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RETAIL 2020: FIND, DELIGHT AND KEEP YOUR BRAND ADVOCATES Retail’s holy grail is customer insight that’s timely, accurate and can predict how customers will behave. IBy Accenture Australia & New Zealand Retail Lead Michelle Grujin. n a fast changing landscape, feel most strongly about, which channels Australia’s leading brands are those they feel most at home in, and how that can identify their highest value they respond to specific promotions customers and understand how to and outreach. For example, Domino’s turn them into life-long advocates. Australia took on board its customers’ for the next generation and asking how your brand could be relevant to their needs. Having an effective presence on social media with a distinctive tone and personality is an important means of achieving this. Moreover, if retailers can understand their superfans in depth, and anticipate how they’ll behave and respond, they can use social media and digital profiling to find similar customers that don’t currently have a relationship with the brand but may be open to having one tomorrow. Likewise, brands can also look for occasional or moderate fans among their customer base and seek ways of turning them into superfans. The future has already happened By uncovering customer insights, brands can orientate their offerings around superfans with the greatest lifetime potential and pursue segments where similar customers can be found. As Australian retailers look to the future, they should ask whether their competitors could already be one step ahead. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that retailers are focused on accumulating new data and insights. Seasonal events, such as Christmas, new year and end-of-season sales, are marked by increased clicks and footfall, and a flurry of digital activity, creating a wealth of customer data. In principle, this data helps retailers find patterns among their highest value customers and is an asset for its ability to enhance day-to-day customer interactions. However, the sheer volume of data available can quickly become overwhelming and difficult to manage. For good reason, we’re seeing automated real-time decision-making growing in popularity across Australia’s retail industry. By automating the heavy lifting, retailers can segment and target their customers more accurately now than ever. So, as they gather customer data – while adopting the tools they need to make that data more accessible – how can retailers unlock new value in 2020? Find the flavour of your superfans Some of the most valuable insights for retailers are those painting a picture of their superfans: how they behave and what they want from their most trusted brands. First, this means differentiating between the types of customers that interact with your brand: financial superfans that show their loyalty by spending money, and social superfans that advocate your brand among their network. To find their financial superfans, retailers can analyse traditional metrics such as regularity of spend and the ratio between paying full price and buying at discount. Meanwhile, social superfans can be found by analysing social media conversations and sentiment, online product reviews and shared posts. By delving into the data generated by these interactions, brands can understand what products their superfans number one compliant: that their pizzas don’t arrive looking as they should. In response, Domino’s created the DOM Pizza Checker, which utilises AI and machine learning to ensure every pizza is made to quality standards. If retailers can employ automation and intelligent data collection, they can act before their competitors, bringing rewards for both brands and their customers. Innovate your outreach Simply knowing the who, what and where of your brand’s superfans is no longer enough: brands need to cultivate and nurture them. One way of doing this is to consider how they reward loyal customers. If they ‘get’ customers on a deep personal level, then traditional methods, such as a points based program, may start to seem unambitious. The Body Shop’s Love Your Body Club not only allows customers to earn points and enjoy personal rewards, but also offers them the opportunity to donate their loyalty rewards to charity, aligning the brand’s values directly with those of their customers. Some brands, such as ASOS, are also rolling out innovative new digital experiences – for example, notifying loyal customers through apps and updating them when certain products become available or are on sale. The Starbucks mobile app allows customers to pre-order and pay using their phone or watch. As a result, customers benefit from loyalty points and avoid waiting in line at the store. In turn, the retailer gathers new insight into buying behaviour. Look to the next generation Thanks to the internet, retail today never sleeps. The most influential customers of tomorrow are already interacting with brands and steadily growing in spending power. The logical step beyond nurturing existing superfans is to begin looking DATA About Michelle Grujin Based in Melbourne, Michelle is the Retail Lead for Accenture Australia and New Zealand and has more than 20 years of hands-on experience in the retail industry. She has a passion for helping retailers understand the future of their industry. About Accenture Accenture is a leading professional services company providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Serving eight of the top 10 Australian companies by revenue, Accenture employs an innovation led approach to help clients imagine and invent their future. The company has more than 4,500 people and operations in five cities in Australia. For more information, visit www.accenture.com/au-en. MAY 2020 RETAIL WORLD 65