There are some very clear trends in retail today. There is a proliferation of new channels and new competitors, increasing the complexity of marketing. This is compounded by the significant fragmentation of media now delivering sub-optimal ROI on marketing spend. Furthermore the expectations of the customer have also increased.

On the bright side, the availability and quality of data has increased, and for retail marketers that is good news. But only if you can get it, understand it and use it… wisely.

To succeed in the multichannel world of retailing, you need to ensure you gain a single, holistic view of your customer, regardless of which channel they are engaging. This is not an easy or fast thing to do, so you need to start now. The following steps need to be considered to do this:

1. Familiarise yourself, if you haven’t already, with best practice procedures, practices, strategies and tactics around using customer data in retail. Ensure you understand the privacy legislation and how that applies to your business.

2. Map out and agree, as a whole business (not a single channel or division), what information you will collect, how you will collect it and, most importantly, how you will use this customer information this in your business. It is better to map out the complete picture now, even if you don’t plan to take advantage of this until a point in the future. Include how you will measure customer value - by channel, segment and in total.

4. Lay the right technology foundations for a single customer view. This means ensure you design and build your customer database accordingly. It needs to be owned by the business and not by a channel. It needs to be designed to interface with all inputs and outputs. The technology and design must cater for tomorrow’s channels and programs and not just today’s. A heuristic view of a customer across your organisation and channels is the goal.

5. Map out how you will collect. You will always need to consider the customer value and why they will give you information. A mix of activities will need to be planned to collect information and it will be an ongoing activity to continue to refine and manage this information. This may include competitions, loyalty value, features, functionality and content. And it must be across your different channels.

6. Start collecting - the earlier, the better. The permission of a customer to communicate with you is a valuable asset now and in the future. It is also an asset that will be more difficult and more competitive to build in the future. Good luck.

Paul Marshall

Lasoo.com.au

If you have added, or are about to add, online shopping to your business, your multichannel journey has only just begun. You need to now move to cross-channel retailing. What is the difference?

Multi-channel is simply that; running more than one channel to sell, market, service or deliver. Cross-channel however is “the coordinated use of multiple channels to gain market share, grow revenue and profits, create a differentiated experience and increase customer loyalty.” It is where the real business benefits are delivered.

The evolution from Multichannel to cross-channel can be broken into three phases:

Phase one – Multi-channel development.

This is really about having a portfolio of channels in which to sell, service, market or distribute. For example you may have an eCommerce website, or you may have a call centre to take orders over the phone. In this phase however there is no synchronisation between the channels. The channels operate in silos, the business is product focussed and channel focussed and the marketing is campaign focussed.

Phase two – Multichannel coordination – cross-channel retailing

Here the links start being made. Marketing campaigns are beginning to be synchronised across channels. Testing and measuring multi-touch media and communication strategies are a regular occurrence and you start to build up a picture of your customer across channels. You may be coordinating across channels in areas of delivery and customer service. For example buying online, picking up in store. Channels evolve to start collaborating at a technology level and a job/responsibility level.

Phase three – Cross-channel optimisation

This is where you will truly have one business, one view of your customer, one overarching strategy; played out through a well synchronised set of strategies and tactics using the many channels (and their unique advantages) available to you. This phase is all about customer focus; a single, holistic and heuristic customer view, regardless of the communication channel. You will be creating unique customer experiences through the cross-channel value proposition and providing unique benefits through the use of integrated channels.

While this is definitely a journey and will take time and resources, you should be planning for it today. In your technology, your internal communications, your staff roles, responsibilities and performance measures. It will pay big dividends and there is a bigger prize for those that get to the end faster. Where are you today?

Paul Marshall - CEO

Lasoo.com.au