Retail companies are just perfect for implementing the omnichannel model. Communication in many different channels, multiple features and offers, as well as personalized product recommendations – all of that can be easily automated. In this post, we want to show you how to use marketing automation in a retail business.
In 2023, running a retail business is actually quite a challenge! The competition is fierce, the number of available technologies is overwhelming, and your customers’ expectations never cease to increase.
Thankfully, you can make your life much easier with marketing automation. With all the mundane and repetitive activities automated, you can focus on more strategic areas of your company. Let’s see how MA can aid you in everyday work.
Customer data management
Regardless of what kind of retail business you run, you surely have some customer data at your disposal. Questions such as previous purchasing history, viewed products, and used communication channels can be used to make your marketing activities more effective. Knowing how, when, and where to reach a given person or company (if you operate in the B2B model as well) enables you to conduct more well-thought-out and personalized campaigns.
This is where our Customer Data Platform comes in handy. With it, you have easy access to all the available information about your customers, including specific attributes (e.g., demographic), behavioral data, and transactional data.
Omnichannel – combining online and offline experiences
Nowadays, businesses have access to a multitude of available communication and sales channels. Retail companies can use their websites, online stores, social media profiles, newsletters, web and mobile apps, push notifications, and these are just online channels. The same is true in the offline world – brick-and-mortar stores, fairs, special events, and product sampling are just a few examples.
If you run a retail business, you should make the most of all of those channels. This way, you will be able to reach all the potential customers in the way that suits their needs best. Moreover, as we mentioned earlier, with a full view of your customers, you can reach them more effectively and measure the results of your activities.
In our article about MA for FMCG companies, we mentioned that MA-based solutions could be adjusted to a given customer’s location and even weather conditions. That said, you can integrate offline and online experiences by using both offline and online means to reach both current and potential customers.
A good example of an omnichannel campaign in a retail sector is the American retail chain Target. Some time ago, the company integrated Pinterest’s Lens into their app. As a result, Target shoppers could snap a photo of any product and then find similar items available for sale at this retail chain.
Personalized product recommendations
The next thing retail companies should consider is related to product recommendations. We know that in order to make them more effective, you need this crucial personalization ingredient. After all, recommendations work best when they are based on a given person’s interests and previous purchases. If you gather enough data about your customers, you can use it to provide them with personalized recommendations, not just on your website but also via newsletters and push notifications.
Thanks to MA, all you have to do is devise a MA scenario that’s based on your customers’ activities. Here, it is vital to mention one more automated feature – recommendation frames. With them, you can showcase products and services directly via Feed on your website, both for logged-in and anonymous users.
Other marketing activities – MA scenarios
The marketing automation scenarios we mentioned earlier are crucial for every retail business. Put shortly, these scenarios act and react without your involvement, based on actions taken by your customers. Do you want to send a voucher to everyone who downloaded your mobile app? You can do so with a MA scenario. Do you want to inform every customer about a new product in your offer? There you go! Finally, do you want to gather data about your customers from many different sources? It also can happen automatically.
With marketing automation scenarios, you can distribute vouchers, materials and content, conduct special actions and events, direct traffic to a specific brick-and-mortar store (or an online store if you prefer), ask for feedback and online reviews for your business, and communicate with customers using several different channels (even WhatsApp!).
Indeed, MA scenarios, especially when combined with other features of our platform, are super-helpful for every retail company, both B2B and B2C. The range of possibilities is very wide!
Wrapping up: How can retail companies use marketing automation?
As you already know, marketing automation is a set of online tools that can be used for personalizing communication, distributing promo materials, directing traffic to a specific location, and loyalizing customers (e.g., by staying in touch with them and keeping them engaged within a loyalty program).
Other tools available in our platform will help you build and organize your customer database, gather necessary information about your customers, and even conduct special events. Everything to make your work more effective and less time-consuming. Even if you work with a marketing agency or run an international business, you can still use the tools and features we described in this article.
Now it’s time for your move. We have ready-made offers for FMCG, B2B, and e-commerce companies. Retail companies can use both the Basic and Enterprise version of our platform, depending on your needs and the scale of your business. If that’s your first time with marketing automation, you can start for free with trial access to the Basic version of our platform. We encourage you to fill in the short form and apply for a free trial period. It will help you understand how iPresso works (with no investment on your side!). And later on, if you decide you need more, you can always switch to the Enterprise version.
Leave a Reply