More is not always better, especially when it comes to your tech stack. While new technologies can arm retailers with important insights, having too many tools can be time and resource intensive. And, if systems don’t communicate with each other, data sits in silos and hinders a retailer’s ability to hatch and execute a well-crafted plan.
Many retailers fall into the all-too-common problem of having too many tools and too little cohesion between them. With small businesses using an average of 14 different apps, this number only grows for larger businesses. These disparate data sources, unfortunately, can create a disconnect that negatively impacts the customer experience.
Data is a gold mine for connecting with your target audience. See how an integrated platform helps you optimize your tech stack and engage every customer with data-driven insights.
Busting Out of Data Silos
No one tool can do it all, which is why new tools are flooding the market, promising to achieve your business’ biggest aspirations. However, all that innovation isn’t impactful if your team cannot garner important insights from them. For example, while Marketers have access to more than 9,000 martech solutions on the market right now, 57% don’t feel properly equipped to get the most out of the data they use for campaigns.
To laser-focus on the data that matters, Petco CEO Ron Coughlin reduced the number of metrics the company focused on when he joined the company. Earlier this year at the National Retail Foundation’s annual conference, Ron shared how leadership went from tracking 20 metrics to five because “the first order of the day was corporate integrity.”
With an integrated platform, you’re bringing cohesion among your tools so you can look at your data holistically. You can hone in on the numbers that tell you something crucial about your audience and determine which parts of your strategy work. Instead of analyzing a single Tweet to see if it appealed to your followers, an integrated tech stack lets you drill down into how different efforts–from your social to your email campaigns and beyond—worked together to engage your audience.
Going Beyond Autopilot with Personalization
Everyone wants to feel understood, especially your customers. With 33% of customers expecting brands to understand them, it’s critical to dig into the data to learn their preferences so you can tailor experiences based on those insights.
Look at millennials, a generation that retailers often associate with being tech savvy. Operating under this preconceived notion, a retailer may pour money and time into building a mobile campaign to reach this demographic. However, that retailer may be better suited connecting with them the good old fashion way, via their desktops, as only 16% of millennials make online purchases on their mobile device. [Dig into our data-driven insights to create loyalty with Boomers, Zoomers, and every generation in between].
Whether you’re appealing to different generations or customers at different stages of their journey, their preferences may vary, and so should your approach to connecting with them. Let data be your guide to determine which approach works for which customer.
Evolving Your Customer Experience
Knowing personalization is key to retail success, we recently enhanced our integrated customer engagement platform and launched Sparkfly Rewards. Our rewards program allows retailers to create unique experiences based on individual preferences rather than being limited by rigid point-based programs. With this program, you can use your entire suite of retail tools to connect with customers through every funnel stage, from acquisition to engagement to retention.
With retailers facing more competition and customer demand, stagnation isn’t an option. Learn more about how Sparkfly Rewards’ integrated customer ecosystem empowers you to delight every customer with a data-driven approach.