In episode 214 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Emma Crepeau, vice president of performance marketing at Sweaty Betty, a London-based women's activewear retailer. Listen in as Crepeau discusses what customer centricity means to Sweaty Betty; how the retailer is expanding from brick-and-mortar into digital channels; and how the brand ethos impacts product, marketing efforts and more. The company focuses on social media and video marketing, delving into influencer marketing and showcasing customer stories and lifestyle messages. Crepeau shares how Sweaty Betty collects and uses customer data, including a new leggings quiz pop-up on the website that rewards customer engagement with a discount code. The activewear brand feels that its smaller customer base allows it to personalize and customize offerings for customers more so than larger competitors. Sweaty Betty is pushing into the U.S., and Crepeau shares the brand's plans to open physical stores in the U.S., and the role marketing will play in supporting that expansion. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 213 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Brian Venuti, vice president of loyalty and CRM at Luxottica, a leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear. Listen as Venuti discusses the loyalty programs across all of Luxottica's brands, the company's efforts to streamline leadership and strategy, and the global collection of customer data across brands. He shares Luxottica's centralized approach to data management, noting that while the individual brands’ loyalty programs are structured in Milan (home of Luxottica headquarters), the flexibility to adapt to local markets in communications and events is built into each program. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 212 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Kimberley Brennan, director of enterprise and customer loyalty at Petco. Listen in as Brennan discusses why she recently joined the Petco team, what challenges and opportunities she sees in loyalty in the pet category, and why she values her time spent at CRMC. In addition, Brennan offers her thoughts on the trends she's seeing in customer loyalty that will have the biggest impact on retailers and brands, as well as the re-emergence of the boutique shopping experience in the industry. The shifting omnichannel nature of consumers shopping between channels presents a primary challenge of siloed data, but a significant opportunity in mobile shopping and interaction, according to Brennan. She shares advice for other retailers looking to start or improve their loyalty programs, including evaluating the current structure of the business and preparing for the organizational change that has to happen to fuel a successful, customer-centric loyalty program. Brennan also discusses the business benefits that retailers hope to realize by driving personalization at scale, and the balance retailers need to strike between being relevant to consumers without being overbearing or creepy. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 211 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan speaks with Jonathan Clarkson, managing director of loyalty, partnerships and products for Southwest Airlines. Listen in as Clarkson discusses Southwest's Rapid Rewards loyalty program, how the program differentiates from other airlines’ rewards programs, and the fundamentals of its revenue-based earn-and-burn points system. He shares Southwest Airline's emphasis on customer service, the flexible nature of its loyalty program, and the brand's marketing efforts targeted at customer retention. Purchasing an airline ticket is a data-rich exchange, and Clarkson discusses how Southwest uses this data to communicate with customers in relevant, meaningful ways. He also touches on Southwest Airline's app, how customers interact with the company via mobile devices, and the business goals associated with its Rapid Rewards loyalty program. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 210 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Daren Hull, chief customer officer of Vera Bradley, a women's quilted luggage, backpack, and accessories retailer. Listen in as Hull discusses why Vera Bradley has recently invested in a customer data platform (CDP), his goals to democratize access and utilization of customer data throughout the company, and how the brand is working to personalize customers’ shopping experiences. In addition, Hull shares some of the insights derived from Vera Bradley's customer data, as well as a few examples how the brand is using data to influence its decision making, including in-store merchandising. Creating seamless customer experiences across multiple channels is challenging, and Hull discusses how unifying silos both in data and within the organizational chart are two of the biggest roadblocks facing retailers today. He also shares the benefits Vera Bradley has realized by using a CDP, and how the brand is continuing to evolve and improve its customer experience through personalization, customer loyalty, and marketing efforts. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

The presentations at this year’s CRMC conference in Chicago did not disappoint. Sephora’s customer loyalty is constantly changing with the market, always insightful & useful, and oftentimes entertaining. The people and brands at the event represented some of the best thinkers and doers in retail.

Allegra Stanley Krishnan is VP of Loyalty at Sephora Americas and is one of those people. Sean Claessen is another one of those people. He is EVP of Innovation at Bond Brand Loyalty; and together, they presented a fascinating view and process of how they’re revolutionizing customer loyalty through intensive customer care.

Along the way we touched on Bond’s unique approach to customer engagement and what that looks like when married to Sephora’s powerful customer loyalty ethic. Our short conversation was as enlightening as it was fun.

In episode 209 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Allegra Stanley Krishnan, vice president of loyalty at Sephora, a global beauty retailer. Listen in as they discuss the redesign of Sephora's customer loyalty program; how the brand launched its new rewards program, Beauty Insider; and why a focus on emotional loyalty is key to future efforts. Krishnan details how companywide collaboration and listening to customer feedback took Sephora's Beauty Insider from a purely transactional program to an interactive, experiential membership program. Krishnan and her team track acquisition rates, retention rates, and tier migration between the program's three membership tiers as core KPIs for Beauty Insider. She also touches on Sephora's primary goals for the new program as well as its plans to continue evolving and improving the rewards membership going forward. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 208 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan interviews Susan Beckett, vice president, digital, direct and e-commerce at Lovesac, a furniture retailer known for creating bean bag chairs and adaptable couches. Beckett discusses the origins of Lovesac, from its first showroom location in Utah to its continued efforts to create seamless experiences for customers shopping both in-store and online. Lovesac faced a challenge in organizing disparate data across multiple technology systems, and Beckett shares how the retailer created a data warehouse to power its CRM system and provide a single view of the customer. She details how clean data enables Lovesac to develop one-to-one relationships with customers, as well as the company's plans for improving digital and direct marketing efforts in the future. This episode was recorded live at CRMC 2019 in Chicago.

