Three ways to harness data with analytics to drive CX strategies that foster long-term customer loyalty

As the retail sector rapidly shifts from brick-and-mortar stores to online platforms, customer experience (CX) has become a key feature for brands looking to reap the business benefits of customer loyalty,

Nowadays retailers are utilizing many loyalty-building measures to attract customers, ranging from discounts to rewards programs and curbside pickup options. Also, pairing customer loyalty programs with customer data, allows retailers to optimize their CX initiatives to effectively meet customer demands.

Studies indicate that a majority of younger consumers surveyed in the region were willing to share data for tailored online experiences. However, retailers face challenges aligning their marketing and customer service teams to meet the growing sophistication of today’s average Asia Pacific consumer. 

While retailers have been able to transform their communication channels into simpler and streamlined touchpoints, the real challenge lies in developing an overarching strategy that will enable them to connect with the customers’ needs and goals. This involves organizations using their customers’ profiles to create truly personalized journeys.

Irene Sibaja, Retail Industry Principal, Treasure Data

By failing to relate with customers at each stage of their journey, retailers may find themselves struggling to compete with competitors that can put the needs of customers first.

Here is how retails can provide customers with connected experiences—by harnessing the power of data and analytics.

    • Establish digital connections The development of digital channels has given customers new ways to engage with businesses— be it while ordering items through online apps or inquiring about products via direct chat messaging. Since digital channels do not require a physical presence to initiate communication between the two parties, they will become the new norm in business-to-consumer engagements. As a result, organizations need to embrace a digital-first CX strategy that enables contextualized experiences that can help fulfill customers’ present and future needs.

      By ensuring a robust backend infrastructure that can store and transform customer data into actionable insights, businesses will be able to connect with and address customers’ issues such as cart abandonment, product defects and recommendations.

    • Connect touchpoints Some customers will turn away from brands that do not remember previous interactions, subject them to repetitive ads, or create meaningless conversations. This issue happens, even as businesses have the capabilities to create engaging marketing content. Maximizing customer loyalty requires brands to be aware of their progress in their personalized journeys across various communication touchpoints.

      A customer data platform provides organizations with a centralized platform that unifies customer data points across various sources. This way, marketing and customer support teams can operate with the same intelligence to create unique and engaging CX offerings. Moreover, it also engenders customer loyalty by giving them the impression that your brand always remembers their needs.

    • Personalize engagements Personalized messaging is the backbone of any successful marketing strategy. In fact, many firms have developed methods to deliver unique engagements to draw customers in. Depending on the nature of their business and their customers, some brands may adopt fun, humorous messaging, while others may opt for a professional and informative tone. Without granular data, however, businesses face the possibility of their customers losing touch with the messaging as it may not be relevant for their needs and goals.

While customer data provides brands with a competitive advantage, businesses cannot simply extract insights from raw, untranslated data. It is necessary to pair customers data with analytics solutions that can help them understand what their customers expect from their business.

Data analytics does more than give businesses a comprehensive view on their customers. The processed data also lets them resolve customers identities; build audience profiles; and share and report data across relevant departments and predict trends.

By harnessing this technology, businesses will be able to confidently deliver authentic connected experiences that are relevant to customer needs, to build strong customer loyalty in the long run.