It's My Birthday! 4 Ways Brands Can Learn From My Tory Burch Experience

Facebook has my birthday so I assume every other retailer and their first born also has it available to make my day extra special. If they can re-target and follow me with Instagram ads using beacons after I walked into their store, then the possibilities are endless!

My birthday was just a few days ago, on December 7th. I began to receive birthday offers from stores on December 1st. Perfect timing! It made me think about how brands can take advantage of this opportunity to gain a new loyal customer or enhance the budding relationship.

“A study by Germany-based customer engagement company Hybris, conducted by Forrester Consulting, shows a gap between consumers’ expectations of personalized marketing and what marketers are delivering. The study shows that while 66 percent of marketers rate their personalization efforts as “very good” or “excellent,” only 31 percent of consumers say companies are consistently delivering personalized, cross-channel experiences.”

Based on this study and what I have experienced, I agree. Retargeting on Facebook and Instagram is standard compared to an overall personalization strategy that can deliver a birthday experience that is relevant to you, your purchase history, consistent across channels, and accessible to your employees.

Compete on experience instead of racing to the bottom of price. A birthday is the best time to make a difference. When someone is passionate about your brand and has a connection, they don’t look for the low price, they get value in other ways — like the birthday gift you send them via snail mail. I will pay more for a good quality brand that I trust.

Here is what brands need to get right in order to win the race to the top of experience. Kudos to Tory Burch for getting it right!

The Right Timing

One of the offers I received was for $10 off within the next two weeks for a service. Come on! Give me some breathing room - especially for a service that doesn’t even need to be that frequent. That offer is definitely a bigger win for the brand, not me.

I received my Tory Burch birthday email gift on December 1st with NO EXPIRATION DATE. Perfect timing!

The Right Offer

I recently attended the ‘Connect Shopper’ webinar hosted by Salesforce which highlights

“79% like it when they receive complementary product offers or promotions based on their purchasing histories from a retailer, indicating a desire for more personalized shopping experiences.”

In the offer content, demonstrate your personalization skills and highlight some recommendations, while also leaving the door open to purchase anything. I am a fan of the discount on total purchase as was presented in the Tory Burch offer.

The Chosen Channel

It isn’t about one channel - it is about the unified journey across all channels. As you can see from my Tory Burch birthday gift, she provides me specific instructions on how to use at the store or online. 

It is a myth that Millennials are so-called e-commerce shoppers - 23% do research in-person - higher than both Generation X and Baby Boomers! In fact, they research on every channel which means you have an opportunity to grab their attention and enhance the overall journey across all channels.

If you are communicating on several channels, save your reputation and make sure it is uniform. Another stat from the ‘Connected Shopper’ report shows 47% of shoppers feel annoyed when they receive an offer via a separate channel for the same product that they purchased in store.

If you really want to go the extra mile with the birthday gift, send it snail mail. Last year, I received a merchandise birthday and Christmas gift from Tory Burch in the mail. Apparently, I didn’t shop as much this year…

The Right Tools

Make Sure Your Employees Have Access To Information! Salesforce is a great example of a tool that provides the ability to connect to your shoppers in the right way and seamlessly across channels.

I don’t know what tools Tory Burch is using; however, I was amazed by the experience on my visit during my birthday trip to the Hamptons. I was thrilled when I saw there was a Tory Sport store in East Hampton. Since the brand is fairly new and there are only a few physical stores, we just had to stop to complete my collection of golf dresses. I am right there with the 66% who prefer to touch and feel stuff in the store. My boyfriend told me to pick out something for my birthday.

Upon checkout, I remembered that I received the birthday email; however, I was having trouble locating it. While I would expect a certain level of service at my normal Tory Burch store in NYC, I was in a different store and brand - anything goes.

Since I am a fanatic about customer experience and technology, I notice when disjointed online and offline systems cause employees pain. I was not optimistic that the systems in place would enable me to use my offer. I was pleasantly surprised when the associate was able to locate MY PERSONALIZED BIRTHDAY email and code!

The Tory Burch experience is a perfect example of how brands have an opportunity to create an advocate and loyal customer through personalization. I don't purchase Tory Burch products at department stores or other distribution channels because the experience I receive direct at Tory Burch is best.

Remember that personalization is delivered by the STORE instead of the BRAND you purchase.

