time to get personal - vodat international€¦ · this gives the employee a real-ime view of the...

Do your networks let you get closer to your customers?

TIME TO GET PERSONAL

Time to get personal – do your networks let you get closer to your customers?

INTRODUCTION

THE PATH TO

PERSONALISATION

Businesses in the retail and hospitality

sectors desperately need to reconnect on

an individual level with their customers.

Online competitors have shown consumers the benefits of individualised service, while bricks-and-mortar retailers have been left in their wake, watching their market share slowly shrinking.

Customers are fed up of being treated like strangers in store. They

want retailers to recognise them and know their shopping habits, so that they can help them make informed buying decisions and offer personalised deals and rewards for being loyal customers. Personalisation is also a key enabler of convenience with consumers crying out for help so that they can quickly and effectively navigate product choices and make the right purchase.

The benefits for retailers and hospitality firms are also compelling. Personalisation has been shown to increase conversion rates, as

well as boost customer engagement, order and lifetime value and greatly increase advocacy.

Knowledge is power, and the gradual digitisation of retail and hospitality means that brands are now in a position to compete with their online peers thanks to a growing pool of customer data. Personalisation necessitates considerable data flows, however, and to take full advantage of this opportunity retailers and hospitality firms need a robust digital network in place to make it happen.

This report will reveal how personalisation can be achieved

on physical premises and the kind of digital network

infrastructure required.

Time to get personal - do your networks let you get closer to your customers?

THE CASE FOR

IN-STORE PERSONALISATION

IN NUMBERS

75%of consumers are more likely to buy from

a company that knows them by name, recommends options based on past

purchases or knows their preferences.

63%of consumers are interested in

personalised recommendations

64%of consumers are willing to share personal data in

exchange for benefits

53%are interested in special offers for products that interest them

69%of millennials are interested in

personalised brand experiences


CLIENTELING

IT’S TIME TO

GET PERSONAL

Clienteling is a technical word for a skill that defined good service long before big brands and chains came into existence and

certainly long before the web was invented.

It is the art of recognising a customer and knowing their individual needs on a personal level. The ultimate aim is to find the right product or service at the right price point and ensure your customer feels good about their purchase long after they leave your premises. The benefits for the retailer or

hospitality firm include higher conversion rates, a higher rate of repeat business, increased customer advocacy and great opportunities to upsell and cross sell highly relevant products and services.

In practice, clienteling involves equipping a customer-facing sales team member with an internet enabled device, such as a tablet, which is linked to the internet-enabled following retailer systems

to provide actionable insights:

Customer relationship management (CRM) system This gives the employee a real-time view of the customer’s profile, including purchase history, average

order value, online browsing habits, likes and dislikes, wish lists and their loyalty status. Based on this granular information sales staff can make highly personalised recommendations, nurturing their

customer to achieve a sale.

Inventory management system

Once the store associate is in a position to share personalised recommendations, a real-time view of the inventory will show them if the item is in stock on the premises, or if it is available at another store

or distribution hub. The customer will then have options of how and when they can complete their purchase – for example buy instore, take away or order and have it delivered.

Mobile EposThe final stage of clienteling is taking payment quickly and conveniently using mobile Epos, enabling

the customer to avoid queues at checkout.

To witness slick clienteling in action you need only visit an Apple store. While Apple has a dominant online presence, a trip to their physical store is still something to look forward to thanks to their mastery of the three stages outlined.



THE CASE FOR

BEACONS

– LIGHTING

THE PATH TO

PERSONALISATION

Personalisation relies on individuals being recognised in real time and tailored content being sent to them. This is exactly what beacon technology achieves.

Beacons are tiny, low-energy devices that use Bluetooth technology to send out personalised content to consumers’ mobile devices while they’re in or near the premises. Push notifications or text messages can be sent to customers phones as they walk through specific departments of a store or areas of a hotel. They can also be sent as a customer arrives or leaves the premises, or if they simply walk past without entering.

