| |MARCH 202019By Kunal Mehta, CIO - LifeStyle Business, Raymond LimitedCONTINUOUS CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IMPERATIVE FOR CUSTOMER DELIGHT he definition of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is changing every day, especially in retail. Disruptive ideas are shaking up established traditional business models and are making the earlier known "Rules of Success or Growth" redundant in today's "Phygital" connected world especially Retail. As retailers evolve and adapt to this new normal, loyalty and rewards programs remain a mainstay tactic. What was once a game-changing differentiator in driving shopper loyalty, now has less of an impact.The customer today expects the brands to acknowledge and reward them in ways that they feel special and differentiated.Retailers/ brands need to clearly work on the 6 C's:1. Customer centricity: Organizations need to dismantle their internal functional boundaries and align their structures to suit customer needs. Big data has made it possible to analyze shopper behavior through personalization to suit individual consumer requirements. 2. Co-ownership: Retailers need to work closely with their business partners (franchisees, mall owners, e-commerce players etc.) more than ever before to deliver their brand promise and also in the process share the investment burden. 3. Co-opetition: The rules of completion and collaboration have changed in the last 5 years. No longer are suppliers and retailers working against each other. There are multiple instances of online and offline retailers shaking hands to deliver better products and services and thereby also ensuring their longitivity, relevance and improved profitability over the time.4. Co-creation: The new age shopper is well informed. Also, the social media platforms have made it very easy for the consumer to get connected with the retailers and with community at large to voice their views. They have become extremely vocal and are willing to share their experiences (good or bad) on the products/services that they use. Retailers need to listen and be more informed of their customer needs and work with them to co-innovate products and take feedback on a regular basis.5. Convergence: The traditional boundaries of retail across sectors is fundamentally disrupting businesses and generating new ways of working. Retailers need to work on disruptive methods with a mix of analytical and creative capabilities to their approach and work towards digital transformation.6. Continuous learning: Most importantly, retailers need to keep learning continuously from their own mistakes or from their competitors to disrupt and innovate new products or ways of working. Technologies such as AI, ML and cognitive modelling provide reports and data basis the past experiences to optimize the shopping experience thereby enhancing customer loyalty. CIO INSIGHTSTWhile there is no perfect way to ensure a 100 percent successful loyalty program or initiative, the retailers need to pay attention to their shoppers by engaging and interacting with them
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