Consumers are continually reshaping the retail and brand landscape — minute by minute, click by click and purchase by purchase — all generating a massive volume of real-time buyer data.
In uncertain economic conditions, it can seem like a steep challenge to define a strategy for moving forward in a “multispeed world,” as Gregory Daco, EY-Parthenon Chief Economist, points out. Yet, for brands and retailers, periods of disruption offer a remarkable opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of consumers, who are also experiencing constant uncertainty and are eager for a sense of quality, service and stability.
Data integration should be the first investment for retailers and brands looking beyond top- and bottom-line impacts to meet the pricing challenges created by the current consumer market head winds.
A deep understanding of the interdependencies of enterprise data is vital to aligning an organization’s sales and marketing thesis to its growth commitments. Both long-term focus and immediate execution of that strategy are needed to define consumer expectations and create consumer experiences that can be trusted — driving long-term value.
Retailers and brands need to ask themselves,
Are you simply collecting data, or are you connecting data?
The distinction between a routine consumer journey and an experience-led consumer journey is the difference between business as usual and progress toward growth and success. The creation of a consumer-centric experience becomes a revenue driver in the market, elevating the buying decision process to a level that elicits not only a positive response, but brand loyalty, repeat purchases as well as new ones, and profit growth stemming from an earned reputation and brand image cultivated by consumers themselves.
This new paradigm is future-forward thinking for retailers and brands, and it’s driven almost entirely by data and the insights it can offer. Using the wealth of available information will distinguish your brand and service, building meaningful connections with current and future consumers.
A successful approach to becoming consumer-centric is built on consumer data, thoughtfully integrated across the business, all connected by available buyer-driven information.
With a data-driven strategy, retailers and brands can steer consumers in the right direction.
Data should be the foundation underpinning three core pillars: optimized marketing, end-to-end visibility and hyper-personalization. These require integration across several organizational functions. Breaking the experience-led consumer journey down to Sx5 — sense, suggest, supply, sell and service — can be an effective way to steer the consumer experience.
Weaving data throughout the Sx5 approach supports informed scenario decision-making, driving toward enterprise-wide KPIs.