The distribution model adds a whole different challenge to a brand's ability to deliver a unified customer experience. I will leave that for a future discussion.

If you are not in B2C, this can still apply to you. Recognizing your main contacts birthday at the business or the company anniversary is a great complimentary strategy for B2B businesses.

What are the best offers you have received on your birthday?

Yours Truly,

Randa Green

www.thepukkapanda.com

How Platforms Influence Our Decisions

March is the first nudity free issue of Playboy on stands. According to this article on CNN, Platforms were a key driver to that business decision.

“Every single disruptive business that's emerged in the last five years -- Uber, Airbnb, Twitch.tv --exploits a major business weakness -- the failure of the old guard to innovate in response to changing consumer and customer behavior. These disruptors aren't killing businesses; it's the stodgy, rigid and stubborn companies that are killing themselves.

Once you understand the disruption that's taken place in the media and publishing world and the power of social networks as a publishing platform, you'll understand that Playboy simply had no choice. Nudity was sinking its Web and magazine business.” CNN.

While physical malls and department stores have been our one stop shop for many years, cloud platforms and the endless amount of complementary integrations benefit all of us.

Limit Choices Through Platforms

In a previous post, I shared how people have a problem making choices when presented with more than 6 options. Think of the best method to limit your customer choices and position your brand across the different platform options for both businesses and consumers.

Business

For businesses, the platform is often the primary place users login daily like their cloud based CRM application. In the SaaS world, Salesforce is one of the most popular integrations. The Salesforce ecosystem and AppExchange is a great opportunity for new and established businesses to attract customers.

At ShoreTel, we have a Salesforce integration for our Connect Platform which serves both Cloud and Premises deployment models.  Businesses that use Salesforce to drive productivity with Marketing, Sales, and Service often make decisions for their phone and contact center based on the Salesforce integrations so their teams can be even more productive.

Google is another example of a platform that is a huge influence for new business development efforts and decisions for productivity tools.

For content consumption, LinkedIn is one of the top platforms used for business news. 

Business leaders need to consider the strategic opportunity available with existing and emerging platforms, and how to keep a consistent experience across the different communication channels.

Consumer

For consumers, the platform is the preferred application or website to visit. Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are the biggest social applications.

It is no surprise that influencers drive a ton of adoption. Instagram is one of the top drivers of traffic and provides an endless opportunity to creative marketing minds - from individuals to multi-million dollar businesses. The below graphic shows the power of Instagram and presence of different brands.

As a loyal user of Instagram, I enjoy following influencers and brands to compliment my love of fashion. Next time I buy something, can I claim the platform made me do it? After all, without Instagram, I would never have known about some of the brands.

Both

All platforms continue to add features that make it easier for businesses to grab the user’s attention and close the sale! They have us hooked. Just like you can easily add freemium apps that charge you later when you want more features from Salesforce  App Exchange and Google Apps, you can buy directly from our favorite personal platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

Feedly is one of my personal favorite platforms for content consumption for business and personal purposes. I can quickly read articles relevant to my career or interests in fashion in a quick and simple format. Once, I found the app Pocket, it changed my whole relationship with Feedly as they work so swiftly together.

Pocket saves the articles locally so I am able to read them during my Brooklyn to Manhattan subway commute. A consistent experience and proper integration across platforms is important to attract users to your brand. For example, I don’t read any Forbes articles since it doesn’t work with Pocket. Forbes has a quote entry page that somehow conflicts with Pocket.

These are just a small few examples to show the power of platforms. In future posts, I will go into more detail of a select few platforms and how they impact the customer experience. They are all part of the omni-channel family of communication and customer journey.

Which platforms have you or your business hooked? What drives you to use them? Have you chosen brands specifically due to the platform?

Watch for my next post on the Evolution of Customer Experience starting from the platform.

3 Trends In Retail Customer Engagement

As a consumer, we have access to everything on demand, with a touch of our fingertips. Each channel plays an important part of the overall customer journey. Even though we can get same day delivery by Amazon or the luxury brand Net-A-Porter, studies show that 71% of respondents would prefer to shop in a physical Amazon store vs. online.  

While I am passionate about the omni-channel experience and how brands can maintain consistency across channels, I will focus on how brands can best engage when customers choose to go in the store.

