It’s possible to improve CX, but it’s a journey not a destination. I agree with the argument that often data simply doesn’t exist to understand/measure the shopper journey, but increasingly it’s not about acquiring the data, rather the challenge is in analyzing it, extracting the key insights from it and then actioning it in a way that delivers a meaningful customer experience.

Retailers are awash in data – and lots of it is unstructured and unruly to work with. Even basic insights from store traffic and shopper conversion is substantially under-utilized by retailers. Retailers must get better at collecting data, analyzing and actioning it.

The first question should be whether improving the customer experience actually matters. I’ve argued here and in Greenbook posts that we might make much more of customer experience than is warranted. For the most part, we need to avoid a bad experience in CPG, not create good or great experiences. Even there, there are exceptions. The club stores (BJ’s, Costco, Sam’s Club) provide very poor customer experiences as we would commonly define it, yet they are packed with loyal shoppers.

Delivering a holistic customer experience is much more than the example above about applying analytics to customer information to identify segments that drive campaigns. A holistic customer experience is dependent on individual preferences, not the generalized preferences of a group of customers.

The greatest challenge is aggregating data from multiple sources (CRM, POS, social media, etc.) on an individual. Another challenge is translating that into usable information for sales associates and marketing staff so that it can be truly personalize the experience for each customer. It is a tall order!

Data and analytics have become buzzwords by retailers, brands, and the vendors of the technology. All too often these technologies aggregate and visualize data on impressive dashboards and claim they are providing “actionable data” or improving the customer experience. Why then are we not seeing, hearing, or experiencing the results?

Customer experience is a personal journey. It evokes different responses from different people. While we can pontificate on what a “good” CX is, we can certainly agree on what is a “bad” experience. Retailers and brands alike should spend more time, energy, and resources to eliminate “bad” customer experiences.

I refer to and use data all the time, but my data analysis is used to provide recommendations and guidance to “move the needle.” Concentrate on using data to measure your efficacy and success of eliminating bad experiences — and less on measuring your customer.

CX is one of the new buzz terms. It was “omni-channel” a bit ago, “brand” before that. Kind of makes me chuckle a little as nine times out of 10, it’s just another way of gathering around a phrase that means “fundamentals.” A “customer experience” has been around since Roman markets, it’s just more complicated we say — but is it really? The simple key in both cases was/is to empathize with the customer at every touch point. Put yourself in their shoes or better yet, get out/in there and watch them at every touch point and if you’re any good, you’ll “get” what needs to be done pretty quick, no matter what you want to call it. Most buzz terms (including those listed above) are so nebulous they could mean 1,000 things, which makes them great consultant fodder. But in the end, it always boils down to basic fundamentals. Yes, even “AI”, another hot one. Looking forward to the next buzz term, I could use a good laugh.

Unfortunately, we will practically never know everything about a customer. However, we can know relevant pieces to connect together concepts that matter. We have the capabilities to know enough about a customer to provide them improved experiences. Holistic experiences come from more than just prescience about the customer but also interaction with the customer — soliciting new and relevant information in the moment. The idea that we have to “stop” this talk about analytics because it’s not holistic enough is absurd. Not only do customers expect retailers to use the information they have, they are willing to provide more to improve their experiences. The holistic nature of data is important and the closer we get to it the better and more successful you’ll be, but you never abandon what you know already on that path. If a customer comes into your store, that data point alone speaks volumes and clearly qualifies the customer more than others. Data is supportive to understanding the customer even if incomplete. Holistic customer experience for retail is about understanding the… Read more »

As someone in retail I know once famously stated, “data without insight is just trivia.” Having data on your customer journey alone is not enough and doesn’t make you smart about your customer. Interpreting that data, and acting on it in a way that augments the customer experience is what makes a retailer smart. But that’s the tricky part, isn’t it? For many retailers, gaining the insight they need from interpreting the data is a hit or miss experiment unto itself. It’s not a black or white answer, it’s quite gray, and is an always evolving/moving target that’s very dependant on your retail segment and product categories. A great customer experience for a warehouse club is not going to be delivered the same or measured the same, as it would be for a specialty apparel retailer. Retail fundamentals on knowing your customer still apply and I often ask retailers, “when was the last time you shopped at your own store?” The answer is often quite shocking! I typically follow this up with “when was the… Read more »

This problem in retail is not limited to the customer experience. That may be the most important and ultimately the differentiator between winners and losers, but it is not isolated to customer experience. Most retailers are still operating in silos and the departments do not communicate well and do not appreciate each other’s operations and drivers, resulting in inefficiencies and sub optimal performance. The supply chain should, after all these years, be one area that has become totally integrated, but it has not. You will get the same reaction that managers do not appreciate the impact their area of the business is having on other areas. If you ask supply chain execs how they impact the stores, very few will know or care. If you ask store execs the impact they are having on the supply chain you will get the same reaction. This systemic failure has to come down to the way the very top management structure the business, target individuals and manage them. You get the behavior you drive. If you don’t drive… Read more »

It is pretty simple. Answer a couple of questions. 1. Do you know what you like? Yes. 2. Do you know what you don’t like? Yes. 3. Did you have to “think” about it? No! Why? Individual human sensory-preferences. This is how “you” know what you like without having to think. For instance, how long does it take you to pick one jacket out of a hundred jackets? one minute? Then you try it on. It must match your “unspoken” sensory preferences of how you like your jackets to fit, look and feel on your body. Otherwise, you don’t buy it. Simple, obvious to everyone who wears clothes. Same works for cars, shoes, homes, furniture, etc. Things we humans purchase are based on our own unique, individual sensory-preferences. Solving the tediously old conversation of the “customer experience” has been stymied by the protocols of computer science decision tree-based solutions, totally devoid of eliciting individual human preference intelligence. Data and analytics solve for explicit [customer journey] human behavior rather than implicit [invisible] human sensory-preference intelligence. The… Read more »

I’ve been having this discussion with dozens of senior IT leaders over the past few months, and all say that this is a work in progress, and few claim that their company looks at the customer experience holistically. Efforts are sincere but siloed. We have a ways to go before anyone declares victory.