Product/Service

Tomax Retail.net® Solutions — Customer Management

Source: Tomax Corporation
Because the continuum begins and ends with the customer, Customer Management is an essential element of a retailer's business. The dynamics that occur at the point of sale represent "the moment of truth." The customers are the final arbiters of every action that every retailer makes behind the scenes and are constantly "voting" on how they feel about a store.

Click Here To Download:
•White Paper: The Demand-Driven Retail Continuum: Connecting The Dots Between People And Processes
•White Paper: Tomax And Retail.net: IT Execution

  • Point of Sale
    • Order Management
    • Special Order
    • Returns Management
    • Resource Scheduling
    • Configurator
  • Linebuster
  • Customer Loyalty
  • Multichannel
Because the continuum begins and ends with the customer, Customer Management is an essential element of a retailer's business. The dynamics that occur at the Point of Sale represent ‘the moment of truth'. The customers are the final arbiters of every action that every retailer makes behind the scenes and are constantly ‘voting' on how they feel about a store. Will the customer ultimately decide to visit the store – or not, to purchase – or not?

All information from the Point-of-Sale database is customer- related since it connects with every key function of a retail business: merchandising, marketing, logistics, stores and other related support organizations. Analysis and effective use of this information will have a profound impact on customer response, producing strong sales and profitability for the retailer. The continuum ‘in action' coordinates all of the Point-of-Sale relevant information to each constituent organization throughout the retail chain so that retailers can take action to better service their customers.

While customers are not concerned with the retailer's internal operation and organization, they are focused on the benefit that they derive from a retailer that is effectively utilizing the Point-of-Sale information:

  • Outstanding merchandise assortment – in-stock
  • Great values everyday
  • Easy and pleasant store environment
  • Excellent customer service
Customer Information Management and Customer Loyalty
Customer shopping behavior and patterns have changed dramatically in the last decade; today customers shop a multitude of stores every week. The idea that ‘she is my customer' has diminished with the loss of store loyalty. To capture the business of loyal customers, who shop twice as often and buy two times more than casual customers, retailers must know their customers' shopping habits and routines and must develop marketing and loyalty strategies related to their customer segments.

The Point-of-Sale data – the customer's vote – provides a database for contemporary customer loyalty/direct marketing. The increase in retail price-driven competition, which brings related increases in electronic and print media, has been followed by a major movement to Internet retailing. This development forces retailers to be more adroit at reaching existing and potential customers. The most effective vehicle for maintaining this vital contact is through professional direct marketing. Retail.net provides the retailer the information required to capitalize on this opportunity. The essence of the demand-driven continuum is to capture sales and customer information that serves not only as the final component in the purchase process, but as the beginning of the analytics on which the branding and merchandise decisions are based - all focused on linking specific product and promotional offers to specific customers.

All these areas of customer service and corresponding loyalty relate to ‘connecting the dots' throughout a total retail chain. The elements include purchase data, market basket, shopping patterns, and activity analysis in order to understand and appreciate customer desires and inclinations and the comparative success of each store. Too often, the retailer's Point-of-Sale system is disconnected from these core applications, and in some cases, retailers are not capturing basic and valuable information. It is crucial for this information to be captured and analyzed and be completely integrated into the retail continuum. The result is improved customer service and retailer financial results.

Multichannel
With Christmas 2005 online shopping up 27% over the prior year, the need for a strategy for integrated multi-channel, creating value and convenience for customers across channels, is urgent. Key aspects of such a strategy would include:

  • Deep integration between online and offline systems
  • Cohesive customer experience required
  • Online access in realtime, store-level inventory
  • Unique pricing by-store available to online shoppers
  • In-store pickup and order fulfillment

Click Here To Download:
•White Paper: The Demand-Driven Retail Continuum: Connecting The Dots Between People And Processes
•White Paper: Tomax And Retail.net: IT Execution