Customer Engagement

Retail is no different than the standard business conference, Bar Mitzvah, holiday party, or wedding. We have the desire to interact with friends, meet new people, and share those experiences with our groups of ‘friends’ and ‘networks’ on Facebook and LinkedIn. We are busy bees in a world of constant movement that crave the opportunity to relax and be at ease with an effortless experience.

Here are three trends in retail that are your next big tickets to success when it comes to in-person customer engagement.

Social

Photo-Booth’s Create A Memorable Experience

Connect with your customers by providing them with a way to create memories with friends. At parties, there are photo booths for guests to have a memento from the event - select stores provide the same opportunity to share your experience across social media. Whether it is at Steve Madden with my dog,  or being photo bombed by a group of girls at Uniqlo in NYC during the St. Patrick’s day parade, I will remember those experiences brands. Retail shops with less budget and space for bulky photo booths can create the same social atmosphere with displays curated specifically for selfies - free marketing at your service.

In-Store Collaborations Are A Win For All

Another great way that retail stores encourage social interaction is through events and collaborations. I recall a time at Desigual when they had a makeup artist, mini gift bags,  drinks , a DJ, and a catwalk to showcase looks put together by the stylists. I am confident that Saturday afternoon was the most I ever spent on one visit to Desigual - and as a bonus had my makeup professionally done for the evening.

Not only does the store generate a lot of foot traffic by the signs outside, it keeps customers in the store longer to spend more money, and is a fantastic way to promote other brands, stylists, and artists. Customers who were acquired through word-of-mouth have a 37 percent higher retention rate. (McKinsey) Think about how you will develop your  influencer marketing platform.

Neighborhood Events Support The Community

Finally, make it even more social by gathering other stores in the area. Alice & Olivia was kind to provide me with two complimentary tickets for a kick-off party  for Meat Packing Open Market . It was a concert with food and drinks for a weekend of  in-store events and discounts from retail stores and restaurants in the area. Who doesn’t love an opportunity to invite a friend and share a fun evening!

Technology

Smart Target Discounts Save Customer Time

When you attend industry conferences, you often have access to an app designed specifically to simplify the attendees experience and avoid carrying schedules and paper ads that end up in the trash. The same concept exists at different levels for in-store shopping experiences from basic to smart and targeted discounts. While clipping coupons from the Sunday paper is one of my favorite past times, it is delightful that technology is here to help us along the shopping journey. We will see even more with emerging technologies such as iBeacons and near-field communication.

Interactive Displays Educate Customers

The shift in e-commerce  brands opening physical stores or ‘Clicks to Bricks’  brands are leading the path with the most efficient ways to integrate their back-office inventory systems, CRM, and more into the showroom like experience. As stores remove paper displays and tear down signs, they open valuable space for LCD monitors and iPads that complement the back-office systems and create an interactive method to engage shoppers. Stores can be creative with uses for those devices - for example, display information on the monitor based on interactive hangers (IH), show latest Pinterest pins of favorites for social proof, integrate with your customer support via web video or chat, or simply let them browse your website.

Mobile Checkout Completes Customer Experience

Have you ever wanted to purchase a product from a store only to find the line so long that you leave? You save a few bucks at the expense of a poor experience at the store. You may or may not return, to purchase the product or anytime, based on the loyalty of the particular brand. Apple and other brands that have mobile kiosks make it effortless to complete your purchase. For some established brands, integration to back-office systems may be an issue - expect that to change in the near future. The endless amounts of apps for devices do make it easy for new brands to start pure mobile - in this case, they have the advantage.

Food & Drink

A Restaurant or Cafe Creates A More Social Atmosphere

Most parties are centered around the food and drink. Obviously, food and drinks are a great way to encourage customers to stick around the store longer to shop. While restaurants in stores are not a new thing, they are popping up more frequently. It is a great way to lure people into the store. I recently chose a new morning stop for my bagel with cream cheese and jelly (the cafe at Urban Outfitters in Herald Square). I was pleasantly surprised by the tasty fresh raspberry jam vs. the type at the cafe just one block down Broadway. After two days of breakfast, it was time to try the lunch - only to find myself casually looking in the store when the line was too long. I held back from the photo booth - at least during that visit!

