February 2014 Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level
Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level The face of retail is changing. While brick-and-mortar stores once ruled the roost, the success of innovative online stores and the rapid rise of social and mobile technologies have come together to change the way buyers interact with sellers in today s market. The change is now happening from the outside in and it s a newly empowered, connected customer who is driving the retail agenda. Shopping is now a 24/7 experience. Switched-on customers can research and compare products and prices, and read reviews before making a purchase decision. They can buy from retailers around the corner or around the world, without ever setting foot in a store. And once they decide what and where to buy, they can share their shopping experiences good or bad with friends, family and even strangers through social media. The more retailers understand each customer before they walk in the door, the greater chance they have of delivering that positive moment of truth. With all of these new dynamics in play, smart retailers must develop a customer-inspired strategy that delivers a positive experience at every turn, from sale through service. And they must provide this experience in an omni-channel world in-store, on the web, on mobile devices, via the phone and across all of their brands. So, has the retail industry stepped up to meet this challenge? Some have, but the truth is that most retailers have yet to crack the code, and we believe there is much room for improvement. The moment of truth A positive moment of truth that one powerful event in the life of a consumer that defines their opinion of a given retailer can make or break customer loyalty. Friendly, helpful sales and service associates are vital to creating those moments of truth. The more retailers understand each customer before they walk in the door, the greater chance they have of delivering that positive moment of truth a personalized, satisfactory buying experience that will keep them coming back for more. And it s the front-line associates the faces of the brand who are vital to creating these experiences. The role of today s sales associate must therefore evolve, from one of an information provider and facilitator of transactions, to a facilitator of engagement and a trusted advisor. Hiring, training and retaining staff who can deliver that enhanced experience are obviously important factors, but there is much more to be done. To get there, sales staff must also be empowered with information and tools to help them be as successful as possible. That s where a total retail clienteling solution can make the difference. 1 PwC Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level
Case in point: the total retail clienting experience Lisa Jones is a luxury retailer s dream customer. In her early 30s, she s on the fasttrack to partner at a major law firm in San Francisco. She s a social butterfly and a savvy shopper with an eye for the finer things in life. She follows Elizabeth Wesley, one of her favorite retail brands, on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.In fact, she s one of Elizabeth Wesley s VIP customers, and regularly stops in to buy from Kelly Michaels, her favorite sales person. On Wednesday, Lisa receives a private message on her smartphone s Facebook app, inviting her and a guest to attend Elizabeth Wesley s VIP sale on Friday night. She s been working 14-hour days for a month and her weekend plans include a night at the theater, so a new outfit would be a perfect treat. She immediately confirms that she ll attend the sale and then Tweets her inner circle of friends to let them know about the event as well. She visits elizabethwesley.com to browse the sale catalog and adds a skirt to her wishlist. Meanwhile, over at Elizabeth Wesley s Union Square location, Kelly receives an alert that Lisa has confirmed she ll attend the sale. She accesses Lisa s wish list, and sees the skirt that Lisa has liked. Lisa s sizes are stored in Elizabeth Wesley s total retail clienteling solution, so Kelly checks to see if the skirt is in-stock. Unfortunately, it s not but integration to the company s inventory system enables her to see that it is available in the Walnut Creek store. She puts in a request to have the skirt sent over to San Francisco. At the same time, the solution has identified a pair of shoes in-stock and in Lisa s size that complement the skirt. Kelly jumps onto Facebook and sends Lisa a message: Looking forward to seeing you on Friday. I have the perfect pair of shoes to go with that skirt you like. And I have both of them in your size, so they ll be here waiting for you. Lisa receives the reply when she checks her Facebook account that night. She Tweets to her social network again: @ElizabethWesley @KellyMichaels has picked out the most amazing outfit for my Saturday at the theater. #Beautifulshoes #Beautifulskirts. Friday night arrives and Lisa makes her way to the VIP event, along with Jane, a friend who responded to her Tweet on Wednesday but has never shopped at Elizabeth Wesley before. She finds a new belt to go along with the shoes and skirt and makes a beeline for Kelly. Kelly greets her by name and rings up the items she recommended earlier in the week on her tablet, which sends a receipt to Lisa s email. Jane, meanwhile, picks up three pairs of shoes that she saw on elizabethwesley.com. Kelly enters Jane s sizes and purchases into her new customer profile while checking her out. She also adds her to Elizabeth Wesley s VIP customer community. The next night, at the theater, Lisa snaps a photo in her new outfit. She posts it to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: I love my new outfit. @ElizabethWesley sells the most beautiful clothes and @KellyMichaels always seems to know just what I like. Total retail clienteling is more than just a system that provides detailed product information or a handheld point of sale device that helps move lines more quickly. It s also more than static clienteling in which store associates are armed with little more than their own memory of a client s past transactions or a simple purchase history. Instead, it s a set of business processes enabled by technology that delivers useful insights about