How Major Supermarket Chains Ensure Customer Retention
Customer
loyalty is not what it once was. Research firm Access Development reported a
massive 79 percent of customers take their business to a competitor within a
week of experiencing poor customer service. The estimated cost of customers
switching their choice of business due to ineffective solutions and poor
services is $1.6 trillion.
How
can a major supermarket chain ensure customer retention in a world where
customer loyalty is constantly shifting and customers have more options than
ever of where to spend their cash? Supermarket chains can boost ROI and
profitability by increasing customer retention. Customer loyalty strengthens
when reward programs are incorporated into business models. Retention is
essential in maintaining customer loyalty and sustaining a healthy business.
- Leveraging Personalisation
Supermarkets
like Tesco, for example, have thousands of stores and for huge brands like
these, coming across as human and
authentic can be a real challenge. Online grocery stores and self-service scanners
are convenient, but more shoppers like dealing with other people. Customer service is critical to customer retention and the Tesco marketing division has chosen Twitter
as a way of execution with a human touch. This shows additional personality to interactions
with customers.
To
use this type of retention approach, marketers need to identify audience
personas and communicate with them on preferred channels. This can include
email or Snapchat too, depending on which channel is most frequented by them.
From here, retail chains work on speaking to the customer directly. It is
essential to remain part of the messaging and remind customers post the buying
experience about the benefits of shopping with the supermarket.
- A Question of Price
It
is a common understanding that shoppers want to save money while opting for
major supermarket chains. But they also want to save time. Customers
transacting at a cash register are one of the most important parts of the
entire purchase cycle, yet long lines can plague retail shoppers. Customers
nowadays have higher expectations and
they do not return, if the supermarket cannot provide the convenience
and ease of shopping experiences they are looking for.
Nowadays,
offering lower prices is not enough to stand out. Despite loyalty schemes and
incentives, consumers often do not have allegiance to one supermarket with
better value and low prices tempting them elsewhere. Customer satisfaction in
supermarket chains depends on how comfortably and easily shoppers can make a
purchase. Recent studies show most customers switch between two to three
stores, based on the distance to get there and the previous shopping
experience.
Therefore,
apart from prices and product quality, location and convenience are the factors
that determine which supermarket chain customers remain loyal to. Low everyday
prices, better value for money and more rewards are some of the reasons why
people switch supermarket chains, according to research. The grocery industry
is also characterised by tremendous competition and low margins which makes
them dependent on a massive volume of sales and an efficient operations model.
Companies
can, therefore, compete effectively by offering more loyalty programs and
better customer services. Top supermarket chains cater to value-conscious and
price sensitive customers through member-only discounts and personalised
special offers based on personal shopping habits and preferences. Consumers
also want more transparency from the supermarkets they shop with and be consulted
about their opinions. Offering client retention programs can play an important
role in enabling customers to find and buy the right products and ensure
they’ll keep coming back to the supermarket store.