by tz4rgp | Mar 3, 2014 | Blog |
A few days ago I was asked for my top 5 tips for retailers on how to connect with their customers, limited to 100 words. For a topic that one could write a novel on … Well, here is my answer: – Help customers solving their problem. This distinguishes and makes you found by the customer – Marketing/loyalty programs offer your customers value and are not mere vehicles to gather more data points – Simplify your customers’ life, e.g. with a card wallet instead of own app that directly integrates with your CRM and POS – Relevant communications at the right time, place with the right content – without appearing intrusive. For this you need to know your customer – Consistent communications across channels and interactions, optimized for used touch point They probably need some more elaboration, especially the last one. First and foremost, the reason for any business to exist is making profit for its owners. This is not equal to producing and selling things (or providing a service) with a margin. The business will succeed only if it focuses on identifying its customers needs and then delivering solutions for these needs. It is not about pushing a product into the market (mostly, consider that needs can be created by smart businesses). This thought is well in the domain of Service Dominant Logic although I am not a strong proponent. Marketing and loyalty programs are important interaction vehicles between businesses and their customers. Both, especially loyalty programs, need to be set up to be mutually beneficial. It is not only about gathering more customer data that can be...
