Momentarily, we are experiencing very difficult times in retail. Stores are closed, with the exception of the newest possibility for pickup service per 10th of February. But the role of the stores for every retailer has changed. And a large shift has been made towards a more e-commerce, digital driven organization. How will this affect the way retailers work after the Covid-19 pandemic? It seems certain that, due to the investments in the digitization of the organizations, that stores aren’t going to be delivering the same type of service as before. It will be different, but what will their role be post-pandemic?
We have seen a strong merge in the offline and digital channels over the last year, even more than in the years before. This so-called ‘fusion of digital and offline channels’ creates new opportunities for stores. And we believe that they should definitely make use of these opportunities, to ensure a sustainable future. It is not a nice-to-have any more to have a digital ecosystem around your business, but due to the pandemic it has become a must. And this should and will be extended in post-pandemic times. Read more about the merging channels in our dedicated article on this topic. In this article, we would like to highlight an important solution for retailers, to extent the digital channels to their offline stores: clienteling.
Clienteling is the process and technology that enables store employees to deliver personal customer service on the spot and based on data, including information on personal preferences, order history, loyalty status. With clienteling technology, you can connect offline and online customer data. With this information, you make use of, among others, the following opportunities:
For enabling a full service clienteling, it is important to create consistency through all different channels of the company. Therefore, you should work with a single source of truth, meaning that all data is gathered and enriched within a single CRM platform, connecting all available channels. In this way, you make sure that data is always up-to-date and the best service can be provided throughout all channels.
Clienteling does not only deliver data on personal information and preferences, but encompasses much more opportunities. Different features can be combined into a single store app for example. To deliver the highest possible engagement, the following features are to be included:
Some future opportunities to include, are expanding the commercial opportunities of a company and creating faster, more convenient and cross-channel sales:
We believe that clienteling is an essential solution for creating a flexible retail organization and to be sustainable and future proof. The future of retail could shift to fully drive digital commerce, where the role of physical stores is drastically changing. It could become mainly about showcasing and trying out products, where orders are digitally processed and directly send to people’s home addresses. No hazzle for the shoppers, less risk for the retailer.
VANEIGENS provides a clienteling solution that encompasses different solutions into one store app, that serves store employees all required data to provide next level customer service, to ensure the highest rate of engagement and of course, more enthusiastic and loyal customers.
Want to know more about what we can do for your organization? Contact us for an open inspiration session!
Testimonial Omoda
‘’I don’t give a 10, because that would mean there is no room for improvement, but I certainly give them a big fat 9, because that is what they deserve.’’
Annemiek Janse
Manager Customer Service Omoda
North Africa Dreamin’
The North Africa Dreamin team is made up of volunteers from the Moroccan Trailblazers community whose common vision could be summed up in one word: sharing
Let’s have a coffee and connect real‑life. Call us at 0800-0900042 or e‑mail to info@vaneigens.com