Excellence in customer service requires consistency
In multi-channel retailing, fulfilling the customer service promise depends on having a single view of the customer across all channels. There is strong evidence that people who shop in multiple channels are typically our best customers, and so it makes sense to ensure we have the information to support them in a seamless way as they move from web site to store to call centre. Loyalty schemes that track only in-store purchases are a wasted opportunity from this point of view. Schemes like Tesco’s Clubcard have blazed a trail by working in all channels, but so far relatively few companies have followed that trail, probably because of the substantial upfront investment that used to be required. Now, however, there are tools and techniques to put the single view within the reach of other retailers.
Thought Leadership
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Read moreCreating a single view is now easier and cheaper because we can use advanced data management techniques to create a joined-up view. Instead of disrupting existing processes and systems, we add another layer of technology that collates information from each channel.
With this consolidated information, systems such as IVR or “intelligent” email can automate much of your service activity, and can often turn service contacts into sales.
In this section:
Benefits of Multi-Channel Customer Service
Benefits of Multi-Channel Customer Service
With an integrated view in place, retailers have many more opportunities to capture a bigger share of customer spend. For example, Tesco can encourage a customer to use its city-centre convenience stores for casual purchases, its large supermarkets for the weekly shop and its online facilities for the bulk grocery shop and hard goods. With comprehensive knowledge of customers’ habits and preferences, it becomes much easier to offer new services such as banking and mobile telephony.
The integrated view also makes it possible to ensure that a given customer receives the most appropriate propositions – no meat product vouchers for vegetarians. The retailer can use the single view data combined with yield management principles to select the offers that are most likely to create a sale.For example, when a customer does an online search, you can display the products that are most likely to appeal to that individual. The choice can be based on either their activity in this session or their longer-term interactions with the company. As retailers move into higher value financial services, for instance, they will want to make sure they highlight the services that will add most to the lifetime value of the customer.
You can even propose relevant offers to customers in real time, while they’re still going round your store, by using Near-Field Communication technologies to deliver offers, messages and images to a handset attached to the trolley. This is an idea that we have already trialled successfully with a leading European retailer using devices embedded in mobile phone handsets.
Capgemini’s approach
First, we work with you to build a business case for the change. Together we examine your customer journeys to see how each critical interaction can be improved by the availability of a single view. We also identify and quantify the improvement to propositions and service that will be enabled by it. Ours is an incremental approach that builds on what you have. For example, we will use your own web analytics and contact centre data to find missed opportunities to convert contacts to sales
After you have established the business case for a single view, we can help you implement the systems and processes needed to realise it. Once again, we build on what you already have, integrating the customer data from your existing systems and processes in a separate technology layer, without the need to re-engineer the systems and processes themselves.
Capgemini’s capabilities
Capgemini has a global team of over 500 retail specialists, 1,500 website design and build experts and around 1,000 specialists in IVR, contact centres and loyalty schemes. By combining these resources, we can help you to create your single view of the customer and then to use that view to transform customer service.
Chris Webster
Vice President, Head of Retail
Email Chris.webster@capgemini.com