For example, customers passing a bar can be alerted by beacon technology if there is an event being held or they can be sent a discount code if they haven’t given their custom recently.

By connecting beacons to digital signage, retailers and hospitality companies can also provide customers with new product

information. In a hotel environment, for example, a discrete personalised welcome message can be displayed at check-in as a valued customer arrives.

Several big-name brands have already found success with beacon deployments. US department store Lord & Taylor has seen a 60%

engagement rate with customers as a result of the beacon technology they installed in one of their Boston locations.

The Swan Centre shopping mall, Hampshire, was among the first UK locations to use beacon technology with brands including WHSmith, Game and Nandos using the devices to deliver targeted ads to shoppers’ mobile phones.

Beacon technology enables retailers and hospitality firms to provide customers with a personalised shopping experience. They enable state-of-the art analytics and insights based on previous

shopping behaviour to provide them with the offers most likely to trigger additional purchases.

Beacon technology also provides data-rich back-office consumer Intelligence, such as how long customers stopped at personalised beacon-enabled displays. The relationship between beacon-enabled

sales offers and actual sales, and similar information that can be analysed to adjust offers as well as staffing and placement of sales associates. These insights enable retailers to drive better revenue

and profits from brick-and-mortar locations.

When retailers use innovative technology such as beacons to

find new ways to engage with their customers, they’re creating personalised shopping experiences that draw in new consumers

and give loyal shoppers a reason to keep coming back.



6Tapping into mobile behaviour

According to Marketing Land, 90% of consumers consult their smartphones while they’re in physical stores, using them to download coupons; look for competitive pricing; find product specs, warranty

information and other product details; and even pay for their purchases where available. The adoption rate

among customers in the hospitality sector is even higher.

Beacon use in the hotel sector

Hotel guests spend an average of just 10% of their stay in their accommodation, so the big challenge for operators is

personalising and monetising the time they are on premises. Beacons provide a profitable way to market, up-sell a variety

of services for guests and increase ROI, during the hotel guest cycle process (pre-arrival, arrival, stay, and departure).

Here are some examples:

• In-room dining offers: A beacon can detect if a customer is in their room. Details of room service can be sent to guests who

check in after the restaurant has closed

• Spa hotel services: As soon as they walk into spa area, guests can be sent details of promotions

• Bar-restaurant: Guests can receive push notifications for extra offers, once they reach hotel’s restaurant or bar

90% of consumers consult their

smartphones while

they’re in physical stores

A beacon can detect if a

customer is in

their room


US luxury department store, Nordstrom activates its in-store personalisation with beacons that alert customers when items from their online carts are back in stock. Additionally, sales assistants can access customer’s browsing data in order to make personalised product recommendations.

CASE STUDY NORDSTROM BENEFITS FROM BEACON AND CLIENTELING


PERSONALISED

WI-FI CONNECTIVITY

Reliable and secure customer Wi-Fi is an incredibly powerful tool for retailers and hospitality firms of all shapes and sizes, especially when it comes to creating personalised shopping experiences.

Part of the lure of customer Wi-Fi is that consumers are becoming ever more tech-savvy – especially the increasingly financially powerful Generation Z – and they use mobile connectivity for an increasingly complex array of actions as they browse the aisles, dine or enjoy their stay.

Customers place high value on free on-premise connectivity. This means that they are more than willing to give their personal details in order to get online.

The fast track to personalisation in this channel is through so-called social Wi-Fi. When a customer signs into a Wi-Fi network using their social media account, such as Facebook, they automatically provide a data-rich insight into who they are, what they like along with their contact details. This goldmine of personal data enables the retailer or hospitality firm to deliver hyper personalised experiences and target and re-target customers through email, surveys and their other social networks. In other words, they need never be a stranger again, benefiting from personalised landing pages to market new products through interactive campaigns.

