Simple Synergy = Big Bucks!!

According to a 2009 report, only 24% of retail businesses use a cross-channel customer loyalty platform. As Roy Wollen discussed this week, cross-channel synergy can bring in big-time money for businesses and spur customer loyalty and advocacy. So why aren’t more companies becoming more customer centric by using cross-channel marketing? Why risk losing customers who will help you promote your brand?

I cannot answer this question, but I can say that any companies who are not engaging in cross-channel marketing are only hurting themselves. This week, I will discuss a clothing retailer that I believe masters cross-channel marketing by sending me consistent, personalized messaged through all of their channels. I will also talk about one particular retailer who has lost my business because they fail to engage in this cross-channel personalization.

For many of the ladies out there, I am sure that this coupon looks familiar to you:

Express emails me this coupon through email and regular mail on a biweekly basis. I do not even shop at Express very much and I do not even have an Express credit card. But the company always wants to entice me to buy clothes either online or at a store. Any time I am in Express, I see many other women using these coupons, which proves to me that the coupons are enough to lure customers into the store.

Express also allows you to buy clothes online and return those clothes to an actual store and this is a reason why I continue to shop there. I personally despise Victoria Secret for overcharging me on street clothes, making me pay super high shipping fees and then not allowing me to return those clothes in a store. I then have to pay more ridiculous shipping fees to send those VS clothes back to the warehouse. Funnily enough, Victoria Secret emails me the same type of coupons that Express does, but VS’s lack of cross-channel consistency and convenience causes me to immediately delete those emails.

On top of sending me coupons that I can use in store or online, Express further personalizes my shopping experience. Although I do not go into the Express store on Michigan Avenue often, two of the employees there recognize me and always offer their assistance. During a Labor Day sale at Express, I bought this shirt for 30% off and then realized I left my coupon at home. I told the cashier that I wanted to use this coupon on top of the 30% discount. The cashier told me I could bring in the shirt and the coupon the next day to receive both discounts. I went in the following day and did just that. I then ended up only paying $20 for this shirt! It is personalized, cross-channel customer service that keeps me going back to Express. And it is the exact opposite cross-channel experience I receive through Victoria Secret that made me abandon ever buying clothing through the VS online store ever again!!