{"id":1675154,"date":"2020-09-25T11:04:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-25T18:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/?p=1675154"},"modified":"2020-10-19T13:48:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T20:48:23","slug":"customer-data-which-info-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2020\/09\/25\/customer-data-which-info-and-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Customer data: collecting selectively for better service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Today\u2019s retailer faces stiff competition, particularly from ecommerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world in which fewer people want to visit malls and other enclosed spaces, retailers have had to pull out the stops to provide exceptional customer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, online retailers are fiercely competitive with one another, angling for the best way to attract and keep shoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer loyalty is critical to success \u2013 and profitable retailers know how to foster repeat business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Understanding customers to predict future purchases<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Image: Porapak Apichodilok<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Customers respond to the personal touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s one area in which in-person, brick and mortar stores can effectively compete against their online cousins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But virtual stores can and do also provide personalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data analysis is used by all varieties of retailers to predict future purchases by analyzing customers\u2019 previous shopping history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u201c360 customer view\u201d is used to create a strategy that considers each shopper\u2019s interaction history and maps out an outcome for each event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But recent research by Gartner points out that collecting the \u201cright\u201d data<\/a> is much more important than collecting \u201call\u201d the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unifying data sources for a holistic customer view<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The key to understanding the customer is having software that brings together certain data that is scattered throughout the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combining various data sources into a heterogeneous whole in business intelligence solutions like Retail Pro Decisions helps retailers consume data to uncover customer patterns and needs and optimize processes for serving these needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That information may lie within other channels and includes shopping history, preferences, consents, products owned and relationships with other customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those other channels, such as social media or mobile apps, provide rich information on customer preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brick and mortar locations use POS data<\/a> as well as technology such as\u00a0line-of-sight detection, which uses sensors to collect data from eye movements, allowing retailers to identify shopping patterns and tailor the customer experience to those habits.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Collecting focused data to solve specific needs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Image: Jopwell<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Collecting every shred of information is time consuming and burdensome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also, according to Gartner, unproductive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identifying a problem first and then collecting data related to that issue is a far more efficient solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of customer experience problems can be addressed by gathering specific information and applying it to specific problems, such as long customer wait times, inadequate communication and low inventory.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

POS solutions like Retail Pro Prism<\/a> that integrate CRM software can be tailored to collect certain information that provides a customer view that will help retailers predict shopping trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What information should be collected?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers should filter their data through a lens of what will help them improve each interaction with a customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All information gathered should be able to be used to enhance the relationship with that customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more precise the data is, the more targeted marketing campaigns for each customer segment can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that will provide retailers with the ability to offer more personal, proactive customer service based on an individual\u2019s buying habits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3 Aspects of Customer Data To
Dig Into for Increased Revenue [Whitepaper]<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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7 Data Insights to Shape Your Retail Decisions Post COVID-19<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Understanding the shopper in your data<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Where to find the kind of customer data insights you need to compete like D2C<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Today\u2019s retailer faces stiff competition, particularly from ecommerce. In a world in which fewer people want to visit malls and other enclosed spaces, retailers have had to pull out the stops to provide exceptional customer service. In addition, online retailers … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1675158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,188],"tags":[126,105,196],"class_list":["post-1675154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail-customer-business-intelligence","category-customer-experience","tag-big-data","tag-customer-experience","tag-data-insight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t