Customer Centric Retail Marketing Is Key

Creating a customer-centric business model is vital to success in today’s marketplace, where organizations must stand bent inspire loyalty with their customers. Retailers acknowledge that putting the customer first is vital , with 94 percent feeling like they’re giving a customer-obsessed marketing experience. Actually, only a mere 9 percent of shops are literally succeeding in their customer-centric marketing efforts.

To be truly customer-centric, it's important to guage the precise needs of your organization’s audience while considering the core competencies of your organization. Read on to find out how four organizations are engaging in effective customer-centric retail marketing efforts.

Efficiency is vital for Starbucks

Customers are getting increasingly pressed for time. For a big segment of Starbucks customers, this is often very true . By building on this customer need, Starbucks has adapted their operations and marketing strategy to raised balance efficiency and effectiveness. However, they need to accomplish this while still offering all of the customizations that patrons have grown to enjoy over the years.

One major way that Starbucks has facilitated efficiency without sacrificing the standard of their product or service is via their loyalty program. Starbucks’ loyalty program not only gives members a spread of discounts and other offerings to encourage repeat visits, it also offers in-store pickup. For patrons who want to avoid inconsistent timing thanks to lines, this is often a serious value-add. Via the app, members have access to an equivalent level of customization that's available instore, but the power to bypass the road and devour their drink at a scheduled time. While these customers enjoy the privilege of lightning-fast service, other, less time-sensitive customers are still ready to experience Starbucks at a slower pace.

Starbucks used their loyalty program to cater to the requirements of their customers that are on-the-go. This approach has rewarded Starbucks with the foremost popular app among major restaurants, with 48 percent of app users regularly using their loyalty app.

Patagonia Builds Trust via Transparency

While Patagonia has aligned itself with environmentally-friendly goals for many years , they’ve recently ramped up marketing efforts to flaunt their environmentalist mission statement. This is often likely due partially to young adults being curious about sustainability more now than ever. However, Patagonia acknowledges that trust – especially within the realm of sustainability and preserving the environment - is difficult to earn among younger, more discerning customers.

Instead of merely talking about their sustainability efforts like many other companies, they put transparency as a top priority, providing a wealth of data about their production process to customers. They publicly list the mills and factories their apparel is produced in, and have a Supplier Code of Conduct available online that's strictly enforced. Patagonia also has been quite willing to answer questions on the sourcing of their products and are honest about their shortcomings. This upfront honesty helps assuage the concerns of some skeptics, and ultimately builds trust that Patagonia truly believes in their mission statement.

Patagonia clearly finds this trust with customers vital to their business, leading to them finding novel ways to understand their customers. They create repair guides to repair their products once they affect , encouraging patrons to refine and reuse their existing apparel as against purchasing it new. To drive now home, Patagonia launched their “Worn Wear College Tour,” where they visited college campuses and glued any clothes delivered to them by students. These marketing activities don't directly benefit Patagonia’s bottom line – they exist to convince potential customers that Patagonia values sustainability over sales.

Zappos – A Customer Service Company that Sells Shoes

Zappos is a superb example of how a business can thrive with a model that centers itself around customer service and satisfaction. They publicly identify as a service company that just happens to sells shoes, clothing, and accessories - and that they support this identity in every facet of their business strategy.

First, they widely advertise the standard of their support. They recognize that a bit like clothing, an honest support experience isn’t one-size-fits-all – it's all about finding the right fit a private . As a result, they need quality, 24/7 support staffed by personable staff that are trained to resolve problems during a self-directed way. they're extremely lax with refunds, giving customers free shipping and a 365 day window to return items. Zappos also will spend the maximum amount time as necessary making the customer’s experience optimal. This even resulted in one trip between an exceptionally personable representative and customer ended up being just shy of 11 hours long!

Part of the way that Zappos takes their customer service to subsequent level is with person-level engagements. They encourage their representatives to urge to understand customers and make a robust , personal connection. For instance, if a representative hears a baby crying within the background of a call, they'll include a complimentary small blanket within the apparel shipment. These unexpected and thoughtful acts elevate Zappos’ customer service to an exceptional level.

Amazon Uses Personalization for Better Convenience

Curated recommendations are an enormous source of Amazon’s sales. Recent figures have suggested that personalized recommendations across Amazon’s website drive 35 percent of their total sales. These recommended products are supported purchase history, items within the customer’s cart, items the customer viewed recently, items purchased by others who bought an identical product, and more. This advanced algorithm creates immense value for Amazon while making shopping more convenient for patrons .

The convenience fueled by personalization helps to draw in new customers, while retaining existing customers. Surveys have shown that 86 percent of consumers believe personalization plays a big role in purchasing, while 56 percent of shoppers are more likely to return to a site with personalized recommendations. While not every organization has the facility to collect and process data on the size that Amazon can, the crux is that personalization offers robust benefits to organizations through enhanced customer experience..

Replicating Success with Unified Marketing Measurement

To achieve success in customer-centric endeavors, it’s essential to completely understand the desires and motivations of your customers. This often means wanting to combine person-level data, brand awareness data, and aggregate data. This practice, called Unified Marketing Measurement (UMM), aids organizations in understanding one buyer’s journey while being mindful of market trends. This enables marketers to possess a way more accurate view of their customer’s values, behaviors, and expectations. For businesses like Patagonia and therefore the others mentioned during this post, hitting this mark has been vital to forming strong emotional connections with the brand.

Fully understanding the motivations of consumers , whether they’re interacting online or offline, ensures that any targeted marketing messages, or operational adjustments, are having the intended positive effect on consumers. With proper measurement, organizations can use data to discern which messages are the foremost impactful and resonating with consumers.

Interested in Learning More?

Designate has consistently increased conversion rates for its clients by engaging the most sophisticated metrics and tools to acquire, engage, and convert target audiences across domains. Get in touch to know how we can boost your ROIs.

We’d like to get to understand you.