Why Retail Campaign Management is More Important Now Than Ever

Posted by Alex Zawel, Marketing Specialist, Adobe

As the retail industry increasingly goes digital (thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices and the explosion of social media channels), customers have come to expect personalized shopping experiences, with messages being delivered to them through their preferred channels.

But what does this mean for retailers?

In order to engage customers, foster customer loyalty, and compete in today’s world of social commerce, brands need to adopt cross-channel campaign management solutions that unify customer data from various channels to deliver the right message at the right time through the appropriate medium.

Here’s a closer look at why retail campaign management is more important today than ever before:

The Rise of the Cross-Channel Brand

A recent report detailing digital advertising marketplace data from Q3 2013 shows there has been a 137% increase in the number of brands that advertise across multiple digital channels. According to the research, “brands moving from single to multiple channels average a 300% improvement in advertising ROI, and consumers seeing ads in more than one channel convert at a 24% higher rate than those who see ads in just one channel.”

However, delivering consistent and efficient customer experiences across channels is difficult with so many digital platforms constantly emerging and evolving. Campaign management software such as Adobe Campaign helps brands engage customers in one-to-one communications and retain customers by delivering timely and personalized content throughout the customer lifecycle.

FanOne Marketing, for example, used Adobe Campaign to help its clients improve sports ticket sales, establish a single, consolidated view of their customers and prospects, and increase customer retention and lifetime value. Jen Zick, director of strategy and business development at FanOne, says, “Fans are increasingly using social, mobile, and email – all highly personalizeable and accountable mediums. The first step to maximizing these channels is to get all the fan data into one place. That was a huge lesson, and an important stepping stone for us.”

The Increasing Focus on Personalization

Today’s customer, with access to a variety of retail outlets (websites, brick-and-mortar stores, direct mail, mobile, social platforms, mail order catalog, email, etc.), expects individually catered communications. In fact, a recent Econsultancy post on effective multichannel marketing claims the channels in which customers receive communications are just as important as the message itself.

“Just because you email a customer, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will respond in the same channel. They may respond with a tweet, comment on your blog or perhaps not at all, directly.” By adopting a 360-degree view of the customer, retailers can determine not only how customers choose to communicate, but can also be ready to respond accordingly, notes Econsultancy.

UK-based Halfords, for example, employed a campaign management approach when the growing retailer recognized it needed a more engaging email strategy to interact with its customers. Instead of using customer data to simply create personalized, targeted messages, Halfords investigated why customers were abandoning their shopping carts at various states of the purchasing process. Since upgrading its email strategy to target these lost customers via an automated email campaign, open rates have risen more than 25%, with click-through rates jumping to 8.5%, according to Econsultancy.

Final Thoughts

In today’s multi-faceted world of social commerce, retailers should recognize individuals specific buying behaviors and preferences. In order to reinforce a consistent customer experience across channels, brands need to personalize campaigns across online, offline, traditional, and emerging channels by employing cross-channel campaign management. In fact, customer loyalty and retention may depend on it.