The holiday season is supposed to be a time of love, peace, and happiness, when friends and family have time to celebrate and enjoy each other’s company. And you might see the world through these rose-tinted glasses while sitting around the table, enjoying a home-cooked meal with those you cherish. But the cold hard reality is that to get to this point, you’ve likely felt like you’ve been through a war zone, trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
And where is this war zone? The shopping mall. The local, independent boutique. Even online, that supposed bastion of relaxed holiday shopping, where you can enjoy a glass of wine as you add items to your basket and relax at home with perfect equanimity waiting for your packages to arrive. But don’t take just take my word for it. Sarah T. tells a familiar tale.
For a retailer, this is the worst possible customer experience. Not only did the customer have a bad in-person and online experience, but she didn’t even end up with the items she wanted and likely went to a different store to complete her purchase. And she is unlikely to return to your store.
How Can Cisco Help?
Collaboration solutions, like Cisco Spark, can allow store associates on the floor to easily communicate with their colleagues, either via messaging or video call, to answer questions and check stock without leaving a customer unattended on the floor. Associates could even contact different store locations through Cisco Spark to confirm where an item is in stock, put it on hold, or start the process of having it brought to another location. With Cisco Spark’s mobile-first design, store associates wouldn’t be tied to a desk. They can literally keep this powerful tool in their back pocket as they help customers anywhere on the store floor.
With promotions changing daily, keeping store associates in the know about daily, weekly, or seasonal promotions can be challenging. Cisco Spark allows the head office or a store manager to share relevant information in a timely manner, ensuring confidence in your employees’ ability to help customers. If you are ambitious enough, Cisco Spark’s open APIs would allow you to develop a bot which could push these announcements out automatically – freeing up head office time while ensuring everyone is on the same page.
So what about informing customers in real-time about said promotions? Or having the ability to gain a 360-degree view into their shopping patterns and behaviours? CMX (Connected Mobile Experience) makes it all possible. The platform not only optimizes and eases Wi-Fi access in-store, but the real differentiator lies in its dashboard-style analytics, transforming your network into a powerful engine for customer and location-based insights. CMX operates on an open platform, allowing for customized applications, splash pages, and more to keep the guest experience appearing new and fresh– all while increasing overall traffic flows, sales, and the number of repeat, happy customers along the way.
Cisco’s retail solutions work behind the scenes to create a smooth, seamless customer experience, giving them the best holiday present of all: a seamless shopping experience which allows them to focus on the true meaning of the season.
See how Cisco can help improve the Customer Experience.
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