Regional Department Store
125-year-old Gets a Makeover

“We’ve changed,” cried this regional department store. “This is not your grandmother’s store.” The thing of it was … no one seemed to be listening.

	Relationship Marketing Program Feasibility, Analysis and Design Consulting Services Program Launch and Implementation Database Analysis and Target Audience Profiling Contact Strategies Program Management Creative Services Production Management Communication Tools

Indeed, they had changed. They’d given their store, their merchandise and their marketing a facelift. But sales stayed flat, revenue unchanged. We stepped in and discovered that the department store did have a loyal, older audience, but the 125-year-old retailer was doing little to foster that relationship — and even less to recruit new, younger customers.

So we set out to create a CRM program that would segment all customer groups to pinpoint best customers. As part of the program, we formally acknowledged those best customers with a simple thank-you note, hinting at more great things to come. Each quarter we mailed a best-customer communication filled with targeted offers, benefits and lifestyle information. And most important, we invited feedback from best customers — we wanted to know if they were finally listening.

New Image, New Customers, New Profits

$5 million increase in spending in the first 45 days of program inception. Store visits and purchase frequency increased 20 percent. Average total sales per purchase rose more than 15 percent. Feedback from customers reinforces the program’s value and leads to ongoing program refinement. Oh, that thank-you note — it generated a 20 percent lift in sales (no offer included; just “thanks”).