I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by TAG’s (Technology Association of Georgia) Julie Bryant Fisher. As someone who works in the master data management industry, it was an interesting and eye-opening reminder for me. It made me realize that most people not working directly with data management, data governance, ecommerce systems, etc., often do not know exactly what master data management (MDM) is – or even what master data is – much less what a significant impact it has on the average consumer.

With this in mind, I want to take this opportunity to explain MDM from a consumer perspective.

To reiterate what Tom Redman – aka the “Data Doc” – discussed in his Customer Data: Conquering the 360-View of Your Customerswebinar, the lifeline to business success lies in building customer loyalty and retention as they generate higher revenue. This seems self-explanatory; however, he went on to tell attendees that to achieve this loyalty, “… best-in-class organizations must have a complete 360-view of their customer data in order to respond accurately and intelligently to their customer demands, trends and expectations.”

As marketers, we are constantly challenged to create superior customer experiences that can leave a positive impact on the brand. That is no easy task because customer data and the related information needed to understand them is often located in disparate/siloed systems that prevent us from seeing the whole picture. Thanks to the explosion of the digital economy, we no longer need to convince the C-suite that a 360° customer view is necessary to provide the experience that consumers demand. The real challenge lies in creating that all-encompassing customer view, as a large majority struggle to establish this holistic view.

A colleague recently bought a new car. He was thrilled and anxious to have it delivered within a couple of weeks. Not long after delivery, he received an email from the car manufacturer, featuring a promotion for the exact same car, only at a drastically reduced price.

Within a matter of seconds, the manufacturer had turned my colleague from a brand advocate to a dissatisfied customer.

Oh, how times have changed for retail. 

Some of the biggest retailers we know have been in distress, either filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy or shutting their doors altogether. It’s not (all) Amazon’s fault, although they get the brunt of the blame. The truth is, modern consumers are savvy and have increased expectations. They demand that retailers know more about them, what they want, and what they don’t want.  

The 14^th of February, Valentine’s Day – a day for Cupid to motivate those in love to prove their infatuation by spending ridiculous amounts of money on cards, flowers, and chocolates.

My wife takes full advantage of Valentine’s Day, and only a trip to a spa, with treatments on tap, will do if I’m to confirm my affection. I know it’s going to cost me - if only there were some offers that could help ease the annual financial pounding. But mostly, I find that there aren’t.

Product Information Management (PIM) is the technology-enabled discipline of centralizing, organizing, categorizing, localizing, synchronizing and enriching product data. But did you know PIM can enhance the customer experience significantly? What does data about your products have to do with customer experience, you might ask? A lot actually.

Everybody is talking about it but only a few are actually doing it. We are of course talking about creating that personalized customer experience that turns prospects into customers and customers into brand advocates. How do you do that? And what exactly is a ‘good’ and ‘personalized’ customer experience?

We’ve all seen these Design versus User Experience (UX) pictures on LinkedIn and Twitter. It’s a great illustration of the eternal battle between how a designer intends for their design to be used and how the end user uses it in a completely different way.

Image: bit.ly/1XuAG0V

Author: Sara Edwards

Visit Stibo Systems in Booth 3974

Participants will focus on how retail technology enhances the customer experience during National Retail Federation’s (NRF) BIG Show Jan. 11-14 at the Javits Center in New York.

Keynote presentations will set the tone. The Brick is the New Black: Reinventing the Brick-and-Mortar Experience session will explore how retailers can reposition brick-and-mortar stores to be at the center of the customer experience.

Does “Buy the look” or “You may also be interested in” sound familiar when you think of your latest e-commerce visit? If so, then you have been the target of cross-selling.

Lots of retailers practice cross-sales strategies where additional products or services are being offered to an existing customer or prospect. You would think that this approach would be profitable, right? More sales equals more profit. Unfortunately this is not always the case since far from all companies succeed in cross-selling.