Omnichannel Customer Experience: Making the Most of Data (2019 Summit Report)
2019 Omnichannel Insight Summit takeaways: Leaders from Johnson & Johnson, Kimball, and Macy's share thoughts on creating a seamless experience.
Delivering a seamless customer experience starts with delivering the right message at the right time on the right channel. Creating a successful omnichannel strategy requires a scenario where digital touch points and the in-store experience work hand in hand, adding value to the customer journey ultimately leading to a loyal customer. Getting that right is why we gathered in Naples, Florida this May for the Omnichannel Insight Summit.
e-Commerce Explosion
Sri Rajagopalan, VP of e-Commerce, Johnson & Johnson and Don Brett, the VP of eCommerce for Kimball delivered our keynote address. They explained how the digital playbook for winning has greatly changed—especially when it comes to advertising.
The reality of the industry? Two-thirds of consumers now start their search on Amazon. Nearly half of brands, or 49%, spend more than $40-thousand per month advertising on Amazon where-as 38% spend more than $60-thousand on the site per month.
“Survival today is winning one on one with the consumer and when it comes to e-commerce, US sales alone are expected to reach 660 billion by 2021.”
Sri, in the keynote, warned marketers of the three second rule:
“The future of ads? The 3 second rule. The ones who embrace this are going to be the winners.”
The rule here, of course, alludes to the concept that advertisers must draw users in within three seconds or less, or they won’t win their attention.
24/7 location technology
AI is helping companies be present for their consumer 24/7. It’s no longer just a marketing tool and is helping anticipate your customer’ next move and ultimately improve the customer journey. The question for many in attendance is whether their data and tech is being used in a practical way to drive the customer experience.
How to be the Disruptor, Rather than the Disrupted
Melanie Huet, CMO of Serta Simmons Bedding offered insights on how to be a disruptor. Huet spoke about using consumer pain points that can lead to disruption. The pain points can then be used to build a compelling story to gain leadership support for the plan. Then—be ready to execute!
“Speed not perfection. Monitor your performance. Adjust rapidly to the changing market...and prepare for success.”
Data, Data Everywhere! (Except Where You Need It)
Research suggests 90% of the world’s data has been created in the last two years alone. The key is keeping up with the pace in analyzing and monetizing that data. Gaurav Shah, director of technology consumer data and digital marketing at Bloomin Brands offered this startling statistic:
“Data will grow from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to 175 zettabytes by 2025 while most companies currently only analyze 12% of data.”
Shah encourages all to ask questions about how data is being used in your organization and on how to increase accessibility and adoption of data in the business process. The successful exploration of your data is the beginning of that personalized customer experience.
Omnichannel Challenges and Finding Solutions
Our attendees share many of the same challenges when it comes to providing a seamless customer journey, but each has a unique twist on the best solution for their consumers. Personalization, storytelling, and standing for more than just your product are just a few of things the customer of today is looking for.
“How do you continue to stay relevant in this evolving retail environment, how do you continue to innovate and accelerate initiatives without them becoming outdated?”
Parinda Muley, V.P. Innovation and Business Development, Macy’s
No matter what the challenge, the solutions are never one size fits all.
“To me it’s very important to create great customer experiences and when you're supporting 40 international markets, it’s not a one size fits all answer.
It all comes down to data but it’s what do you with all that data that will help you get the most meaningful insights out of it.”
Priya Vadlamani, Global Director Digital e-commerce, Domino’s Pizza
Getting the omnichannel experience right isn’t easy. Finding solutions through tech and insights from others is key—that’s why we host experts who help experts. Check out our Marketing events, summits and conferences for our upcoming omnichannel events and our Marketing Industry insights for more articles like this one.
GDS Group hosts experts to help experts. We strive to provide an atmosphere for our attendees that enables them to confidently lead their companies through major transformation projects. For information on upcoming events, view our Technology Summits and Executive Events. To remain current on our activities, visit GDS Group on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter.