Everyone Loves Free Stuff

Opening a full restaurant or cafe is a big hit to the bottom line for most small shops. Even for large retail chains, you may only see them in the hotspot locations like 5th avenue in NYC or Magnificent Mile in Chicago. Shops that are small or have a tight budget can choose to provide free bites and drinks to guests on select days - just remember to be consistent with clients and days of the week. You bet customers will shop while they sip a free drink.

These were just a few examples of how you can engage customers through social, technology, and food. Think about how you can include them into your plans. Be creative, and most of all, be authentic and have fun along the way. In future posts, I will dig deeper into these topics - with technology being the primary focus.

I would love to hear your comments. As a customer, what are your favorite trends you see in retail stores?

Yours Truly,

The Pukka Panda

Be Consistent For Smooth Sailing Customer Experience

In my last post, I shared a few stories about my first experiences. Not only do I love to try new places for the first time, learn new subjects, challenge myself with activities like the Tough Mudder - it is great to experience new products and services.

As a business leader, you are the champion for a great customer experience!

Whether your first interaction with a customer is face-to-face, through technology, or as a reference - it is your first and best opportunity to connect. Once you connect, you are positioned to convert them as a new customer, and finally keep providing them a great experience - just like you did the first time!

In my experience as a consumer and customer service operations leader, consistency is a key factor to consider when you create your business strategy, develop processes, and choose technologies. Here is a story that truly opened my eyes to the importance of consistency.

The Story of Consistency

Starts with a great first experience. To Connect, Convert,

It all started with the first visit and a hand-written thank you note. I was hooked as a loyal customer for 6+ years until I moved from Chicago to NYC. Rashida is not only an influential female entrepreneur that I look up to, she is a friend. We both have a passion for customer experience and would often share business stories - even if beauty and hosted VoIP are different industries, human behavior and requirements are the same.

And Keep Your Customers!

There was something about walking into her studio that was refreshing. The entire experience was so effortless. As a subscription service, there was no hassle with payment upon arrival. While you waited; you sat in comfortable sofa and chairs, enjoyed your favorite mini soda, a variety of candy options, and movies with Audrey Hepburn to match the posters of the icon on the walls.

One day, she shared her perspective of consistency in customer experience with me. We subconsciously expect to receive consistent experiences in all of our interactions. As she explained it to me, I easily connected the dots of consistency in my visits with her over the years. One simple example was how she mixed the same 10 songs into the music playlists.

It can be the littlest detail like your hair dresser not using a familiar product or tool with no explanation. While it may not stop you from a return visit, it will likely leave a void as if something is missing. Ever since this conversation with Rashida, I always notice the impact of consistency as a consumer and business leader. I am so excited that Rashida is sharing her expertise to help others build brand identity strategy. 

Be Consistent

In the journey to connect, convert, and keep loyal customers - here are three key areas of consistency to consider. Establish initial trust during the first interaction and continue to provide the same across all channels, to each customer, and through the entire journey.

Across All Communication Channels

Customers want a choice in how they connect with your business. Be consistent in your communications across all channels. If you have different departments managing social media feeds than handling email and phone calls, using the same knowledge base to provide responses to customers will help them be consistent. Invest in tools to keep those teams aware of different channel interactions. Salesforce is just one option. Don’t blow a great first impression from the amazing store personality with lack of response via email or Twitter.

When Dealing With Different Customers

Customers share stories about their experiences, especially over social media. With so many choices available, recommendations from trusted sources are always welcome as a consumer - and for your business. Influencers… Document best practices for consistent interaction when customers deal with different roles across the organization. No one wants to hear praises about an experience with an amazing salesperson only to be shattered by a complete disaster with a different one. Next thing you know, there is a heated argument between best friends over a bad recommendation.

For Each Interaction

Consistency during each interaction with a customer can impacts his/her loyalty. Imagine that you have an effortless experience the first few times you visit a new store - you are greeted with a smile, offered the beverage of your choice (which should be consistent), and enjoy the familiar music. As you learn to expect the same treatment over time, of course you are surprised if you enter the store and feel as if you are in a different world! What happened? Is there new management? You decide to give them the benefit of the doubt - it must have been an off day…  While the tolerance for  variations in  customer experience will vary,  don’t test the waters when you have the power to manage the consistency.

What are your thoughts on consistency as a customer? How do you handle consistency with customers at your business?

Yours Truly,

The Pukka Panda