Once retailers have the data necessary to identify customers when they’re logged on, they can begin to track real-time behaviour and tailor their engagement. For example, customers’ online preferences can be integrated with on-premises activity, opening up the possibility of a new world of data-driven personalised experiences.

Customer Wi-Fi also enables businesses to track customers’ movements while they’re on premises and logged on. This means they can generate a foot traffic heat mapping via the network. Retailers and hospitality firms can then gather this data and entice the customer with targeted advertising based on the collated analytics.

Luckily for retailers and hospitality firms, Deloitte suggests that 75% of all consumers now have a Wi-Fi enabled device in their pocket, and this figure will rise to 90% by 2022. So, it’s a no-brainer that businesses should supercharge their in-store Wi-Fi networks, ensuring they’re cloud and social media compatible, to help meet consumers demands and expectations.

75% of all consumers now

have a Wi-Fi enabled device in

their pocket...

...and this

figure will rise to 90%

by 2022


THE CASE FOR

IN-AISLE PAYMENT

In-aisle payment apps are a potential treasure trove of personalisation and a sure-fire way of providing time-poor customers with the individualised service, convenience and speed

they crave.

The Co-op is currently among a select group of UK grocers trialling the technology which enables shoppers to pay for goods using a smartphone app. The Co-op is piloting the technology in its staff store in its Manchester support centre. The grocer expects to release the technology more widely in the near future.

A number of retailers in the US have also launched similar initiatives. Amazon’s automated grocery store in Seattle – branded Amazon Go – opened in January 2018. The same month Walmart announced it was expanding a trial of its Scan & Go app to another 100 stores across the country.

Introducing in-aisle payment technology is part of retail’s response to consumers’ increasing desire for a more seamless shopping experience and you can bet personalisation will be an integral part of the jigsaw.

By linking a payment app to a company’s CRM it will be possible to collect data about an individual’s purchasing behaviour and then use this to create tailored experiences. For

example, users could be sent in-app push notifications if they haven’t bought a specific product, such as pet food, for a while and could be running low.

They could also be given discount codes to tempt them to buy alternative products or simply to thank them for extended loyalty. Payment apps would also be a great way to incentivise customers and keep them up to date with their loyalty card status.

Introducing in-aisle payment technology

is part of retail’s response to consumers’

increasing desire for a more seamless shopping experience


CYBERSECURITY

– IMPORTANCE OF WINNING

CUSTOMERS’ TRUST

When it comes to personalisation, retailers and hospitality firms are in a position of great responsibility. Consumers must be convinced that the personal data they share is safe and retailers and hospitality firms must show that they are doing everything in their power to ensure their digital networks feature the strongest possible cybersecurity measures.The challenge facing companies are considerable. In 2016 the British Retail Consortium estimated that cybercrime costs the UK retail sector £100m annually. That was three years ago, and those figures did not include the hospitality sector!

The risks facing retailers and hospitality firms is not limited to financial harm. High-profile data breaches, such as those experienced by Dixons Carphone in 2018 that affected almost 6 million payment cards, have shown significant reputational damage can also be caused when cyber criminals successfully steal data.

For example, according to The Grocer magazine, eight in 10 retailers think that, from an IT perspective, the biggest challenge they face in 2019 is data theft. And the reason is clear - 79% of those who suffered a data breach in 2018 lost customers, while 62% incurred legal costs.

Retail and hospitality companies must either develop their

own cybersecurity capability in-house - at considerable expense - or work with a third party that has the expertise needed to secure their digital infrastructure.

