9 key stats that can reshape retail marketing communications

Key Stats:

1. 2 out of 3 customers prefer personalized retail communications

2. 70% of customers expect retailers to be specific in their communications

3. 77% of customers who expect personalized communications want retailers to tailor messages based on past purchases and preferences

4. 91% of customers tend to click on emails that have a specific product that catches their attention

5. 72% of customers tend to click on emails that have a private sale for special customers

Implication: Leverage behavior to personalize email and other retail communications

Our findings on personalization for retailers weren’t surprising. For years, marketers have realized that segmentation drives relevancy. But now people demand a higher level of personalization. They demand that communications be relevant at a segment level and that they include specifics about them, their interests and their behavior.

According to MarketingSherpa, 69% of people state that they would exchange their data for better, more personalized service. MarketingSherpa also stated that about half of marketers say they still need to improve their marketing database as well as build more sophistication and segmentation into their email programs.

Rather than just sending out a blanket email that proclaims a “50% off sale,” promote products based on past buying behavior. Key buying behavior trigger points include purchase history, abandonment of page or shopping cart, and defecting or lapsing. Consider what you know about the target, then enhance the communications based on individual buying behavior. Email personalization based on buying behavior is one of the strongest forms of customization and it almost always generates a positive lift in response.

The starting point is to first consider segmentation designations. Tailoring content has always been a fundamental response marketing best practice. Customizing email for groups should leverage a combination of analytics and insights. The most common approach is to first determine similar segments based on analytics and then conduct research to better understand the insights of the groups. Typically, the insights will drive the email customization for those groups.

Key Stats:

6. 90% of customers consider reviews an important part of the decision making process when purchasing a product online

7. Of the people who write reviews, 77% are more likely to write a bad review when they are dissatisfied with a product or service

8. Over 50% of customers believe company responses to reviews are as critical as the reviews themselves

9. 42% of customers appreciate when a company asks them to write a review for a product on its website

Implication: Satisfied customers need engagement.

It’s clear that reviews have become a key influencer channel for buyers. More needs to be done to encourage engagement, especially against satisfied, repeat customers. Furthermore, retailers need to have a process in place to respond to customer posts.

Email is one of the best channels to consider for building relationships among customers. It’s critical to driving engagement among repeat buyers with low returns. Repeat buyers are the lifeblood of most retailers. Focusing on this group to engage with reviews is a strategy that can help lead to new customers and increased order size.

Retailers also should consider more careful integration with social media. Social media can be an important vehicle to deliver positive product reviews and help generate interest for new products.

SMS is also a growing channel many retailers are using for customer engagement. Retailers have leveraged the idea of recency for years. This principle suggests that there is a great likelihood of a repeat purchase soon after an initial purchase. SMS messaging provides a strong, cost-efficient channel to deliver a series of bounce-back offers to recent buyers. These offers can play off the recency principle and drive offline and online traffic among recent buyers.