Mar 22 | 6 minutes read

How marketing automation tools can create the ultimate retail experience

No two people are exactly the same (unless full cloning has been invented and nobody has shared the news yet). With all the best intentions in the world, every individual will have an individual experience of your brand.

It doesn’t make sense to take customers on the same journey when the paths they’re on are completely different. That’s like trying to head to the beach by running away from the sound of waves lapping on the shore.

However, there’s little time to despair! Marketing automation platforms will help you provide the best care for these solo website travellers while helping you to concentrate less on the nuts and bolts and more on the bigger picture.

Marketing automation is about being aware of and paying attention to each different customer journey while being proactive and reactive. That might sound like a lot to take in, but the best marketing automation tools handle it with ease.

Marketing automation tools create a winning dynamic

With the right marketing automation tools, you’ll be able to create the right experience for your prospects and customers using marketing automation flows.

Once you’ve got that flow running like every freestyle rapper’s fever-dream, you’ll be able to take those prospects along for the ride and see where they are, and how they’re doing, at any point in the journey.

Creating the ultimate retail experience involves give and take, and that’s why it’s so important to be able to respond to prospects’ needs when it matters the most. Marketing automation tools allow you to do just that. Neat, huh?

Marketing automation flows to seal the deal

Some marketing automation flows that can be used to create a perfect experience for customers and perspectives you might want to consider are:

A welcome flow for new customers

This is your time to shine, buddy. A welcome email is the first chance to make a perfect impression. Welcome flows are important because they help to set the scene and help to bring that important conversion forward.

Consider planning for 30 days worth of welcome comms, make sure you avoid information fatigue (don’t be a Sammy Spammer!), use industry averages to make an informed decision on how much to communicate with your new subscriber and check performance, analyse and adjust.

Consider planning for 30 days worth of welcome comms and make sure you avoid information fatigue (don´t be a Sammy Spammer). Use industry averages to make an informed decision on how much to communicate with your new subscriber, and finally check the performance, analyse and adjust.

Send out product recommendations

Product recommendations work really well when they’re aligned with every part of the customer journey. In fact, you could find yourself making 11% more sales thanks to this one handy tool. You’d have to be bananas to not want to investigate more!

Another way to use this tool is to create recommendations based on demographic or behavioural data. It can increase basket size, average order value, average time spent on your website, and it can even boost your Google ranking.

Thank customers for their loyalty

This doesn’t mean a fancy VIP section of the website. Us ordinary schmucks deserve to be treated special too! Creating loyalty flows can really inspire frequent customers to shop more - and if that isn’t the ultimate retail experience we’re not sure what is!

These happy campers can be turned into repeat customers who spread good reviews of your brand to their friends and colleges and come to you to meet their needs. A little bit of generosity really does go a long way.

Get chatty over email

Email is a dominant force. Forget nature or Real Madrid winning 10 European cups, email is top of the pack and isn’t going anywhere soon.

It vastly outperforms other channels in regards to how customers prefer to receive their brand communications. A study found that 47% of people want to be contacted via email, compared to 17% via digital advertising, 14% via SMS, 12% via an app or 10% via social media.

You can use marketing automation tools to split your audience into segments, which can then be targeted for a specific email marketing campaign. These campaigns can be personalised so that customers are referred to by name, while things like recent purchases or their birthday can also be used to create the perfect, personalised experience.

To read about five benefits of email marketing automation, click here!

Create awe-inspiring omnichannel experiences

Clear your head and rub your eyes, because there’s about to be some knowledge shared. All of your business’ touch-points and channels can be synced to provide the best retail experience there is.

Yes, that’s right. An awe-inspiring omnichannel experience isn’t just possible, it’s probably. All you need is the best marketing automation tools and some ambition. The right features and integrations can help you realise your vision and execute the perfect omnichannel experience for your customers.

Having an omnichannel presence will help your customers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience while your company works their socks off to provide a unified brand, experience, and voice.

Identification of touch-points and systems is vital here, so make sure you know your own business like the back of your hand. Once this has been achieved, you’ll be able to create a bigger picture of who your customers are, and how they came to be your customers.

By integrating data sources, you’ll be able to focus on the present and the future, while providing the ultimate retail experience across all devices.

Omnichannel needs some elbow grease

To provide the omnichannel experience that your customers deserve, you need to do a few things first:

Collect anonymous visitor data with a tracking script.
Integrate your systems with marketing automation tools.
Monitor channels to make the most of the data you collect.

Don’t be shy - send that first SMS

SMS marketing is another way you can use marketing automation to create a great retail experience. Reports have indicated that SMS open rates are around 98%, which blows email’s 20% open rate out of the water.

This marketing method is rising in popularity as 75% of people say they’d be happy to be contacted via SMS and 65% of marketers rank this way of marketing as ‘very effective’.

But what’s in it for the customer? Well, booking reminders, thank you messages and special offers are always well received and sending them straight to someone’s phone is the best way to get them read.

This will help you win the battle for hearts and minds, as well as repeat custom. A simple tactic like sending links to specially crafted, optimised-for-mobile landing pages can take away paint points and increase revenues. So don’t be shy, text first!

Marketing automation can create the best retail experience

With all this information on marketing automation, why wouldn’t you look for the best marketing automation tools to give your customers the best retail experience they can have?

From simple tricks like creating super effective flows to more elaborate overhauls like building an omnichannel experience, marketing automation isn’t just for the big players. Anyone, small, medium, or large, can use it to create a fantastic retail experience.

Before you dip your toes into this exciting world, make sure you have a word with the experts. Get a free trial and read more on the subject directly on the APSIS website!