Summer’s Hottest Topics From the Cross-Channel Executive Summit

CrossView recently held its second annual Cross-Channel Executive Summit, where key industry experts gathered to examine how customer centricity has evolved as the true value in cross-channel commerce. Discussions not only focused on aligning multiple channels, but how emerging technologies and innovation within current mobile and social tools can transform the customer experience.

If You Don’t Optimize, Nothing Else Matters
The importance of traffic and web optimization can't be overstated. Creating a diversified portfolio of traffic-generation strategies around relevancy, segmentation and identifying the right metrics is essential. When executed well, these strategies can help drive return on investment, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and put a retail organization ahead of the technology curve.

A Disjointed Experience Threatens Store Performance
The store may still be king — a recent study found that 93 percent of all sales occur in brick-and-mortar stores — but creating a disjointed experience is sure to threaten its leadership position. Consumers want an organized shopping experience regardless of channel. The most successful retailers create the same orderly experience through functional, user-centric design both in their physical store(s) and online. It’s critical to avoid clutter and design that doesn’t force consumers to adapt their natural behavior to shop.

You’ve Got to Understand Your Customer … Really
The beauty of today’s technology is that it offers incredible insights that can be used to help consumers make better purchase decisions. For retailers, this means paying much closer attention to all of the touchpoints along the path to purchase. This includes how and when a customer shops, what they view, what products they consider and, finally, what and when they buy. A sound strategy paired with cross-channel technologies allows retailers to put all of this intelligence to profitable use.

Winners and Losers are Shaped From Disruptive Change
There’s no predicting what shifts lie ahead thanks to technological change. Those that lead the pack anticipate, plan for and embrace innovation. Listening closely to customers, empowering them and investing in ways to optimize technology can help maximize success.

“So-Lo-Mo” is Here to Stay
The consumer hasn’t changed, but the social media, localization and personalization of content and mobile tools have dramatically evolved to deliver the shopping experience consumers have always wanted. According to Forrester Research’s Sucharita Mulpuru, the challenge that retailers face is monetizing “so-lo-mo.” Without a strategy that includes all of these factors (social, local and mobile) to make your enterprise and customers unique, it’s difficult to take full advantage of these game changers and harder still to profit from them.

Jason Goldberg is vice president of strategy and customer experience at CrossView, a provider of cross-channel commerce solutions. Reach Jason at jgoldberg@crossview.com.