79%of those who suffered a data breach in 2018 lost

customers

62%incurred legal costs

Cybersecurity is an important consideration in vulnerable areas such

as Wi-Fi and Epos. It is also especially important around the internal

network boundaries that separate low-risk data from sensitive

information, such as customers’ personal details. Market-leading

cybersecurity protection is extensive, and will include the following:

Multi-factor authentication

This includes tokens and push notifications sent to mobile phones, which make the login process significantly more secure

Network segmentation This will deny hackers free movement if they manage to breach a network soft spot

Automatic monitoring

This will identify and prevent unusual network activity, for example the downloading of large amounts of customers’ personal data

Role-based access Limiting access in this way ensures that access is granted only to those employees with explicit authorisation

Employee education Greater knowledge will reduce the threat from phishing attacks and malware

A fully managed network

Among other things, this will ensure that all devices within the IT estate are fully updated and the latest patches and anti-virus software is in place


Personalisation is so much more than simply equipping customer-facing colleagues with tablets. The options and opportunities are many and varied. Retail and hospitality firms must, however, have

the right digital infrastructue in place to achieve their goals.

Here are our top tips to ensure your network is fit for purpose:


IS YOUR NETWORK PREPARED

FOR PERSONALISATION?

1.

Move to

cloud-based

Wi-Fi

2.

Unleash

personalisation

with a fully

managed

network

3.

Lock down

your network

security…

especially IoT

devices


1. MOVE TO

CLOUD-BASED WI-FI

Wi-Fi is a key technological building block for personalisation. We have discussed the important role free customer Wi-Fi plays

in personalisation. However, it is also a key element of digital infrastructure when it comes to clienteling and mobile Epos.

The beauty of cloud Wi-Fi is that it effortlessly bridges the gap between traditional networking and software-defined networking, without having to reinvent a business’ entire infrastructure.

Additionally, businesses can manage all their infrastructure from a single management interface, reducing the need for any on-premise maintenance, and allowing them to manage their physical devices anywhere.

Other long-term benefits of cloud-based Wi-Fi solutions for hospitality and retail companies include enhanced behaviour tracking, personalised marketing to the consumer’s device,

and both flexibility and scalability.


2. UNLEASH

PERSONALISATION

WITH A FULLY

MANAGED NETWORK

The key to liberating IT teams, and their budgets, so that they can focus on personalisation is to forge partnerships with trust-worthy

third parties capable of taking care of BAU tasks. That’s not the only benefit however.

Fully managed networks also enable you to keep pace with the demands for IT expertise, they provide greater scalability, they’re available 24/7, ensure predictable monthly costs and shift the burden of

data privacy compliance.


3. LOCK DOWN

YOUR NETWORK

SECURITY…

ESPECIALLY IOT DEVICES

Cybersecurity is arguably the most important investment you can make in your on-premises digital network when embarking on

the path to personalisation. A company may have state-of-the-art infrastructure to facilitate personalisation, but it’s worthless if your security can be breached and sensitive customer data is vulnerable.The latest network weak spot is internet of things (IoT) devices, which have not had their factory-setting passwords updated. This is a simple job on paper but an administrative headache considering the rapid

proliferation of these devices.

NEED AN

INFRASTRUCTURE

UPGRADE? DON’T

SIGN ON THE DOTTED

LINE BEFORE YOU’VE

SPOKEN TO VODAT

Whatever aspect of your on-premises digital network infrastructure you’re considering improving to make personalisation happen, you should contact Vodat before you sign on the dotted line.

Vodat is recognised as a leading supplier of private, managed networks in the UK retail, hospitality and leisure markets. We provide services to companies with estates ranging from 10 to 1,000 stores. We’re committed to delivering a fast payback on our customers’ investment in communication technologies through the delivery of technically and commercially innovative solutions backed by exemplary service. We ensure that all issues relating to network functionality, from the branch router to the head office connection are dealt with by our experts at Vodat. There is no requirement for our customers to monitor or resolve network problems, although a web-based access to our monitoring system is provided for you to view the network at any time.

With clients including Beaverbrooks, Ted Baker, Karen Millen, Oasis, Welcome

Break and Poundland we’re sure we have the right skills to give you the best

solution possible. Contact us now for a free quote.

www.vodat-int.com

[email protected]

0161 406 1820

vodat-int.com

Vodat International Ltd

time to get personal - vodat international€¦ · this gives the employee a real-ime view of the...

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