BrainTrust Query: 'Great' Can Be the Enemy of 'Good' Using Customer Data
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Mark Heckman Consulting blog.
When I talk to brand people, especially the ones who are relatively new to the food industry, one of the first questions they have pertaining to retailers is, "Why are so many doing so little with so much customer data?"
Scars from experience have led me to the painful conclusion that "great is indeed the enemy of good" when it comes to retailer customer strategies. Most that are offered today are too complex to execute and maintain. These complex strategies require content and funding that can only come from the buckets of dollars retailers use for mass marketing programs.
In fact, many retailers that have assembled fairly impressive customer databases over the years still struggle to leverage these data efficiently and effectively. I count myself among this group. Trying to ingest all this data can be tantamount to "drinking out of a fire hose."
To be blunt, retailers and brands remain all too entrenched in their more traditional programs and their short term benefit to divert funding to targeted customer specific initiatives. These programs are still sacrosanct to most retailers and brands, that enjoy the predictability and reach these programs afford.
So that leaves us with starting simple, building incremental credibility, and subtly diverting dollars and human capital to a more targeted marketing approach.
Tracking this discussion to its logical conclusion, retailers that are struggling with their data need a "bridge" plan, one that gets them in the game, but does not tax the entire enterprise by competing with mass marketing programs for funding and attention.
Step One: Identify your best shopper base. Track them, reward them, and make certain best shoppers know that you know they are special.
Step Two: Devise a way to recognize first time customers. If you have a loyalty program, develop a mechanized bounce back reward or message at the point of the very first engagement that incentivizes a second trip. If there is a second engagement, recognize that as well. If, after a reasonable period of time there is no second engagement, devise a plan for that scenario.
Step Three: Track defection and attrition. Devise intelligent ways to understand how to allocate resources to ameliorate losing shoppers or share of shoppers' wallets.
Focusing on just these three aspects of Customer Relationship Management will enable retailers to smartly use their customer database in a measured, reasonably affordable way. Once "wins" are gained in these three areas, more specific strategies can be employed, hopefully with funding from brands and other sources that are convinced your CRM program works and delivers results.