Clienteling Helps With All Those Returns
The holidays will soon be over — and with that comes all those returns.
Surely someone wants that luxurious mint green cashmere Armani sweater, violet Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress or deep orange Prada bag, just not the first owner.
So back it comes.
As a retailer, you are trying to make way for Spring fashions, and as delightful as these items are, they are just not a fit for this time of year.
You need to move them, pronto.
However, mark downs can make items seem “cheap,” and, particularly in luxe goods, perception is everything.
How to get these products into appreciative hands?
Analyze your shopping data and you just might find some happy homes for these “misfit” goods.
The most loyal among your shoppers may be in store for some good deals if you can decipher which customers should be targeted for specific items.
By narrowing down the prime candidates, retailers can clear out merchandise in a way that is much more appealing than throwing it on a clearance table.
That is where clienteleing— the art of tailoring of a sales message to a particular customer or segment — excels.
Luxury shoppers in particular respond well to a personalized approach, as evidenced by the popularity of the “private shopper” at high-end retailers.
Retailers can start by analyzing their most loyal customers’ information.
What are their shopping habits, and what might entice them to come into the store?
Perhaps a promo code in an email or text message to these valued customers is in order.
Another idea is to compose an email with a personalized URL such as www.JensShoes/CustomerName.
Now you’ve created not just a multi-channel experience but a personalized one to boot. (Excuse the pun.)
Within the email should be some unique information directed at that particular customer.
For example, if a male shopper purchases a similar type item every year at the same time for his wife, the retailer can send him an email with some enticement for him to return.
Or, a phone call from the lead sales associate can work wonders.
Technology sometimes seems at odds with old-school ways; thinking of associates armed with tablets in a general store with its neighborly ways seemingly offers an anachronistic view of the retail experience.
But not really; by embracing technology, retailers can nurture an atmosphere of familiarity, one where everybody knows your name — and your shoe size.
