“Retailers are not tapping into the full potential of their available customer data in order to identify and engage their most valuable customers,” says Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “This is despite the fact that retailers have more online and offline data about their customers at their disposal.”
That insight comes from a report the company commissioned from Retail TouchPoints. About 200 retailers were surveyed to glean information about how they use data and technology to engage consumer at the store level.
The final report, “Engaging Customers Across The Lifecycle Journey: How Clienteling Helps Enhance Customer Relationships,” revealed that 42 percent of retail store associates know very little — if anything — about their most profitable customers in order to engage with them effectively.
Only 25 percent of survey respondents admitted that employees only have valuable information on customers like names, addresses, and past purchases data.
“Clienteling leverages omnichannel customer data to create personalized customer experiences,” said Michael Fisher, the president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “By utilizing clienteling best practices, retailers can drive more in-store traffic, engagement, sales and loyalty.”
Interestingly, the report showed that a mere 13 percent of store associates have access to customer data to ensure a successful in-store customer experience.
In addition, only 36 percent of employees use past purchase history to personalize interactions with customers.
“In an increasingly mobile world, it is in a retailer’s’ best interest to focus on the omnichannel experience,” said Mike Iaccarino, CEO and Chairman of Infogroup. “Retailers need to propel their clienteling efforts by employing integrated marketing technologies in order to derive actionable insights from all their customer data points.”