The Future of Omni-Channel: Insights, Innovations & Experiences

In this technology-driven age, a common challenge for companies has been integrating new technologies into their existing business models, marketing and operations. This has been said to remain true for luxury brands. Convention has held that digital commerce is for the penny-wise. Research and consulting firm McKinsey dispels this perception. It reported that nearly 50% of luxury purchases are in fact influenced by digital. Warc’s Darika Ahrens aptly notes, “High-end income earners love high-end technology.”

Recognizing this, luxury fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff, an early adopter of new technologies in retail, is leading the way in immersive experiences that touch upon all senses to resonate with these digital-savvy, affluent consumers. Speaking at the Center on Global Brand Leadership’s BRITE ’15 conference, Emily Culp, Rebecca Minkoff’s SVP of eCommerce and Omni-Channel Marketing, discussed driving customer lifetime value by delivering multi-faceted experiences derived from technology, insights and organizational structure.

In 2014, Rebecca Minkoff launched its “Connected Stores” in New York and San Francisco. Culp explained that by leveraging beacon technology and RFID tags, Rebecca Minkoff offers consumers an even more personalized, integrated experience. “When [our customer] walks into the fitting room, it recognizes merchandise and gives recommendations on what to wear [the item] with.” Interactive dressing room mirrors entice customers to browse video and content, order complimentary beverages, save merchandise options to their devices via the Rebecca Minkoff app, and check in-store and online inventory. Customers can even adjust fitting room lighting to reflect the setting in which they would don the outfit (i.e. “SoHo after dark”).

In developing experiences for their omni-channel consumer, the question Culp asks herself is straightforward: “How do we flawlessly execute this omni-channel marketing in such a complex ecosystem?” At BRITE ’15, she outlined four essential points to succeed at this:

1. Leadership: the ability to embrace smart risk and experimentation
2. Expertise: building teams with hybrid skill-sets (e.g. creativity combined with an understanding of metrics)
3. Linkage: breaking down the silos to align the KPIs of different departments
4. Communication: sharing insights even when they may seem irrelevant to another team. “Maybe they can take it in a different way that another hasn’t [considered],” explained Culp.

In particular, culling data from all touchpoints is at the foundation of their approach. “A lot of people think that data is boring,” she explains. “I inherently think this is one of the most creative and fascinating parts of marketing today.” Quantitative and qualitative insights paint a holistic picture of their consumer. “[W]e can see as she traverses across these different channels what her behavior is and help her make informed decisions when it’s right for her.”

Through research, Culp’s team discovered that their consumer checks her smartphone, on average, 150 times a day, spiking at different points depending on when she’s at work using her computer or at night on her tablet. “The constant is mobile. So for us, when we’re looking at omni-channel marketing… we start with mobile.”

Culp stresses the importance of not employing technology for technology’s sake. It should have a purpose. For Rebecca Minkoff, it’s using technology to seamlessly deliver value to consumers, relieving pain-points and empowering them to make informed decisions while shopping in-store and on any device at any time, anywhere in the world.

Check out Emily Culp’s talk at BRITE ’15 to hear more on developing omni-channel innovations and experiences to drive long-term value.

BY ALLIE ABODEELY

[Video] The “Post-Crisis” Consumer

Part of the “Video Mondays” series

As job growth in the US is reported to have stalled, a host of commentators have weighed in recently on the prospects for the “new normal” among consumers. (BusinessWeek‘s David Leonhard had one roundup on the paradox of current consumer psychology).

As such, it seems like an apt time to look back at John Gerzema’s talk from BRITE ’10 this spring, on the subject of “The Post-Crisis Consumer.”

Drawing on a wealth of data on consumer sentiment, John looked at how attitudes towards spending, values, and brands were changing even before the market collapse of fall 2008.

Whether or not we are anywhere near being “post-crisis,” the focus Gerzema sees on social values and the enterprises that embody them may characterize customers for years to come.

BY DAVID ROGERS

If video does not appear, click here to watch it on BRITEconference.com

This post originally posted by David on the DavidRogers.biz blog at: http://www.davidrogers.biz

Consumer Confidence and The Brand Bubble

John Gerzema, one our BRITE ’10 speakers and the Chief Insights Officer at Young & Rubicam, is concerned that Wall Street thinks brands are worth more than consumers do. In his recent book, The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How To Avoid It, Gerzema and his co-author (Ed Lebar) contend that the consequence of this variance in valuation is a brand bubble that could erase a significant amount of intangible value within business and the global economy. Watch Gerzema elaborate on this theory in the video below.

So what should be done to avoid a brand bubble? Gerzema is now looking at what motivates the “post-crisis consumer” and how companies can react and build their brand in response to it. He sees today’s consumers moving from fear to empowerment by being smarter about how they save and spend money. In a recent blog post Gerzema began to riff on the idea of “slow marketing” tactics that can help post-recession marketers:

• Remember to tell the story of your roots.
• Embed feedback into your company, your brand and your marketing.
• Show both the value and values of your brand.
• Practice declasse consumption–reckless spending is out.
• Learn “flea market capitalism”–based on personality, uniqueness, provenance and storytelling.

To hear John Gerzema speak at BRITE ’10, register now.