What is Clienteling and How Does It Support a Unified Commerce Strategy in Retail?

Clienteling has become a crucial strategy in modern retail, focusing on fostering long-term customer relationships. It involves various processes and tools designed to enhance customer satisfaction by personalizing the shopping experience. The ultimate objective is to boost the customer lifecycle value (CLV).

Customer data is the cornerstone of clienteling. By gathering and analyzing information on preferences, interests, and purchase history, retailers can proactively meet their customers’ needs. A unified, centralized view of all customer activities across channels, available in real-time and accessible from any touchpoint, is essential for executing a successful unified commerce strategy.

Utilizing Customer Information

Using this information, retailers can put in place several strategies. Examples include offering personalized discounts based on shopping preferences, sending reminders for products that customers have previously shown interest in, and providing tailored advice based on purchase history. The aim is to make the customer relationship more personal and valuable, fostering interactions that build loyalty and encourage repeat purchases.

Clienteling is particularly powerful in physical stores. Sales associates equipped with mobile devices that provide detailed customer information can offer personalized assistance anywhere in the store, recommending products, services, or special promotions. Access to real-time information, such as current stock levels both in-store and at other locations, enables better service and helps recover potential lost sales.

What Benefits Does It Offer?

• Supports a unified commerce strategy
• Delivers more personalized shopping experiences
• Strengthens brand image
• Increases customer satisfaction
• Fosters customer loyalty
• Boosts sales

The Role of Technology

Technology is vital to clienteling. Innovations like data analytics, CRM solutions, and now artificial intelligence and machine learning, allow retailers to analyze customer data and make it available across sales channels, touchpoints, and to in-store employees. This results in more personalized and unique shopping experiences.

A notable example of these benefits is combining these technologies with mobile POS software for employees, which significantly enhances sales opportunities within the store.

How Does Orisha Retail Chains Help Retailers with Their Clienteling Strategies?

Orisha Retail Chains provides retailers with a suite of capabilities that support the implementation of clienteling strategies. These include a centralized, real-time view of customer activities across all sales channels. In-store, specifically, their POS software offers real-time access to this information from any touchpoint or sales point, facilitating mobile scenarios where sales associates can deliver enhanced, personalized service from anywhere within the store.

Want to learn more? Check out this video to discover our mobile store clienteling solution, used by our client BUT in its over 300 home product stores (furniture, decoration, small appliances) in France, all integrated into our store software.