How Data Can Bridge Retail's Digital Divide
The future of retail is finally here. Thanks to the smart integration of customer relationship management (CRM), in-store sales data and media attribution, retailers are finally able to connect the dots between what happens out in the world (i.e., where they market to customers) and in-store, where the cash register goes ka-ching. At long last, we're able to bring in the precision and accountability of e-commerce and digital marketing and apply it to in-store marketing and measurement to drive more effective marketing and boost sales. Retailers have found their Rosetta Stone — the key to translating online data to offline sales.
Of course, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Every organization has its own CRM system, operational practices and sales goals. There are a few ground rules I've found work well for most of the businesses I speak to, however. Here are my best practices that can set you on the road to bridge the gap in your retail sales organization:
1. Use what you've got. Retailers are uniquely positioned when it comes to customer data because they own their CRM databases. This is a huge opportunity, and one I advise clients not to ignore. Use your CRM data to build out your audience segments using look-alike modeling, and you'll be able to find more customers like the ones you've already got.
2. Choose your compass. When you integrate multiple sources of third-party data with your own first-party data, the two sources won't always validate each other. From the beginning, be sure your team agrees to assign one data provider to be the source of truth for your marketing. That way, as you move into planning and execution, you'll be able to compare apples and apples, and leave the oranges alone.
3. Don't get overwhelmed. Lots of data points lead to lots of possibilities, which can produce lots of anxiety for some folks. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed. Even with a zillion bits at your disposal, your story stays the same. At Sq1, we use customer segments to tie it all together. When we get new data, we build it into the customer stories we're already telling, and they become our north star.
4. Practice patience. Digital marketers have grown accustomed to real-time results. When we don't like what we see, we optimize on the fly. This is the advantage and also the pitfall of having data-powered dashboards at our fingertips. Simply put, this approach doesn't work for offline sales, which run at a much slower pace and need more time to return results.
Therefore, if the goal of your campaign is to drive offline sales, which is true for many retailers, then plan and execute your campaign, and … wait. Monitor your campaign but don't make the mistake of thinking that it's all about the cost per click (CPC). Eye on the prize, and that's sales. Give yourself some time to build out a data set and you'll be able to tell what's working — and what's not — to drive return on investment. If you don't like what you see at the end of the cycle, then it's time to rethink your tactics. But not sooner.
5. Remember usability. "User testing" might sound archaic in the age of custom creative and real-time campaign optimization, but marketers who let it slide are missing a huge opportunity to optimize their work. Testing the impact of your creative with the very customers you've designed it for — e.g., the young crafter, the media-savvy mom — can put your work in context and give life to the audience you think you know so well by their data points. Findings from brand surveys, usability studies and user testing are likely to surprise you.
6. Be a smart consumer. Of media, that is. Odds are, your media plan will call for some direct buys, some premium and some real-time bidding. But are you getting what you're paying for? Attribution reports can answer that one, showing the exclusivity of the inventory you bought programmatically, and allowing you to compare those buys against the direct and premium deals for which you pay top dollar. Odds are that you'll find you hit most of your targets programmatically, and didn't need to pay so much for premium placements. We've adopted this as standard practice on behalf of our clients. Small step; huge impact.
These six recommendations won't do all the heavy lifting for you, but they will arm you with the intelligence you need to get the most out of your customer data. They'll set you on the right path for your marketing journey, helping turn prospects into customers (and customers into loyalists) as you bridge the digital divide.
Brandon Bethea is the chief marketing technologist at Sq1, a data-driven marketing firm.