In today’s competitive retail landscape, providing excellent customer service is crucial to success. However, there is a newer approach gaining momentum that takes customer service to the next level – clienteling. While often used interchangeably with customer service, it is important to note that clienteling is not the same thing.
This article will cover the following:
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What is customer service?
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What is clienteling?
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Benefits of clienteling
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Implementing Confer With’s live 1-2-1 video shopping platform to improve clienteling strategy
What is customer service?
While customer service and clienteling are both important aspects of a successful retail business, they differ in their approach and goals.
Customer service focuses on addressing customers’ immediate needs and concerns. It involves aiding with product selection, answering questions about the products, processing transactions, and handling complaints or issues. The main goal of customer service is to ensure that the customer is satisfied with their shopping experience and that any problems are resolved quickly and effectively.
Customer service aims make the customer feel valued and satisfied with their purchase, which can lead to repeat business and positive word-of-mouth advertising.
What is clienteling?
Clienteling, on the other hand, is a more proactive approach to customer service. It focuses on building long-term relationships with customers by collecting and analysing data on their shopping preferences, habits, and needs. This information is then used to provide personalised recommendations, offers, and experiences that go beyond the standard customer service interaction. The main goal of clienteling is to foster customer loyalty and increase sales.
Benefits of Clienteling
There are several benefits to incorporating clienteling into your DTC e-commerce brand’s customer service strategy:
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Increased Sales
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- By building long-term relationships with customers and providing personalised recommendations and offers, retailers can increase sales. According to a report by Equancy, the growth of sales via clienteling has increased by 30%.
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Improved Customer Retention
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- Clienteling can also improve customer retention rates. By understanding customers’ preferences and anticipating their needs, brands and retailers can create a more tailored shopping experience that keeps customers coming back. McKinsey & Company found that retailers who use clienteling have seen a 10-15% increase in customer retention rates.
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Higher Customer Satisfaction
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- By providing personalised recommendations and experiences, brands and retailers can improve customer satisfaction levels. When customers feel that their needs are understood and that they are being provided with relevant and helpful recommendations, they are more likely to be satisfied with their shopping experience.
While both customer service and clienteling involve providing a positive shopping experience, clienteling goes beyond addressing customers’ immediate needs to create a personalised, long-term relationship with them.
Implementing Confer With’s live 1-2-1 video shopping platform to improve clienteling strategy
One way to improve your clienteling strategy is by implementing Confer With’s live 1-2-1 video shopping platform. This approach allows brand ambassadors to connect with customers in real-time, providing a personalised shopping experience from the comfort of their own home. By using live video chat, brand ambassadors can showcase products immersed in the platform, offer styling advice, and answer any questions the customer may have. This can lead to increased customer engagement and satisfaction, as well conversion rates of 20% and above.
Confer With’s platform provides brands and retailers with a number of features that assists in the clienteling strategy:
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Third Party Recommendation Engine
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- Confer With can link to a brand and retailer’s existing recommendation engine to offer a plethora of alternative and add-on products personalised to the customer
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Call History
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- Brand ambassadors can easily see their history of products shared in a call, which they can then reshare with their customers at any given time to ensure a seamless shopping journey
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A Live 1-2-1 Video Call
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- Away from the animated selling techniques of livestreaming to an audience, brand ambassadors can interact with customers 1-2-1 in a single video call, ensuring all their needs are met with tailored advice
Find out more about the Confer With Live platform, and how you can get started with it today.
Key Takeaways
- Customer service focuses on addressing customers’ immediate needs and concerns
- Clienteling builds long-term relationships with customers by providing personalised online shopping experiences
- By incorporating live 1-2-1 video shopping into a clienteling strategy, brands and retailers can provide a seamless, personalised shopping experience that will keep customers coming back for more in a competitive retail landscape