each customer. Using a powerful mix of customer relationship management (CRM) technologies, social media and data analytics, total retail clienteling delivers accurate, timely information about each customer to an associate before the point of sale. It puts the customer at the center of the transaction, creating those positive moments of truth. This transformation also enables associates to become a valuable link between the customer and the enterprise. The data from these captured moments can help retailers significantly increase their marketing and sales effectiveness through customized offers, loyalty programs, targeted content, contests and promotions delivered physically, via social media or on mobile devices. All of these can be hyper-targeted to reach specific customer segments, demographic groups and geographies. Kelly sees the Tweet that night and shares the story of her successful Friday night VIP sale with her colleagues around the world on Elizabeth Wesley s social intranet. 2 PwC Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level
Total retail clienteling delivers accurate, timely information about each customer to an associate before the point of sale. Get there now A total retail clienteling solution that effectively gathers data about a customer s buying behaviors and shopping preferences across all channels and all brands can help to increase revenues and drive loyalty. For retailers and their sales people, the benefits of a robust clienteling strategy are many, including: Improved customer satisfaction, based on associates ability to provide relevant, timely product information and recommendations Improved customer and brand loyalty, leading to greater share of wallet Increased sales per customer visit, based on relevant, targeted crossselling and up-selling opportunities An enhanced customer experience, delivered through a more personalized shopping experience An ability to record, track and analyze sales aggregated across multiple dimensions such as geography, customer segments and product lines, or down to the individual customer Improved marketing effectiveness, gained through targeted, timely notice of events, sales and promotions, and an ability to measure the return on investment of any given campaign An improved ability to implement customer segmentation strategies based on near real-time data pulled from all sales channels Improved job satisfaction and effectiveness for store associates In this new world, the sales associate also becomes a conduit between the customer and the enterprise. Along with facilitating a better shopping experience, the associate can now collect customer intelligence and deliver it to the business. By creating connected associates along with connected customers omni-channel retailers can gain a competitive advantage over ecommerce pure plays and enable the organization to create a seamless experience across all touch points, while gaining valuable insight into customers interactions with their brands. And if a highly successful sales associate moves to a competitor, the valuable insight they ve gathered about their best customers stays with the enterprise. While the answer for every retailer differs based on their existing strategy, process and technology platforms, the key features of a total retail clienteling solution can include: Item catalog: A repository of available items that share common or complementary characteristics, enabling associates to identify and suggest value-added cross-sell and up-sell opportunities in real-time 3 PwC Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level
Customer social profile, insights and wish lists: Access to customers social media interactions, delivering highly personalized insight into their buying habits, their needs and wants, and their sentiment towards your brand and your competitors brands Retail workbench: A system that delivers customer-specific and aggregated insight into transactions, promotions, performance by channel and other key performance indicators After a good experience with you, your customers can become your best marketers. Employee social network: An ability to connect previously disparate employees across channels, geographies, and brands to collaborate better on any number of issues, including around a single customer Store information: A view of product availability across all channels, so that sales can be saved if an item is not immediately available at the point of purchase Keeping today s connected customer Today s empowered customer is a savvy and social animal. Retailers must deliver a differentiated experience at every turn, and they must connect the bricks-and-mortar experience with the online world to develop a relationship characterized by trust and customer delight. In many ways, it s a throwback to a time when local shopkeepers knew each and every customer who visited their store. They knew their likes and dislikes. They knew what they needed, when they needed it. The world of omni-channel retailing presents a variety of new challenges and opportunities. Retailers should embrace digital and mobile technologies to interact more effectively with their customers and to foster a valuable, two-way conversation like never before. After a good experience with you, your customers can become your best marketers. Think of it this way: if you re not delivering a stellar experience to each and every customer especially your best ones you could lose them to a competitor who is. Pre-built integrations: Integrations into core CRM, social and mobile platforms, as well as relevant enterprise systems including finance, customer analytics, inventory, supply chain and others 4 PwC Taking the total retail customer experience to the next level
www.pwc.com For a deeper discussion on the potential of total retail clienteling at your company, contact: Ian Kahn Director (646) 471-4580 ian.w.kahn@us.pwc.com Mark Jenson Principal (678) 419-1096 mark.r.jenson@us.pwc.com Tyson Cornell Principal (312) 298-6891 tyson.cornell@us.pwc.com Cornel Nolte Global salesforce.com Alliance Leader (408) 817-5163 cornel.nolte@us.pwc.com 2014 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC and PwC US refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity. This document is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors. LA 14-0130