CRM for Retail - Customer Relationship Management Systems In The Retail Sector

CRM for retail - Is CRM transforming retail? CRM software in the retail sector is facing new challenges. The retail CRM system has evolved, indeed, even undergone a metamorphism. Food, clothes and a myriad of other goods can now be ordered online, the goods being delivered to your door within twenty four hours or less.

CRM for retail, customer relationship management (CRM), has had to adapt to the new environment to help retailers manage the changes and shift in consumer behaviors. Consumers’ expectations are now very high and competition to delight could not be fiercer. We have all seen the demise of some major retailers who, it could be argued, failed to keep pace with the changes in the market.

Consumers now want to do their shopping in the way that suits them best and at the time that is best for their lifestyle. This may be traditional shopping in their favorite store using their mobile to tap and purchase, making a quick purchase using their PC, tablet or smart phone, or just placing an order with their mobile app and collecting it themselves. They will be used to having their shopping experience augmented with strong search capabilities on their online apps and favorite sites as well as fast payment processing, this they will expect as standard.

Consumers are benchmarking their expectations against companies that, arguably offer, a level of service that is best in class. Such companies as Amazon may be their benchmark. For retail organisations to succeed in this dynamic and fast moving environment, they need to integrate their back end legacy systems into online, mobile and social platforms to create a cohesive core system that will give shop floor staff the ability to sell more and deliver delight to the customer every time. The right CRM for retail system is pivotal to this.

The type of CRM needed is bigger than a simple CRM as we had up until recently. Retailers need to move towards unified commerce. Unified commerce is a combination of omni-channel and multi-channel retailing that will empower your business to deliver a seamless experience. We noted above that there is a trend amongst consumers to embed the use of digital technology in their lifestyle. Indeed, today’s consumers are using a vast array of digital touch points from digital in store to the web and most importantly, the mobile web. There are literally a myriad of digital places that they can touch to shop.

Critical to the retailer’s success in today’s environment are such things as personalising the service experience and improving customer engagement. Mission critical to this is being able to analyse the consumers’ behaviors to better understand the customer. Moreover, empowering managers and staff by making this analysis accessible across all the management and service touch points is key.

CRM for retail has an important part to play in this. We could say that CRM for retail is becoming the backbone of a retail company’s digital presence. Most of us will be familiar with the traditional CRM. It stores your data and is used to marshal marketing campaigns and give some useful customer insights. Today’s CRM for retail systems are however much, much more than those simple systems of the past.

Today’s CRM for retail technologies enable companies to deliver a consistent brand experience across all touch points throughout the customer life cycle. They offer a true 360-degree view of the customer at every touch point through their shopper journey. Drawing data from across the enterprise these systems deliver helpful solutions to management for decision making, to the sales agent to help close a sale and to the customer service agent to deliver a consistent brand experience.

Ciber specialise in CRM for retail. Having a single view of your customers across all your retail systems is the key to ensuring your business is responsive competitive and agile. We have many case studies that will give you a real perspective on what can be achieved.

To find out more about return on investments and the improvements in customer experience and brand loyalty that can be achieved through new CRM for retail technologies contact Garry Stewart on 0870 000 0204.

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