A Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report finds that getting the customer experience right is more important in Retail than in all other industries combined.
The pandemic has radically and fundamentally changed the way we all discover, browse, shop, and buy. Before the pandemic, we saw a trend toward enhanced retail experiences that went beyond shopping, like free yoga classes and juice bars in stores. Today, there’s a new definition for superior customer experience (CX) and loyalty. Retailers need to get the fundamentals right — like optimizing inventory and offering contactless payment options – and layer on services that offer convenience and flexibility.
In a recent Salesforce-sponsored study by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, we found that 82% of retailers say that improving the customer experience is their top priority. Let’s look at the research to see how retailers are strengthening their CX strategies.
To meet expectations, retailers must recognize that CX is everyone’s responsibility – not just those in customer-facing roles. Behind-the-scenes operations impact CX just as much as interactions with store associates and customer service agents. Website design and development teams must create intuitive user interfaces that make shopping and checkout easy
and fast. Supply chain managers must flawlessly fulfill inventory listed as promised on an ecommerce site.
Teams must work together to improve CX. They need access to the same data – in a timely manner – to make business decisions. For example, supply chain managers can ramp up coordination with suppliers when they’re armed with data on popular new products and dwindling inventory — and provide visibility to effectively fulfill orders. Data insights also reveal how well vendors, distributors, and store locations perform against each other and competitors.
Retail executives know that they need to adopt a culture of data to get everyone on the same page. This is an opportunity to develop a 360-degree view of the customer by harnessing and operationalizing consumer, product, and inventory data.
A customer relationship management (CRM) platform can help retailers connect the ecosystem to create a single source of truth for data. The 360-degree view delivers the necessary insights to the right teams at the right times. Retailers can then use predictive analytics to better understand customer behavior, anticipate future buying trends, and introduce new products and services based on new needs.
If you’re one of the 82% of retailers focused on improving CX, improving your data strategy with a 360-degree view is essential. It can help you to deliver seamless and personalized experiences across the growing number of physical and digital touchpoints customers regularly traverse.
