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How Retailers Use Software to Improve Customer Experience
Technology has penetrated almost every segment of the retail industry, from inventory management to customer service. The latest software solutions driven by machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automation allow for faster data analysis and deliver highly personalized customer experiences.
Here is how you can use software to boost user satisfaction.
Big Data Is the Future of the Retail Sector
In the competitive retail sector, brands need to continuously analyze market trends, monitor competitors, and collect customer data. That is where big data steps in.
With the help of big data analysis, retail companies can predict emerging trends, target the right customer groups, reduce marketing costs, and enhance the quality of customer service.
Here are a few use cases of big data analytics in the retail industry:
- Providing a 360-degree view of each customer
By collecting and analyzing customer data at every touchpoint, you are familiar with their likes and dislikes, location, interests, and social media presence. Above all, you will understand customers’ likelihood to take action, such as signing up for a newsletter list or using coupons.
That way, you can individualize user experiences to drive user engagement, boost sales, and maximize customer loyalty.
- Optimizing prices
By continuously monitoring competitors, industry trends, and customer preferences, you can predict trends before they happen. That is how you can create innovative products and set up a dynamic pricing strategy. Most importantly, you can run beta tests to see how your prices and products resonate with customers.
- Understanding customers and delivering exceptional customer service
Big data analysis helps you get better insights into customer satisfaction. For example, some companies use in-store video footage and motion to understand how customers behave. That way, they strategically place products to grab their attention and sell them faster.
Analyzing customer behaviors and attitudes is easier in the online retail landscape. For example, sentiment analysis is an effective tool to understand how customers perceive your brand and take action to deliver better user experiences.
Delivering Engaging In-Store Experiences
Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, customers are hungry for engaging, real-life experiences. Therefore, you should not neglect the power of your physical store. Harness its incredible marketing and branding potential.
One of the most effective marketing tools in your store is commercial digital signage. It drives traffic in, facilitates shopping decisions, and provides entertainment.
For example, you can use your in-store LED display to repurpose your social media content and build trust with customers. Stream your Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram feed, hashtags, and content. If you have satisfied customers on Yelp and similar business directories, you can put them on your screen, too. That is the opportunity to place user-generated content under visitors’ noses.
Traditional marketing campaigns can also increase your digital presence. For example, you can insert QR codes into your flyers, direct mail, and LED displays and point customers to your website, social media channels, newsletter sign-up forms, or specific landing pages.
Providing Omnichannel Customer Service
Today’s customers are tech-savvy. They use a wide range of channels to communicate with brands, review products, and seek help. Given that, it is not surprising that they expect retailers to provide seamless, omnichannel customer service.
Many channels form omnichannel customer service, including:
- Your retail store
In-person communications with customers allow you to build stronger relationships and generate honest feedback. However, they need to be incorporated into the customer journey and become a part of your omnichannel customer service.
- Phone service
Today, this form of customer service goes far beyond analog phone systems. You can replace traditional call centers with advanced VoIP software.
Cloud-based telecommunications let you provide customer support from everywhere and in real-time. Most importantly, VoIP integrates with other customer service channels.
- Ecommerce websites
Online stores have gained momentum over the past few years, especially in the era of Coronavirus. Many companies offer contact forms, live chat support, and AI chatbots to provide faster and more convenient customer support.
- Mobile services
The number of smartphone users is constantly growing. Therefore, using IM apps, chatbots, voice assistants, and SMS support is a key method of boosting customer satisfaction.
- Email communication
Email still plays a vital role in your customer support strategy.
Now, the goal is to unify your customer service tools to provide consistent and personalized customer support. That is where CRM software shines. CRM software for customer service captures customer data from multiple channels. It creates profiles for each customer and keeps their data in a central location. Therefore, no matter if a consumer reaches out via email, phone call, or live chat, agents can manage conversations right from the CRM tool and provide highly personalized user experiences.
Providing Personalized User Experiences
Customers are willing to pay more for targeted offers and content. Personalization shortens sales cycles, drives sales, and encourages customer loyalty.
Many retail brands leverage the power of extended reality tools. For example, Sephora allows users to upload their photos and virtually try on various makeup items. VR is crucial for online purchases, where customers cannot see, touch, and feel products.
Big data analysis allows you to analyze the data you collect and take action. For example, many online retailers track user behaviors on their websites. They observe their browsing patterns, viewed items, previous purchases, abandoned shopping carts. Based on this data, they recommend the right products to each customer to drive sales.
In email marketing, you can use email marketing tools to segment newsletter lists. The goal is to break the list down into narrower groups based on customer location, age, gender, preferences, interests, purchases, etc. Rather than receiving generic emails, everyone is served with the right content types.
Building Shopping Apps for Mobile
In 2019, customers downloaded 204 billion apps. Moreover, studies predict that the number of mobile app downloads will exceed 250 billion in 2022. Given that, it is not surprising that the number of brands investing in custom mobile apps for their shoppers is growing.
You can use mobile apps in multiple ways.
They are a proven way to eliminate the boundary between your physical and online store. You can use an app to create loyalty programs that work for both online and ecommerce purchases. Push notifications promote your latest collections, deals, and discounts.
Most importantly, shopping apps provide frictionless purchasing experiences. Their decluttered and user-friendly interfaces allow customers to find the desired products and finalize the purchase faster.
Over to You
Technology is the future of the retail industry. When implemented strategically, it increases the consistency of customer service and boosts shopping experiences. Above all, it enhances conversions and inspires customer loyalty in the long run.
These are just some of the numerous examples of how retail brands can leverage various software solutions. How do you use software to boost customer experience?
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