Shauna Emerson O’Neil, Chief Customer Officer, Aimia
The 19th Century English playwright Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” In no field is this notion truer than in customer loyalty. The relationship between brands and consumers has evolved, and not always in the marketers’ favour.
From your grandparents’ experience with high personal touch but limited choice in a traditional corner store, to your parents’ experience with price and brand dominated hypermarkets of the 1970’s, to the infinite possibilities for personal interaction that now exist via mobile and omni– channel marketing – the retail evolution of the past century has turned the consumer-brand relationship upside down. Now, it’s the customer who defines you.
Marketers hoping to build real relationships with best customers have historically focused on the four basic consumer needs of choice, convenience, value, and experience. While retailers have become adept at meeting the first three of these needs, they have often lagged behind in delivering a differentiated customer experience. And yet, it is this unique experience that most often defines the customer’s perception of the overall relationship. With consumers now in the driver’s seat, the stakes of leveraging robust data analytics to deliver relevant insights are higher than ever before.
Here are three examples of ways that companies around the globe are leveraging analytics-driven insights to create unique, personalized experiences:
Nectar (UK)
This retail coalition loyalty program is powered by a personalized offer engine that provides its collectors with their 10 most relevant offers based on their purchase history with grocery partner Sainsbury’s. With approximately 20% of products discounted at any given time, customers enjoy a personalized experience presented in highly relevant communications.
Neiman Marcus (US)
The US department store has opt-in mobile app notifications that alert sales associates when a customer walks into the store, and allow the associates to pull up the customer’s shopping history and Facebook profile image. Armed with this data, associates can pre- select appropriate merchandise based on their customers’ shopping habits.
Aeroplan (Canada)
Delighting their members in rare and personal ways helps Aeroplan and its partners build real relationships with their members. This year, Aeroplan created a milestone communication for more than half a million of its members. It was a highly personalized message which reminded them of highlights in their ‘Aeroplan journey’ over the past ten years – where they’ve travelled and how they’ve redeemed their miles for special experiences.
Using data to personalize the customer experience helps build a value exchange between customers and a brand. In exchange for providing their information, customers receive recognition and rewards. The good news is that the tools, technology, and resources are now at our fingertips to add a compelling customer experience to the brand value equation that scales nicely for today’s omini-channel retailers. With consumers savvier, more vocal, and more selective than ever before, marketers must leverage customer insights to add personalization and relevance to the retail experience.
Provide your customers with local, customized offers based on purchase history and self-selected preferences; reward them with messages that demonstrate a deep understanding of their wants, needs, and desires; and recognize them with differentiated service in-store, online, and through their mobile devices. They’ll respond with increased tenure, deeper loyalty, and word-of-mouth advocacy.
The secret to success: start small, seek consumer permission, use data transparently, and implement a sustainable data practice that gains consumer trust. As Oscar Wilde said, “Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.”
