How your retail business can benefit from good quality data
There’s no doubt a customer database is the lifeblood of any retail business. It provides business owners with detailed insights into their customers’ demographics and buying behaviours.
But what if your database is out-of-date or inaccurate? What if you are missing out on sales or customer feedback because your email addresses are invalid? Both these questions raise the issue of the importance of having good quality data. So how is this achieved in the retail industry?
To get the answers, we turned to our very own Data Consultant at Thryv Data, Christine Kha.
Before she joined us, Christine had many years of consulting experience under her belt, with multinational organisations across a range of industries.
Her role at Thryv Data involves helping clients leverage our data products and services to their full advantage, so they can formulate stronger data strategies to improve their business. Christine also works closely with some our clients in the retail space. Her previous first-hand experience in this environment allows her to deeply understand the varying needs of a retail business.
“I’m proud of my knowledge of the retail sector, because I worked in retail for a good part of my life. And I’m also a very enthusiastic participant of all things retail therapy!” says Christine.
Data that should be captured by retailers in their daily operations
“The holy grail of retail data is achieving a 360-degree view of the customer,” says Christine.
Accordingly, data captured by the retailer should include:
• Customer contact data – email, phone number, address
• Customer demographics/attribute details
• Customer point-of-sale (POS) transactions (online and in-store)
• Customer feedback data from surveys or social media
“A 360-degree view will also help you derive customer psychographics – the additional layer that tells us about their attitudes, values and beliefs – which are all important elements that drive buying behaviour.”
Three ways good quality data can help retailers achieve a 360-degree view
- It goes without saying that accurate contact details are essential. An email that isn’t received, an SMS sent to an invalid number, and the package that doesn’t make it to the customer’s address are costly mistakes.
- Accurate demographic data that can be attributed to your customers helps you define and isolate who your best customers are and how they behave, so you can target lookalikes accordingly. You can also use these insights to improve the customer experience, catering for their preferences and tastes.
- Your POS system should have reporting features regarding profit margins, basket sizes, number of customers, trends and much more. This will help define which products or suppliers are driving the bulk of your revenue, so you can confidently decide on the frequency and size of your stock orders, saving time and money.
Having this data will answer these questions: What products sold the best in your relevant reporting/KPI period? Which customers bought the most, and what are the commonalities between them?
“These valuable insights will drive supply decisions and what promotions to run for your retail business.”
How working with Thryv Data can achieve good quality data
“Firstly, we’d look at your business’ data capture processes,” says Christine.
“If there are inaccuracies, we’d deploy TotalCheck , our real time validation service, onto all your applications, so you can be sure that customers’ contact details are entered into your CRM system accurately.”
The next step, according to Christine, is to determine if your CRM system needs a complete cleanse.
While this can be a daunting prospect, Thryv Data has worked with one of the largest retailers in Australia, cleansing and validating the 8 million consumer records in their CRM. This was achieved through the expertise of our data consultants, along with our sophisticated algorithms for batch validation using our MacroMatch product. No data cleansing job is too big for MacroMatch – we can check and validate customer data in large batches.
Thryv Data can also help you achieve that 360-degree customer view using Helix Personas - Australia’s most sophisticated psychographic segmentation tool.
“We can provide you with the detailed insights you need about your customers values, beliefs and attitudes – all of which are central to understanding buyer behaviour.”
Finally, is your online presence consistent across all platforms? Are your contact and other details correct on your listings and Google My Business? Are you having trouble responding to feedback on different social media platforms?”
“These are all issues that our great product - Connect - can resolve, by simplifying and consolidating your updates and feedback all on the one platform,” says Christine.
“It’s clear that good quality data and a continued thirst to understand the customer are imperative. Having the right data tools and data management practices will help retailers create the right conversation with customers in the right places, at the right times.”
If you’d like to get your customer data in order, drop us a message here. We’d be delighted to provide you with more information on our product and services so you can better navigate the retail industry with good quality data.
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