Experience To Boost Petsmart's Omni-Channel Initiative
By Megan Zielinski, contributing writer
During First Quarter 2014 earnings report, Petsmart announced plans to improve on omni-channel marketing strategies with help from Phil Bowman, newly-appointed executive president of customer experience in effort to drive growth and capture interest of the increasing amount of online and mobile shoppers.
As of June 30, Phil Bowman, previously serving as chief marketing officer at TD Ameritrade, global leading online securities Brokerage Company, will assume position as Executive President of Customer Experience for Petsmart. With nearly 30 years of extensive experience in brand-building, ecommerce, digital marketing, customer analytics and research, and integrating the customer experience—Bowman is bringing in opportunities for Petsmart to flourish as a company.
“We’re thrilled Phil will be joining PetSmart in this newly-created position,” says PetSmart CEO David Lenhardt. “He will play an important role in accelerating our omni-channel efforts so we are relevant to our customers however and whenever they shop, and in leveraging our customer data to connect in a more personalized way.”
Petsmart is now focused even more on strengthening and connecting Internet, mobile, and physical stores, providing customers with a complete, smooth, omni-channel experience. In late March, Petsmart redesigned the Petsmart webpage, allowing for a simplified and informative shopping experience, also providing customers with an in-store availability feature for all products, a most requested feature of Petsmart.com customers. This year, the company is concentrating more on heightening analytics to deliver personalized promotions and coupons to customers at all points of purchase. PetPerks loyalty members receive rewards, coupons, and product recommendations by email, based off of their history of purchases. Petsmart’s aim is to connect to customers as an individual—linking 90 percent of sales to each customer. "We've been investing in new capabilities to help us capture and use customer and pet data, and this year, we will deliver on new methods to use this data to drive growth, “said Lenhardt. With one-third of customers visiting Petsmart.com on their mobile phones, Petsmart plans on completing a restructured, enhanced mobile website by the end of this year. Also this year, Petsmart stores will continue to see improvements and additions included in the consumables department — a key traffic driver to Petmart stores. The rollout of store iPads this year will allow for employees to better assist with customer’s selections with the large variety of consumables provided. This month, the company plans on launching an inspirational and engaging brand campaign to distinguish the Petsmart brand from competitors. The campaign will include social media marketing, digital advertising, TV advertisements, in-store developments, and strengthened digital capabilities. Lenhardt stated, “This will be the most comprehensive brand differentiation campaign PetSmart has ever had and will be integrated into all elements of our business over time.”