The ability to shop online has made it that much easier for merchants to learn about their customers – retailers can analyze shoppers’ purchase histories, look at which items they are viewing, research how much time they spend on each product page and identify what triggers people to buy.
All of this intelligence is incredibly useful for securing that initial purchase, as retailers can craft customer-specific product recommendations and incentives. In fact, one study conducted by the E-tailing Group and MyBuys found that approximately half of customers purchase more from sellers that leverage shopper interests and purchasing patterns to tailor the customer experience across all channels. Tools such as Fanplayr can help merchants leverage the data and information they collect across multiple channels and turn it into actionable insights and analytics that will help them personalize the shopping experience, offering up relevant item suggestions, promotions and other content. The net result is an improved shopping experience that customers find valuable, while also bolstering revenue generation and loyalty for retailers.
Once retailers have put the initiatives in place designed to effectively generate new customers, they need to take it into their own hands to serve and retain them as loyal patrons. The common business notion is that it is much harder to generate new customers than it is to retain existing ones, so keeping shoppers loyal is pivotal for establishing a steady and consistent line of revenue.
Just as information plays a pivotal role for encouraging customers to make the initial purchase, it is also crucial in helping merchants continue to serve customers in the long haul. Using the right eCommerce solution, merchants can deliver an infinitely more valuable omnichannel shopping experience to customers.
For example, SalesWarp’s omnichannel customer management tool allows sellers to improve their visibility across all channels by consolidating customer information from multiple selling points into a single customer profile. Retailers cannot make tailored, relevant recommendations if they do not have a unified customer profile. Beyond that, disparate profiles also impedes general service – with a customer management tool that unifies customer data across the organization, all associates from sales floor employees to customer service agents can get an in-depth look at the customer and their purchase history, which gives them the knowledge required to serve customers optimally.
Having a consolidated customer profile helps retailers in other ways as well. For example, it can help retailers make better strategic decisions by using regional or demographic trends to decide which items should be stocked in specific locations to satisfy demand. Detailed customer profiles can also help retailers make better decisions in the way they handle orders. For instance, if one customer has had recent issues with service and is at a risk of a loss, merchants can offer them incentives or expedite their orders to ensure prompt arrival.
Knowing all about customers is not only vital to securing sales, but also in the management of loyal shoppers as well.
Janna Skinner
Marketing Development Manager for SalesWarp, Janna Skinner brings a fresh perspective to the eCommerce and retai industry from hundreds of conversations with retailers juggling multi channel operations. She is also a frequent publisher to
the SalesWarp site, including blogs, white papers, and infographic content.
You can find her on Twitter @JannaSkinner