Monica C. Smith offers tips for 360 degree customer view in DMNews
With high investment costs and not-so-simple database integration strategies, it can be tough for retailers get started in multichannel marketing. Four experts share their best tips.
Monica Smith
President and CEO, Marketsmith Inc.
Creating a 360-degree customer experience contains inherent contradictions. While we want to have a comprehensive view of our customers, we also want to deliver relevant content efficiently; that is, ultimately delivering fewer messages and generating greater return for our marketing spend.
So how do we understand our customers completely and interact with them only when the outcome is likely to be positive? The answer lies in knowing when and how to use our marketing databases across all channels.
The goal of 360-degree marketing is that the merchant and the customer are on the same path, using services and information which facilitate a favorable outcome for the customer. For this to happen, it’s necessary to capture all transactions, interactions and communications with customers. All employees with the potential to touch customers or customer data must also be trained to understand the merchant’s product/services, their value to customers and the customer service ethic. Then you can create processes by which customer service personnel and customers themselves can access customer history in-store, on the Web and over the phone.
Finally, make sure you understand the responsibility as a guardian of customer data. Is a 360-degree customer view bordering on privacy issues? The implications are very different for a financial services company, for example, than for an apparel company.
The 360-degree customer view is just a reminder that technology, data and analytical intelligence are not enough for multichannelers to thrive. What we need is an end-to-end view of the experience, then to fix any spot that does not deliver great customer service and value with customer-friendly policies. As you chase to fix what’s broken, you will inevitably see your customers because you will be on the same path. Then you can do one better, creating an experience that surpasses their expectations.
THE TAKEAWAY
Capture all interactions and communications with customers
Tags: customer analysis, customer analytics, customer profiling, database integration, database marketing, DMNews, drtv marketing, marketing, marketing analytics, marketing consultant, Marketsmith, Monica C Smith, multichannel marketing Category: News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.