If the unusually cold temperatures wasn’t the topic of conversation at eTail West in San Antonio last week, mobile was. It was the talk among several sessions throughout the conference in some capacity or another. Utilizing mobile and offering a personalized experience across channels for customers was a priority among many.
During his keynote session, “Innovating Analytics: Gaining a Competitive Advantage in a Customer-Driven World,” Eric Feinberg, senior director of mobile, media and entertainment at Foresee, said that customers are multifaceted today, people are interacting with brands differently. Consumers are using multiple channels and devices to shop. Some of the elements of the customer experience include product browsing, performance, and navigation.
In a year, Feinberg said, 1/3 of traffic will be on the desktop, 1/3 from tablet, and 1/3 from mobile. “Tying channels together is the job of the merchant. If a merchant fails at one channel, they fail at every channel,” said Feinberg.
Gary Penn, director of ecommerce, global for True Religion Jeans, said during his session, “Steps to Enterprise Social: Avoiding Social Ineptitude” it is important to listen to the social conversation of your brand, it is also important that as a brand you respond to what consumers are telling you.
“Be there and be aware of what the competition is doing, advocates of your brand will help you, so it is important to engage with customers,” said Penn.
Penn advised attendees to find forums where customers are talking their products.
Loren McDonald, vice-president of industry relations for SilverPop, said during his keynote session, “Send a Blast, Kill a Hamster” it is about reaching the consumer at an individual level and it is about actionable data.
“We need to make the data small and actionable,” said McDonald.
Kevin Moffitt, vice-president of ecommerce strategy for Office Depot, said in his keynote session “Beyond the Numbers: Embracing Customer Centricity in a Big Data World,” every person, every journey is unique – keep it simple and involve the customer throughout the entire process. Connect customers in a tangible way, display phone number, offer 24/7 chat, and invest in social networking.