Using software to understand consumers consumers
By Gary Evans -- Furniture Today, May 27, 2007
High Point — Ever mindful that if their retail customers don't make a profit then they don't either, retail technology providers have been building in new software features to capture more information about consumers and making such data more readily available to salespeople.
After all, if you can keep up with consumers' home furnishings likes, dislikes, future plans and decorating wishes, you're likely to build repeat sales and longer-term relationships over time.
"Obviously, if someone buys, you have a sales history," said Shelley Parlin, director of professional services at Colorado-based ProfitSystems. "More important is the follow-up with non-buyers. You can generate more revenue by helping salespeople with their close rates and their average sale."
A salesperson who keeps information on Post-it notes and then loses them is not going to generate good relationships with consumers, said Parlin, who admits to using the note system herself early in her 21-year career with a family furniture store now run by her sister.
A more efficient and lasting method is ProfitSystems' "customer care center" software that keeps up with client information and "tasks" the salesperson daily to take a proactive approach to meeting customers' needs.
"A customer might be in and say, 'I don't need anything; I'm just out and about. But before Thanksgiving I plan to buy a dining room,' " said Parlini.
That information is collected and sets a process in motion that results in the customer being called before the holiday — often generating a sale.
"That lets them know you care," said Parlini. "I've made a few purchases because of that."
Everyone likes being noticed and remembered, even if it's the waitress remembering that a customer likes tea with his lunch. And a software-initiated letter that says, "Thanks for stopping in our store" can generate huge results.
Parlini said that customers sometimes return to stores and say, "I could not believe you sent that letter. I'm looking for a bedroom and my friend is looking for a bedroom, too."
She's currently working on a project in which she's asking ProfitSystems customers what they like, and how current systems can be improved. At the top of the list, she said, is ways to capture more information about consumer desires and build relationships.
Tracking tastes
Building stronger customer relationships is what Myriad Software had in mind when the company added its Customer Relationship Management module to its in-store sales-enhancement package.
"We come from the retail world," said Carolyn Crowley, Myriad's president. "We see it from the salesperson's viewpoint — and from the customer's, too."
With the CRM module, information about a customer or a prospect is a click away. CRM is integrated with Myriad's Eclicktic business system, so a salesperson can access information in seconds from any workstation anywhere in the store's operation.
Each salesperson has access to the same information, which can tell store personnel what rooms customers are thinking about decorating, what color schemes they like, what items they looked at and what they expressed interest in when they last visited the store. Crowley said that, given that salespeople who make the initial customer contact may leave the store some day, making this information available to other salespeople is vital.
"It also serves as a 'tickler' file, Crowley said. "Sales staff can use CRM to send e-mails to customers, suggesting furniture for a room they mentioned they were thinking of redoing."
Other components of relationship-building, such as thanking customers for their purchases, notifying them of upcoming deliveries and alerting them to special offers or sales ahead of the general public, Crowley said, are easy with the CRM module.
Moreover, the module provides sales force management with additional options, such as sales staff accountability, closing ratios and sales analysis and reporting.
Who's shopping for what
CDS's Retail 6 system captures a significant amount of consumer-related information, whether it's during a customer's browsing process or the actual sale, said Ren Baker, president and CEO.
That includes the customer who shops but doesn't buy; a customer who shops and buys later; and a customer that shops and buys now.
In addition, the system allows sales associates to automatically store information within the system on the customer's interests, items they've looked at before, items they purchased, items and accessories they bought with that purchase, and when they purchased.
Now, Baker said, a report can be run that provides the sales assistant with timely information on that customer's buying cycle as well as preferences and budget per past purchase history. This information can be used to target customers with special promotions and direct marketing opportunities.
"Information is the most powerful sales asset for a home furnishings retailer," said Baker. "With the Retail 6 system, our customers can take even the smallest opportunity to capture little bits of information and aggregate that data together to create a meaningful picture of targeted promotions and marketing initiatives."
Also, the technology provides a list of follow-up opportunities that goes directly into an individual sales associate's in-box every morning before he or she shows up for work.
"So when he arrives, he can be instantly productive in revenue-producing activities," Baker said. "The data for this list is gathered and aggregated automatically by Retail 6 during normal activities so there's no need for specialized contact management software."
Escalate Retail's Relationship Marketing program enables marketers to engage in event-triggered, multi-step communications with customers and prospects, sparking interactions to drive incremental revenue and improve customer loyalty.
The program monitors key events defined by stores and then takes a series of actions and follow-up interactions to communicate with customers. The company said key events might include a customer purchase, wedding or address change. Follow-up interactions include messages and offers sent via e-mail and direct mail, and those accessed at point-of-sale or through a Web site.
Using the software, stores can enhance any existing marketing program or application to drive increased loyalty and sales. The company said the program can inject richer, more personalized communications into existing loyalty programs, gift registries, e-commerce sites, point-of-sale messages and inventory hook-ups.
But the company said the real power of Escalate Retail Relationship Marketing is delivered when it automatically calculates the success of each interaction, including response rates, conversion rates and return on investment.
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