In episode 207 of Total Retail Talks, Executive Editor Joe Keenan speaks with Lester Holze, vice president of sales, retail and CPG at Experian Marketing Services, and Dan Thorpe, analytics leader at Chico's FAS. Listen in as Holze and Thorpe discuss why Chico's FAS chose Experian as its data partner and how the relationship has helped the women's apparel retailer identify its customers across all channel as well as target the right potential customers. Thorpe touches on how Experian enables Chico's FAS to perform advanced customer prospecting, develop its household data segment it refers to as "her-holding," and ways in which a 360-degree view of the customer is enabling improved marketing performance.

Despite retail sales hitting a record $6 trillion in 2018 (outperforming the 2007 pre-recession high of $4.4 trillion), certain trends, like store closures, are continuing to rise. For example, a staggering 5,994 stores closed in the first three months of 2019, exceeding the 5,864 that closed over the entire course of 2018. Two key shifts taking place in retail are inextricably linked: The first is technology; the second is consumer behavior. This is creating a chasm between those who are thriving and those who are, to put it simply, not thriving at all.

The themes at the 2019 Customer Relationship Marketing Conference (CRMC) in Chicago last week, where I had the pleasure of attending and representing Acxiom with several other of my Retail Industry friends, were familiar to marketers striving to succeed in this rapidly changing Retail environment. As you might expect, the need to use better and more robust types of data more wisely to deliver personalized experiences for consumers was at the top of the list.

Maintaining lasting relationships with customers is—and always has been—a priority for retailers. But with ever increasing points of connectivity, customers have greater control over which brands they engage with and how they interact with them.

From CRMC, how Lovesac and Sweaty Betty are meeting their marketing challenges

For 26 years, CRMC has continued to deliver as the premier CRM event of the year. This year, with loyalty marketing at the forefront, we got to experience once more the resounding impact of this intimate event. As the expo booths begin to come down, we can take a beat before the next stop of the conference season.

As we approach the end of the first half of 2019, data & personalization have emerged as two central themes in the retail world. That’s why it’s no surprise that the recent Customer Relationship Management Conference (CRMC) was centered around these ideas and their connection to loyalty.

In today’s retail landscape, every brand is facing some type of competition. Whether you’re faced with the pressure of non-traditional retailers and direct to consumer brands or decreasing engagement in loyalty programs, it’s the perfect time to re-evaluate your marketing strategy before the holiday season.

Another CRMC (The Customer Relationship Management Conference) has come and gone. And once again, it did not disappoint.

We heard some incredible insights from top retail executives. There were ample networking opportunities and unique entertainment options at night.

As one of the premier events targeting the customer loyalty and CRM industry, I would highly recommend CRMC for anyone in retail marketing.

It was difficult to pick just a few of the best experiences to talk about, but here is my recap of CRMC 2019 in case you missed it.

The CRMC has earned its reputation as the No. 1 networking event for retail marketers.

With nearly 200 retailers scheduled to attend, CRMC 2019 will bring together the top minds in customer engagement, loyalty, and CRM.

The retail calendar has flipped to June and the peak holiday season is still several months away.

With over 750 peers expected to attend, we’ll all have our fair share of workshops, 1:1 meetings, dinners, and cocktail receptions to attend, but here are five things not to miss at CRMC 2019.

In episode 162 of Total Retail Talks, recorded at the Customer Relationship Management Conference (CRMC) in Chicago, Kate O'Shaughnessy Jung, director of loyalty, mobile and partnerships, and Tony Zubek, manager, credit, loyalty and mobile, both of Express, discuss how the fashion retailer has revamped its loyalty program though the use of customer data.

Loyalty programs used to be simple. But consumers today expect far more from companies to gain their loyalty over the long term.

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As just about every retail executive will attest, the past few years (ok, the past many years) have been, let’s say … trying.

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Julie Roy, vice president, CRM, digital and marketing analytics, DSW, discusses the relaunch of the footwear retailer's loyalty program.

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Scott Emmons, head of innovation lab, Neiman Marcus, details how the upscale department store chain is leveraging technology across sales channels to improve customers’ experiences.

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Kent Zimmerman, vice president of digital at Shoe Carnival, discusses how the family footwear retailer is using customer data to personalize marketing communications, helping to drive conversions and, ultimately, loyalty.

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Jonathan Wardman, vice president, customer platforms, and Danelle Williams, senior director, global loyalty platform, both of Hilton Worldwide, discuss how data and technology are being used to future-proof its continued success.

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Danielle Fewtrell, Director of CRM, and Rachel Waldstein, Senior Manager of CRM strategy, both of Wolverine Worldwide, detail how data (customer, product, competitor) is used to power the company's CRM system.

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The educational programs at IRCE and CRMC, both held in Chicago the first week of June, provided insights that went far beyond just the shows’ overarching topics of e-Commerce and CRM.

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Here are our top takeaways from CRMC 2018, one of the most important annual gatherings for retail CRM and loyalty marketers.

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Last week was the annual CRMC 2018 conference and I was lucky enough to attend and pulled together a list of a few of the bigger themes of the show.

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The retail marketing world keeps changing, and in order to change with it, marketers gather each year at the CRMC conference, and SPC returned for its eighth year as a Platinum-level sponsor.

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