Understanding the importance of great customer experiences and service is nothing new for Aussie and Kiwi retailers. But after two years of constant change, many find themselves juggling multiple moving parts. With so much going on, how do we deliver exceptional customer experiences in retail right now? Which Aussie retail brands are doing it well, and what can we learn from them — even if our business is much smaller than the big guns? (Heads up: we’ll tell you — and give you some of these ultimate customer experience examples.)
Today, we’ll briefly outline the main drivers required to deliver excellent customer experiences (CX). We’ll analyse a couple of Aussie retail brands that are excelling in CX in different ways. And we’ll give you vital, actionable tips that every Aussie retail business can use.
According to KPMG’s Customer Experience Excellent Report 2021, personalisation is the number one driver of CX, having a massive impact on customer loyalty and advocacy.
Retail advocacy is when existing retail customers literally ‘advocate’, meaning they publicly recommend or support your brand. For example, they chat to friends, strangers at the shopping mall, online - and share their positive experiences about your retail brand.
Of course, retail advocacy is free, which is a huge perk. But better still, the beauty of advocacy is that human beings respond positively to what others say — far more than how they react to a slick paid advertisement.
So, let’s get people talking about your brand. Let’s learn how to personalise the customer experience.
There are hundreds of ways to personalise your customer's experiences. Handwritten notes accompanying orders and using customers’ first names are a surprisingly effective way to start, but there's a lot more.
Personalisation requires knowledge about the individual, so using the right software is an important step to gaining this information. Intelligent eCommerce POS software will give you actionable customer data so you can segment them to cater to their personal preferences — which can then be used in various ways. You can personalise emails, marketing campaigns, social media ads and offer loyalty bonuses, to name a few activities.
Empathy and resolution are also essential factors in creating an excellent customer experience, according to KPMG's recent report. Outstanding, efficient physical transactions are still vital, but the psychological aspect is currently taking the limelight. Consumers now crave care and human connection.
Examples of human connection and resolution are everywhere — and it's not complicated. We’re talking about rapidly replying to customer queries and complaints, picking up the phone to talk to customers, apologising when necessary, using customers' names, acknowledging mistakes or writing personalised notes. The right software can also help things along significantly, such as implementing live-chat for easy communication.
"The benefits extend beyond customer loyalty through to significant improvements to revenue and retention, a resultant reduction in marketing costs and uplift in customer acquisition and engagement metrics for brand."
Lisa Bora Partner in Charge of Corporates – Management Consulting, KPMG Australia.
Each year, KPMG Australia surveys thousands of Aussies to evaluate which brands are providing the best customer experience, according to their metrics. Included in their Top 10 list were MECCA, Bendigo Bank, Bunnings, Afterpay, Specsavers, Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and The Iconic. It’s worth checking out some of these winning brands to see if any of their strategies are worth exploring.
Remember though, there’s no cookie-cutter formula to deliver excellent CX. What works for one brand may be death for another. Retailers need to understand the strengths and limitations of their products and services. Then, they must assess their data and customer feedback and finally test various channels and strategies to see which are most beneficial for their brand.
Here are two Aussie brands that deliver numerous personalised customer experience examples in quite different ways.
According to KPMG, MECCA "has topped the charts this year... due to their accelerated digital drive across communications, operations and ensuring astrong focus and delivery in brand integrity and expectation management."
Says MECCA's chief digital officer Sam Bain, "The biggest change is probably the extent to which we now use customer feedback and data. We use a lot more quantitative data to drive decision-making today, whereas we used to rely more on anecdotal insights."
Bain explains that they focus on four core pillars (NB: We've added examples from reports and observations):
ETHICS AND VALUES
MECCA does an exemplary job of displaying its ethics and values — an essential component of emotionally connecting with today's customers. Here's how:
Diversity & inclusion: MECCA has embraced a culture of diversity that's far from a box-ticking exercise. They thoroughly use models of all genders, body shapes, races and cultures to showcase their products — an ethos also reflected in the staff employed in-store. They offer make-up for all skin tones — and encourage the inclusion of all genders throughout all services and events.
Social change: Their social change program, MECCA M-Power, focuses on educating women and girls to advance gender equality. Their aim is clear — to support 10,000 girls through secondary school by 2025.
Sustainability: MECCA has teamed with TerraCycle, global leaders in recycling the un-recyclable, offering customers a convenient in-store facility to recycle their cosmetic containers.
MECCA-INSPIRED TIPS:
Focus on customer feedback and data to make informed retail business decisions to drive revenue and increase profit margins
Create content that helps your customers
Deliver the omnichannel experience
Social proof
Give back
As a homewares retailer, Adairs had more than a few things going for them during the pandemic. Isolated, yearning for comfort and safety, and wondering how we've lived with those hideous cushions this long worked to their advantage. Shopping for homewares (while easing anxieties with liquor) proved to be a winning activity.
The Australian Financial Review reports that Adairs' profits rose 81 % to $63.7 million. And according to Chief Executive Mark Ronan, more growth is to come.
Adairs understood the importance of an excellent customer experience way before lockdown, though, embracing the omnichannel experience (integrating bricks and clicks) years ago. But after careful research, they discovered their success lies in customer loyalty and in-store experiences.
Over 75 % of Adairs' retail sales now come from their popular loyalty program, Linen Lovers. According to Adair's investor website, "Linen Lover members pay (a small fee) for a two-year membership that provides access to lower prices in-store and online, access to exclusive offers and events, and free delivery for most orders."
Linen Lovers is a simple offering that works exceedingly well.
"The beauty of the Linen Lovers program is we can continue to grow that year-on-year, and those customers continue to come back… There are many more Linen Lovers we can add", says Ronan.
Adairs also discovered that an outstanding customer experience can be met via their physical stores— large physical stores.
Since 2019, 'Adairs Homemaker Centres', have stolen focus from their small, cramped shopping mall stores. Large, light-filled, and delightfully relaxed, these centres are homely havens where a 'destination' experience can inspire shoppers — and provide value, trust and engagement. There's an abundant array of stock variety, real-life shop displays and friendly, helpful connections with well-trained store staff.
ADAIRS-INSPIRED TIPS:
Here are some ideas: