The era of individualised customer engagement
The era of individualised customer engagement
The buzzzword in retail for a long while has been personalisation but it is no longer enough. Retailers need to strive for individualisation: the ability to develop offers and rewards based on accurate individual customer insights and to executive against those insights in real time. Thanks to the arrival of a more data-driven approach to customer engagement, retailers can now achieve this.
Advanced business intelligence solutions featuring machine learning capabilities today equip retailers with detailed reports, dashboards and metrics utilising customer engagement data to develop a single accurate view of individual customers. This intelligence can then be fed into shopper marketing activities which turns these insights into targeted promotions in real time. And with the power of machine learning and AI, shopper insights can go far deeper than was possible before: for example, instead of just knowing which customers are likely to find value in certain products, the business intelligence solution can also determine what day of the week and time of day they’re most likely to visit the store.
This opens the door to far more meaningful and personal connections with individual customers, with retailers better able to provide value to the customer’s purchasing decision and overall lifestyle. But it’s a tricky job that requires the skilled hand of experienced customer engagement and technology solutions providers.
The five generations of shoppers
The challenge of effectively engaging with customers at an individual level is made all the more daunting considering the five distinct generations of customer that most retailers serve, each with their own consumption habits, maturity regarding technology use, preferred communication methods and key motivators, including:
1. The Silent Generation, classified as people born between 1920 and 1945, that are nearing retirement, have little experience with new technology, and prefer old-school forms of communication;
2. The Baby Boomers, born 1945-1965, who value quality over price, are more likely to shop at a single location, and prioritise products that are reliable and budget-friendly;
3. Generation X (1965-1980), who are driven by consumption, are comfortable with technology, and want speed and convenience to match their fast-paced lifestyles;
4. Generation Y, or Millennials, born 1980-2000, who are the most dominant consumer segment in terms of their size. Generation Y is less influenced by advertising, instead preferring peer recommendations, and want engagement and recognition from the brands they support; and
5. Generation Z, born after 2000, who are the first generation to not know a world without mobile phones, social media and the internet. Generation Z are typified by quick engagements across multiple social platforms and demand some form of social responsibility from brands and corporations.
Retailers face a tough time ahead as a constrained economy takes its toll on the bottom line and consumers constantly seek the best deal. Building the capabilities that enable them to engage with customers individually paves the way not only for their continued survival and growth during this tough period, but sets them up for the new age of individualisation.
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Article Credit: Ian Steyn