices worldwide. world-leading technologies, engaging Epsilon is an Alliance Data company. For creativity and transformative ideas to ignite more information, visit www.epsilon.com, connections between brands and customers, follow us on Twitter@EpsilonMktg or call delivering dramatic results. Recognized by 800.309.0505. By John Bartold, VP of Loyalty Solutions, Epsilon With over 20 years of experience in the loyalty space, John specializes in developing strategic marketing initiatives that help brands build deep and connected relationships with their customers to achieve increased profitability and reduced churn. John serves as a contributing editor to COLLOQUY, a magazine and website that covers loyalty-marketing programs across global industries. epsilon.com 11
800.309.0505 | epsilon.com | info@epsilon.com
Copyright © Epsilon 2014 Epsilon Data Management, LLC. All Rights Reserved
epsilon.com 12You can also read
