CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

PERSONALISATION COULD WELL BE WHAT'S MISSING FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS' SHOPPING EXPERIENCE. MAT WYLIE EXPLAINS HOW BUILDING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS DELIVERS POSITIVE RESULTS.

ONCE UPON a time, shopping was a much more personal experience than it is today. In the 60s and 70s you’d go to your local grocery store and the owner of the shop (who would often be serving you) would know your name and what your regular purchases were.

Fast forward a few decades and today customers often have to prove to retailers who they are before making a purchase. You can’t get much less personal than having to prove to a computer that you aren’t a robot!

While technology has enabled speedier transactions and changed the way consumers shop, there has been a radical decline in the personalisation of your average retail experience. This is an area that retailers (and all businesses) must focus on, in order to satisfy customers and create loyal fans.

HOW DO WE BRING THAT PERSONALISATION BACK?

Online, customers are used to having their experience personalised to them. Book recommendations based on your past purchases from Amazon, song suggestions based on what you’ve listened to on Spotify, ads that relate to what you’ve previously looked at online across Facebook – we’ve all become used to personalisation. But in-store, how do we make that work?

There’s now technology available that can tell you through geolocation tools when someone walks into your store with a phone that has your app on it. It can tell you their name, what they’ve previously bought, and more, depending on what your app captures.

But in reality, if you were to greet them by their name before they’ve even talked to you, they would probably be creeped out. We’re used to being greeted by name online, but not in person.

So how do we combine the old-fashioned principles of personalisation with a techsavvy world? How can we utilise technology to make each customer’s experience more personalised and thus more exceptional – without scaring them off?

CONSIDER WHAT WILL ENHANCE THE RELATIONSHIP

Utilising technology should always be focused on how to enhance your relationship with your customers. Say you know that someone is an elite member of your loyalty programme – can you provide them with some added extras or benefits that are relevant to their status?

Or you’ve got someone who’s tried on a dress but isn’t sure what to wear it with. Could you pull out a tablet and show them what other people who have bought that dress bought with it?

THE KEY TO PERSONALISATION? GET PERSONAL!

In the end, it often comes down to your people. In the feedback our clients receive, staff are mentioned more times than anything else. For better or worse, your staff are key to creating a great overall experience. You can tell when a store has great staff because of the high satisfaction scores reflected in their customer feedback.

Empower your people to get to know your customers. Utilise the data you do have, from your loyalty programmes, apps, and more, to provide advice and suggestions to your customers when they’re in store. Make the most of your Voice of Customer programme to understand the concerns of your customers, and be sure to respond and build a personal connection with those who aren’t happy.

Kiwi Greg Foran, the CEO of Walmart US, returned to New Zealand recently and I was fascinated to hear about what Walmart are doing to personalise their shoppers’ experiences.

Foran demonstrates that even when a business is high volume, you can still personalise service using customer data, technology, and happy staff.

While sometimes we may have to tick a box to confirm that we aren’t robots, I dream of a world where every customer experience would be personalised. Your customers are the ones who see things that you don’t, or can’t, see about your own brand, so keep building personal relationships with them and you’ll soon see the results.

“You can tell when a store has great staff because of the high satisfaction scores reflected in their customer feedback.”