Most companies say they care about the customer experience, but often it’s just lip service. Think about the times you can’t find the information you need on a brand’s website, your online order is messed up, or you wait for what seems like forever to talk to customer service.
But when a company truly focuses on the customer, the results can be amazing.
At SAPPHIRE NOW, brands from around the world shared how their customer-first approach, built on connected, intelligent technologies, helps them deliver relevant, engaging experiences. They’ve won new customers, built long-term loyalty, and achieved massive growth.
It’s all pretty remarkable, especially given the global pandemic that upended so many of the ways we do business. But these brands found that a relentless focus on the customer helped their business not only survive, but thrive.
Going more than skin deep for beautiful CX
Teaming with SAP, The Body Shop worked fast to create fantastic, compelling online experiences for their customers when the pandemic forced its retail stores to close.
The UK-based beauty retailer with a focus on ethically sourced, natural ingredients spun up a new distribution center in a matter of weeks, launched 18 new websites around the globe, and offered new services like click-and-collect.
It all starts with a single customer view, said Elen Macaskill, Global Customer Director, The Body Shop. By connecting retail, e-commerce, and digital platforms, the brand can provide personalized, seamless CX across its sites and physical stores.
The Body’s Shop e-commerce platform helps it go beyond selling products and drive its social messages, she said. And as stores reopen, they provide the brand with more opportunities to engage with customers. “We’re really confident in the future of retail,” Macaskill said.
Empowering customers – and runway success
Burberry, the British luxury fashion house, delighted its customers by running its spring-summer fashion show on the live-streaming Twitch platform.
Customers could experience the event from multiple camera angles, and the response was tremendous, according to Burberry’s Peter Goggin, IT director, customer.
For Burberry, having a single view of the customer was key for delivering outstanding CX. The company leverages SAP Data Cloud, and Service Cloud.
“You need to make sure customers can shop how they want to shop without the journey being disrupted,” Goggin said.
By breaking down silos and bringing departments together, brands can deliver the experiences customers are looking for, said Geert Leeman, Chief Revenue & Operating Officer, SAP Customer Experience. Leveraging data enables companies to provide targeted offers, which leads to more conversions.
As more people head back into physical stores in the second half of this year, businesses can prepare by focusing on delivering hyper-personalized, seamless experiences that bring the best of both the online and physical worlds to customers, Leeman said.
Customer-centric transformation gets results
From fashion to sports to wireless products, a focus on customer experience paid off in more ways than one for top brands.
With SAP, Russian retail fashion giant Gloria Jeans transformed from a complex business with a complicated supply chain into a customer-centric brand that delivers innovative CX. Sales and conversions shot up, costs to implement changes dropped, and customer satisfaction soared 30%.
And despite the pandemic, the company, doubled its year-over-year first quarter profit.
The Kontinental Hockey League, with millions of fans in Russian, Asia, and Europe, worked with SAP on a digital transformation that automated marketing activities for better fan engagement. KHL added 3 million fan records to its database, growing it by more than 60%.
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Tessco, a leading distributor of wireless communications products, implemented SAP Commerce Cloud and SAP S/4HANA to transform 30 years of wireless experience into an online shop. By streamlining the purchase products and making it easier for customers, they ramped up customer satisfaction.
Building now with an eye on the future
The success stories underscore just how important the customer experience is to business success today.
Customers today expect a lot and they have many choices. Companies that don’t take care of their customers and provide excellent experiences risk losing them to a competitor, said Bob Stutz, president of SAP Customer Experience.
“In this day and age, the consumer is in control,” he said.
Customer desires, needs, and expectations are constantly changing, but brands that make the right moves have the agility, flexibility, and insight to keep up.
