News Updates, Smart Technology

The Empowered Customer

Written by swdadminMarch 20, 2014
Female browsing her mobile while out shopping
Shopping through multiple channels

The Empowered Customer, what exactly does that mean and what are some of the implications for retailers?

Consumers are now seeking out help and advice from peers when shopping, they have learned expectations and attitudes that have been shaped by experiences across numerous sectors and changing platforms over recent years.  Certain technological developments in recent years, in particular the increased use of mobile devices is giving customers access to information instantaneously.

This instant access, combined with influencers in the form of Social Media and peer recommendations has enabled and empowered customers even more than before.  Research has shown that for the average consumer, peer recommendations carry ten times more weight than recommendations from salespeople.

This change in approach is now allowing customers to decide which brand or retailer they will go to and trust.  The challenge, or indeed opportunity now facing retailers is in nurturing this trusting customer and developing the relationship through engagement and in turn understanding their needs and wants.

With in-store interaction, retailers must find ways of engaging and interacting with customers in-store which can allow them to anticipate and understand customer behaviours and preferences.

Gesaky provides a solution that supports and enhances the customer service delivery in-store, click here to view an example of a multi-channel empowered customer journey and how the Gesaky solution can engage with your empowered customer.  The Gesaky solution, an agnostic technology, also provides retailers with valuable in-store customer analytics.

More articles below:

 

Video by IPSOS explores what irks shoppers the most.

Read More
News Updates, Uncategorized

Multi Channel Marketing Strategies

Written by swdadminJanuary 2, 2014

Today’s marketeers must constantly adapt and adopt their customer engagements across numerous platforms and touch points within the ever evolving digital revolution.  A recent survey carried out by Forrester found that marketeers who have adopted multi-channel marketing practises are benefitting from a higher return on marketing investment.

95% of marketers either implement or have plans to implement multi-channel marketing.  The Forrester report also found that one of the largest obstacles for companies not implementing multi-channel marketing was due to a lack of knowledge and skills and or a dependence on external marketing service providers.

One of the key elements of a successful marketing strategy is in understanding customers and their expectations.  The biggest challenge in meeting those expectations is through service delivery, this process is becoming more and more complex as omni channel customers expect a consistent service delivery through whatever channel they interact with.  A summary of customer expectations can be viewed in our recent infographic here.  

Omni Channel ActionsThe Forrester survey also found the most effective methods employed to deliver a consistent multi channel experience is through integrated processes, intelligent use of technology and adoption of emerging technologies.

Of those found to be mature practitioners of multi -channel marketing, the key differentiator was in their approach.  They are more likely to be adopters of technology with the marketing department working in close partnership with IT while also collaborating more with sales on setting goals and implementing programs.  Non-integrated IT solutions are the norm, with email campaigns on one system, social media on another and in-store carried out by another team.  This can create technology silos which are then likely to be implemented by organisational silos where customer data is organised within individual channels, thus creating a disjointed complex and inconsistent customer experience across a business.

Organisations have the challenge of integrating processes which can be supported by new and emerging technologies. Agile organisations who embrace change management when approaching their processes are best positioned to deliver an effective customer omni-channel strategy.

 

Source:   The Multichannel Maturity Mandate, A Forrester Consulting Thought Leadership Paper Commissioned By Sitecore

Read More
omni channel
News Updates, Smart Technology

Omni Channel Retailer

Written by swdadminSeptember 15, 2013

Multi channel platforms for retailersMulti-channel retailers merges retail operations to enable their customer to carry out transactions in a number of connected channels.  Channels include: retail stores, online stores, mobile stores, mobile app stores, telephone sales and any other method of transacting with their customer.   Multi-channel retailing is dictated by the customer in what route best suits them. Systems and processes within retail simply facilitate the customer journey to transact and be served.

The next iteration for retailing from Multi-channel is creating and focussing on the Omni Channel retail experience.  For retailers this encompasses all touch points of their brand for a single, consistent customer experience throughout all channels.

No matter which channel the customer is using to reach you be it bricks and mortar, online, or mobile—your customer sees your store as a single, transparent system with fully integrated inventory, processing, and delivery systems.

For Omni Channel retailing a superior customer-centric service approach is essential across all channels.  Through social media, loyalty programs and data mining capabilities, marketing efforts are more efficient as they are informed by purchase patterns of the consumer, spanning all channels and touch points simultaneously.  The purchase and browsing patterns of bricks and mortar stores where purchases are made and consumers can research, is difficult to track when compared with other online interactions.

Through The Gesaky Mirror it is now possible to capture the data from these interactions is captured in store and fed back into the retailers system. 

Recent research has shown that Omni shoppers are seen to purchase 3.5times more than single channel shoppers and approximately 15-30% more than multi channel shoppers.

To read our Retail Director Michael Nason’s recent article on Elements of Omni Channel click on the link.

 

For more information on how Gesaky works instore you can view our short video here.

 

Read More