Consumers are more educated than ever before. Today’s technology and social networks makes it easy for your customers to sift through massive amounts of information to make the best choices. Customers can research and compare brands, check pricing and study product reviews all at the touch of their fingertips using smartphones and other devices. What used to require a physical trip into the store now requires just a few taps and swipes. Although today’s technology has undoubtedly increased the level of competition, it also offers new opportunities to connect with your core customers. After all, even if you’re not keeping up with the latest techniques, your competitors likely are.
Although most retailers collect and store customer data, many aren’t putting the data to good use or just don’t know how to. Here are three strategies to help leverage your customer data.
1. Customize promotions and special offers.
Technology has enabled real-time analysis of in-store purchases and even website clicks. You can determine what promotions are currently effective, what higher margin items are being bought alongside and uncover differences between online vs. in-store. These insights can be used to make sure the right offers are communicated to the right customers and even the right channels. The result is a win-win, happy customers and higher profitability.
2. Create a more personalized and enjoyable shopping experience.
Similar to how a music streaming service recommends new songs you might enjoy based on the history of songs you’ve previously listened to, retailers have the ability to customize an individual’s shopping experience. Analyzing customer loyalty data can help retailers personalize recommendations, inform shoppers of the most relevant promotions to them and uncover cross-sell and up-sell opportunities to help drive revenue.
In addition, customers past purchase behavior, when married to location data, can reveal regional interests, patterns and preferences that can be used to strategically optimize a store’s layout or properly adjust the merchandising mix. Studies have shown customers are willing to spend more with companies they feel provide superior service.
3. Provide better customer service
Historical customer data can be used to provide more personalized customer support. For instance, when a customer calls, agents can greet him with a personalized response like;
“Hello Tom, thanks for being a loyal customer since 2009. I see you recently purchased product “X” or I see your last call was regarding purchase “Y”, is this the same product you’re calling about? “
Keeping track of complaint history can also help identify specific SKU’s that may be defective or problematic so you can quickly pull them from shelves and mitigate the issue.
An Excellent Role Model
The Loblaws PC Plus rewards program is an excellent example of these strategies at work. At first glance, the program seems to be a pretty standard points-based loyalty program. You buy products, accumulate points in your rewards account and then redeem points for free groceries.
Loblaws has taken this a few steps further by introducing a pretty sophisticated smartphone app that personalizes the entire program. Once you’re signed up and begin making purchases, Loblaws keeps track of each transaction and sends weekly offers to each member. he offers are completely personalized based on the specific items previously purchased. If you bought a box of diapers last week, you’re likely to see an offer or two for baby food or formula the following week. Of course as you buy more items and your transaction history grows, the system becomes more and more intelligent.
With over 10 million members, PC Plus is one of Canada’s most successful customer loyalty programs. The program has helped Loblaws build broader and deeper one-to-one relationships with its customers. The result has been more frequent trips, bigger basket sizes and more categories shopped. The incredible amount of data collected and more importantly the company’s intelligent and strategic use of it has helped Loblaws remain an industry leader.
Don’t Underestimate the Value of Customer Data
For retailers and restaurant chains, access to accurate customer data is critical to understanding shifting trade areas, cannibalization and competitive influences. The ability to profile customers across channels, real estate, marketing, and merchandizing will help you align real estate strategies & execution with changing dynamics.
Interested in learning more? Download Tango’s Predictive Analytics datasheet below.
