How Retailers Can Take Their Mobile Game to the Next Level

July 18, 2016         By: Lucy Maher

Picture a loyal shopper on a flash sale app, returning week after week to score great discounts on clothing and other items for themselves and their family. There is more at play beyond receiving half off the purchase – to make the app a better individual experience, the brand allows users to input their sizes so only items that match will show up on their feed and in their searches. The app also notifies users of upcoming sales based on their past purchases. Users can add their name to an item’s waiting list and will be emailed when the item becomes available.

This is one example of the various ways retailers are communicating on a more personal level with their customer base. Other ways include points that can be redeemed for personalized offers, and adept use of viral social campaigns.

“Personalized marketing to customers, at its core, is really about making sure customers feel special,” said Amy Parsons, Vice President of Global Commerce at Discover. “When you receive an offer or discount that reflects your personal tastes as a shopper, it has a powerful impact on your affinity and loyalty toward that retailer. While it takes data insights and structure to launch personalized marketing efforts, the results can pay dividends in customer engagement, loyalty, and spending.”

But for all the positives that personalized marketing initiatives encompass, few retailers are actively practicing it. A January 2016 study by the CMO Council, “Predicting Routes to Revenue,” found that only five percent of marketers feel they have the ability to predict the customer journey and understand what consumer actions lead to revenue. What’s more, only 16 percent of marketers said that their companies are delivering customer experiences that align with their brand promises, and 14 percent say they are completely missing the mark. Two-thirds said their efforts were moderately successful.

So how are the brands that are successful at personalization doing it? Let’s take a look.

Loyalty

What’s driving arguably the country’s most successful coffee chain’s personalization strategy? Loyalty. The chain’s mobile app, which was introduced in September 2015, has evolved since then to include “stars” or two points awarded for every dollar spent on drinks and merchandise. Once users accrue a set number of stars, they can redeem them for a reward tailor-made to them. The app’s homepage also prominently features daily, personalized offers – that aren’t star-driven – such as $2 off an espresso after 2 p.m. It also shows the song playing over the café’s sound system for folks interested in what they are hearing.

“As a retailer, it’s smart to consider how a mobile app could drive additional loyalty and engagement among consumers,” said Parsons, “whether it’s through social media, geo-targeted offers, customer service questions, and even in-app payments, which can create a smoother and more seamless experience for the consumer.”

Social Engagement

In 2014, one of the country’s premier bottlers embarked on an aggressive campaign to drive in-store sales of its 20-ounces bottles. Over the summer, the brand started producing bottles with names and phrases on them, then asked consumers to buy bottles with their names as well as the names of their friends and family members. The campaign was brought to life when consumers, having found a bottle with their name on it, snapped a photo and shared it on their social media accounts. The results? The associated hashtag was shared more than 250,000 times during the cycle of the campaign, and in one week, sales had grown more than 30 percent. What’s more, the brand engaged 28 percent more customers compared to the same period in 2013.

The lesson: “Word of mouth can be a powerful tool,” added Parsons, “by enabling consumers to engage with a brand and become ambassadors in the social media space, they can spread the word about their positive experiences and purchases with that brand, potentially encouraging other customers to engage.”

Measurement

And how can marketers connect online spend with advertising? One method is leveraging a data platform such as the one Discover utilizes to create and measure marketing programs to cardholders. The product helps bridge the gap between digital advertising throughout the web, and consumers’ eventual spending with a retailer, though clean and robust data gained through Discover Network.

One of the last legs of successful digital campaigns, this tool could help retailers prove the effectiveness of their advertising and help enhance further programs.

This article was brought to you by Discover Network. For more insights into consumer trends and the world of payments, visit Discover Network Perspectives.

 


[1] VentureBeat, January 20, 2016, “Most marketers can’t predict the customer journey and admit they aren’t maximizing revenue”
[2] MacRumors, April 13, 2016, “Starbucks iOS App Puts Loyalty First With New Rewards Features”
[3] American Marketing Association, March 2015, “#ShareACoke and the Personalized Brand Experience”