As our physical and online environments continue to come together, consumer behavior keeps changing and retailers need to react. Today’s consumers are extremely connected and live a digital lifestyle. They are educated, expect speed and have become extremely demanding. With an overload of mass marketing, some customers have lost trust in retailers and have become less loyal. In this guide, we will take you through the 10 commandments that every customer-centric retailer needs to follow in order to increase loyalty, new customer acquisition, visit conversion, transaction value and to optimize marketing and customer engagement costs.

1. OF CUSTOMER-CENTRIC
RETAILING
COMMANDMENTS
10

2. As our physical andonline environments continue tocome together, consumer behavior
keeps changing andretailers needtoreact. Today’s consumers are extremely connected
andlive a digital lifestyle. They are educated, expect speedandhave become extremely
demanding. With an overloadof mass marketing, some customers have lost trust in
retailers andhave become less loyal.
In this guide, we will take you through the 10 commandments that every customer-
centric retailer needs tofollow in order toincrease loyalty, new customer acquisition,
visit conversion, transaction value andtooptimize marketing andcustomer engagement
costs.

3. 01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
Thou shalt KNOW thy customer
Thou shalt AUTOMATE customer engagements
Thou shalt PERSONALIZE thecustomer experienceat every channel
Thou shalt EMPOWER sales associates and improvethestoreexperience
Thou shalt SURRENDER to self-service
Thou shalt EMBRACE onlinecommunities, social media, and customer-to-customer relationships
Thou shalt LISTEN to and NURTURE thy best customers
Thou shalt ADAPT branding to customer segments
Thou shalt INTEGRATE systems, channels, supply chain, and organization as a whole
Thou shalt JOIN themobilerevolution

4. 01 Thou shalt KNOW thy customer
Retail KPIs
• Average transaction value
• Average transaction size
• Customer gross profit
• Point of purchase
• Campaign response
• Social media presence
Customers are interacting with brands frommany different touch points, whether it
is in store, on social media or e-commerce platforms andit is critical for retailers
tocapture this information wherever they may be.
Collecting business intelligence empowers retailers in many ways, such as being
able tobetter understandconsumer behavior andpreferences, profiling and
segmenting customers, measuring performance by channel, forecasting sales and
identifying trends in category performance.
Convert these insights into action (campaigns, tactics, and engagement
workflows) and optimize marketing and customer service investments.

5. 02 Thou shalt AUTOMATE customer
engagement
Capturing, processing, andanalyzing critical customer data allows retailers to
improve customer loyalty by engaging customers in ways that really interest them
andat the right time. Create a sense of exclusivity andurgency by providing time-
limitedoffers or follow up on abandonede-commerce carts by sending targeted
messages.
Monitor transactions at the
POS, capture sale of Brand
X jeans
Trigger 10% off email
coupon to customer for
Brand X shirts and other
accessories
Track response and sale
Sample Workflow

6. 03
hello
Thou shalt PERSONALIZE the
customer experience at every
channel
Establish one-to-one relationships that are highly personalizedin product, service
andoutreach at every channel. Whether in store or online, retailers shouldbe able
toaccess a complete history of the customer’s purchases andshouldbe collecting
valuable data such as customer preferences, contact information, lifestyle
information, wish lists, andmore. Sales associates can advise a customer when a
new collection fromtheir favorite designer has arrivedin store or headoffice can
senda coupon for an itemfoundin the customer's online wishlist. The
opportunities are endless!
A multi-channel customer spends 3 to 4 times more
than a single-channel customer.
SOURCE:Women’sWear Daily, RetailersPursue Mobile with Conviction, 2010
Anna

7. 04
Thou shalt EMPOWER sales
associates and IMPROVE the store
experience
Store experience, customer service, andsales associate education are important in
increasing store traffic, conversion, average transactions value andgross margin.
Empower your sales associates with mobile technology andthe right set of tools so
that they can provide outstanding customer service andemploy best selling
practices. Several capabilities toconsider include inventory lookup, product
browsing, accessible in-depth customer information (purchase history, preferences,
wish lists) andmobile transactions.
Conversion rates increase as much as 9% when customers were assisted by associates who
possess a high degree of product knowledge and demonstrate strong interpersonal skills.
SOURCE:Deloitte, The Changing Face of Retail, 2011

8. 05
Thou shalt SURRENDER to
self-service
Does the phrase “Thanks, I’mjust looking” soundfamiliar? Every customer is
unique andthere are some that simply donot want tobe servedby a sales
associate. In this case, encouraging self-service is key andassociates can reply by
informing the customer about their newest product or a current promotion and
then let the customer browse the store until they are ready toengage.
Several successful practices toconsider in order tomanage self-service include
providing in store digital product browsing, way finding, ensuring consistency
across all channels, personalizedrecommendations andoffers andaccess to
account information.
50% off

