In today’s retail world, businesses juggle data from various sources like CRM, ERP, POS, and business intelligence tools. This scattered data creates a complex challenge, especially for large retailers.
Data integration offers a solution by combining data from these diverse sources into a unified format. This process is crucial for making informed business decisions. In e-commerce, it allows for better control over operations, enhancing everything from conversion rates to order management.
Want to know more about the advantages of data integration in retail and how to do it effectively? Read on for insights and best practices in harnessing data for retail success.
How Is the Integration Performed?
There are a few common ways to integrate data. One traditional method is called physical and logical integration. Here, data is moved from its original place to a separate area where it’s cleaned, arranged, and changed. After that, it’s moved again to a final system, like a data warehouse.
For an in-depth understanding of how these methodologies can be optimized in a CRM context, you can dive into the Salesforce CRM analytics guide or similar relevant resources.
Another method is data virtualization. This doesn’t move data physically. Instead, it uses technology to create a virtual version of the data storage. This way, you can access and use your data without actually moving it.
Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) is another popular method. In this process, data is taken from various sources, changed into a new format, and then put into one central storage place.
How to Leverage Data Integration for Retail Business?
Similar to organizations in other sectors, the retail industry can gain significantly from data integration since it provides better analytics and business intelligence. An integrated and comprehensive view of a retail company’s consumers, sales, and operations can be advantageous for every department.
However, it is especially beneficial for divisions like marketing, sales, and customer support, where creating successful strategies and campaigns requires having a clear understanding of the client and their journey.
#1: Track Business Performance
You won’t be able to determine whether the business decisions are effective without the appropriate measurements and KPIs to assess the operation of the store. You may uncover hidden trends and insights, optimize for business growth, and adjust the strategy by tracking these indicators over time.
In addition, stores need to operate across various marketing channels, like social media, email marketing, and search engines. You can determine the effectiveness of a marketing effort by gathering information about it through data integration.
#2: Ensure Personalization
In cross-channel retailing, the ability of each channel to extract, integrate, and analyze data ultimately determines the ability to comprehend and adapt to customers’ demands.
For instance, you can monitor online shoppers’ activities and internet journeys while also conducting data analysis. As a result, you can offer them the appropriate, pertinent things.
Although it requires time and effort, in multi-channel retailing, it’s critical to collect data from each channel, combine the data, and conduct a thorough analysis before predicting to increase the likelihood of company success.
Retail businesses may divide their clientele into several demographic segments depending on factors like age, region, gender, etc. The following improvements may be made with the use of this information:
- Web sites modification according to past search and purchase behavior;
- Providing the most pertinent information to new users who act like existing clients;
- Introducing new goods aimed at a certain consumer group;
- Creating and distributing emails with personalized offers.
#3: Build Smarter Inventory Management
Real-time, integrated data on every sale and inventory movement across all retailer channels is a big help for better inventory management. With this data, you can prepare for stock breaks and over-stocks and make other forecasts.
For instance, it’s possible to monitor seasonal changes in product data and then modify the inventory management procedures to ensure that you always have enough items on hand.
#4: Reduce Costs
The ability to cut operating costs is another benefit data integration provides to retail businesses. Every aspect of operational strategy, from marketing to customer experiences, may be improved thanks to data integration. As a result of these changes, budgeting is significantly altered, and the overall operational strategy is optimized.
#5: Perform Better Marketing
Speaking of an omnichannel experience, marketing initiatives should use the same strategy. You’ll gain deeper insight into the requirements, desires, and expectations of the target market by integrating customer, operational, and other types of data. As a result, you’ll better understand the types of campaigns and content that will grab consumers’ and buyers’ attention.
Data Integration Best Practices
Although the prospects are bright, leveraging data integration in retail may not be easy. You can face multiple issues. Luckily, we have several solutions to make the process significantly easier.
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Clean Your Data
Best practices for customer data integration suggest routinely updating and cleaning your data. A project can be oversimplified on a high level by thinking everything will magically work out great. Unfortunately, data is frequently improperly arranged, which causes certain records to duplicate several times.
For your project to stay on schedule and within budget, it is crucial to address these concerns before the integration process begins. The worst moment to manage them is when the integration is being implemented, which will lead to scope creep and drive up project costs.
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Gather Data in One Place
Best practices for data integration state that your data should be in a single location rather than spread across numerous programs, lists, or applications. CRM is perfectly suitable for it.
The same data should be available to all departments; for example, the sales department requires accurate data to contact customers, IT needs the information to assist customers, and finance needs the information to bill customers. Efficiency increases when all parties access the same accurate data in a single area.
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Somebody Should be in Response
The organization should assign one individual or a department to take responsibility for making sure the data is kept clean. What information your company intends to gather and where it will be stored in the CRM platform should be outlined in a set of ground rules.
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Ensure Testing
The entire implementation strategy must include testing. Otherwise, it cannot be carried out successfully. Make sure to profile data more than once. An ignorant user evaluating data and doing simple checks has little value.
You need someone who would look for the less obvious but extremely important details, like the ones that only someone from a particular department would look for.
Final Word
Lack of data and its inconsistency cost a lot for many businesses, and the retail sphere is no exception. For instance, according to Salesforce, 21% of a sales rep’s day is spent researching. However, this time could be dedicated to establishing new partnerships rather than looking for the answers. And data integration is a big help here.
Easily accessible, structured, high-quality data on hand can significantly boost any retail business, improving multiple aspects of its operation, from marketing to shipping. The process of data integration is indeed complicated. But, hopefully, our article will assist you with this.