6 Steps to Boost Holiday Sales per Customer with CRM Software

As autumn fades and the holidays approach, most U.S. retail consumers (that’s you and me) are bombarded with magazines, emails, coupons and deals. While print magazines and advertising are the source of many sales during the holidays for many retailers, there’s more they (YOU) can do with effective CRM.

Instead of bombarding customers with magazines and email messages during one period of time, this “bombardment” should have begun months earlier.

Retailers with repeat customers already have a good sense of the type of things they are buying. You’re able to build an overall profile of the type of person they might be. based on their buying habits.

Instead of sending all customers the same catalog and the same email message, consider the value of differentiation and personalization in your messaging in increasing the amount spent by each individual.

For example, I buy a lot of shirts from men’s clothier Charles Tyrwhitt, both online and from their retail stores. However, not once have I received a personalized message from them, specifically targeting me and my preferences. To do this in a print magazine is very expensive and MIGHT not be worth the ROI for some retailers. But surely, every retailer can leverage their CRM system to send very targeted and personalized emails or other digital communications to customers.

What if Charles Tyrwhitt were to email me about a special website landing page they created just for me, prompting me to buy more of the cuff links and bold ties and shirts I bought over the past 3 to 6 months? Instead, I get the same emails and catalogs that everyone else gets.

What about Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Easter, Labor Day, Memorial Day and other Holidays? Are you bombarding your customers and prospective customers with the same message? You could be leaving sales (otherwise known as money) on the table.

Although a few 2013 holidays have passed, it’s not too late to leverage the power of CRM and capture added sales for the rest of the holiday shopping season:

1. Analyze your customer sales.
2. Segment your customers.
3. Create messaging for individual customers and/or pools of customers.
4. Nurture and educate them with relevant  information.
5. Send them an offer.
6. Watch sales roll in; track, test, evaluate and repeat.

Could it really be that simple? With CRM and marketing automation tools, it can be. Have you been successful using CRM to boost sales during the holidays? Share your experience in the comments below.

Title image courtesy of Shutterstock