9. 06
Thou shalt EMBRACE online
communities, social media, and
customer-to-customer relationships
Consumers are connectedandmore social than ever. They are
talking about your brandandproducts, andit critical tobe present,
tolisten andtobecome part of the conversation.
78%ofconsumerssaidthatcompanies’social
media posts impact their purchases.
71% of consumers are more likely to make a
purchase based on social media referrals.
SOURCE:Forbes,Are BrandsWielding More Influence In Social Media Than We Thought?,2012
SOURCE:Hubspot, 71% More Likely to Purchase Based on Social Media Referrals, 2012
Have personalizedconversations
Ask questions
Be open tosuggestions andcomplaints (customer service)
Recognize those that contribute tothe conversations
Give offers andrewards
Share compelling content (videos, images) that resonate with
consumers
Keep an eye on follower growth andengagement
activities such as likes, retweets, mentions, comments
andshares.

10. 07
Thou shalt LISTEN to and NURTURE
thy best customers
Customers know much more about your business than you may
think andthere’s valuable information tolearn fromthem. Listen to
their suggestions anddon’t hesitate tosolicit themfor their ideas.
Ongoing engagement, whether it's before, during or after a sale, is
alsoimportant. Keep the associate-customer relationship active by
sending thank you e-mails or letters, confirming deliveries, and
following up on replenishment items.
The goal is toenhance loyalty andconvert customers intobrand
evangelists andadvocates whowill fuel viral wordof mouth.
Remember that brandevangelists have a high ROI.
Not only do brand evangelists
help lower your costs by
acquiring new customers for
you, they lower the cost of that
acquisition by up to 50%.
SOURCE:Zuberance, Brand Advocates:Turning Enthusiastic Customersinto
a Powerful Marketing Force, 2012

11. 08
Thou shalt ADAPT branding to
customer segments
The way customers interact with andbuy fromretailers has completely transformed. Customer
loyalty still exists andis generally focusedon the brand, much more than the sales channel. That
being said, customers are being bombardedwith thousands of brandmessages every day andthe
only way cut through the clutter is by delivering highly relevant messaging. In order tokeep up
with customers, retailers must adapt brands, in-store andcustomer experiences todifferent
profiles, emotional connections andcultures.

12. 09
Thou shalt INTEGRATE systems,
channels, supply chain, and
organization as a whole
Customers are interacting with retailers across many channels and
not only dothey want an omni-channel experience, they expect it. It
is alsoa way for themtodifferentiate one brandfromanother. In
order tokeep up with the changing retail landscape, retailers must
integrate all touch points: stores, web, mobile, call centers,
appointments/service, etc.
Websites Mobile Store Email Social Media Call Center Digital Print Search
67%of online shoppers have made
purchases in the past six months
that have involved multiple
channels.
SOURCE:Zendesk, The omnichannel customer service gap, 2013

13. 10
Thou shalt JOIN the mobile
revolution
M-commerce friendly site
Mobile couponing, promotions,
andproduct recommendations
(text messaging and/or rich
apps)
Location-basedservices
Personalizedkiosks
Proprietary apps
Joining networked/community
apps (Facebook, Pinterest,
Instagram)
The definition of in-store mobility is
rapidly expanding toconsumer-facing
solutions which can be usedin the
store as well. Here are several
examples of consumer facing
applications:
Today’s customers are more andmore connectedthrough mobility in their daily lives. They
have access toinformation such as reviews andcomparative prices when andwhere they
want it, andas a result it is not uncommon for a customer toactually have more
information about a product than the in-store associates themselves. Retailers have begun
addressing these new shopping habits by providing better tools toassociates, more
specifically by empowering themwith mobile solutions.
Several common mobile
solutions to consider include:
POS
Clienteling
Inventory Management
Analytics

14. For 25 years, Raymark has been empowering retail with leading-edge enterprise software
solutions that help the world’s most prestigious international retailers optimize stock turns,
build customer loyalty, and increase sales. Raymark develops and markets the ultimate suite of
flexible and interconnected applications deployed in a centralized environment and offers
professional turnkey solutions including implementation, training and customer support.
www.raymark.com
Raymark
5460 Côte de Liesse
Montréal, Québec
Canada H4P 1A5
T: 1-800-346-7296
F: 1-514-737-0014
info@raymark.com
www.raymark.com