Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
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Converge data silos for cross-channel insight
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Gain deeper customer personalization for improved targeting
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Improve comarketing initiatives
Business challenges:
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Data silos would not scale
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Poor analytic performance
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Low analyst productivity
Impact
The amounts of data that we're seeing now are unprecedented even from five years ago. So capturing
the data is the very first step toward utilizing and analyzing it. Then you have to have systems which
will give you the speed of analysis. You have to democratize it around the organization so that you
train people and make it a very easy and open access system. So that the people who are business own-
ers can actually use that within their business plans and can get real customer insight very quickly.
—Marc Parrish, vice president of customer retention and loyalty at Barnes & Noble
Background
As the Internet's largest bookstore, Barnes & Noble sells 300 million books per year to more than 40
million customers. The company that runs 700 retail stores and a popular website commands more
than 30% of the electronic book market through its Nook reader, and manages one of the country's
largest and best-known loyalty programs.
But with several distinct online and offline distribution channels, Barnes & Noble did not enjoy
a deep level of insight into its customers, their preferences, and purchase behaviors across these
channels. The company generated massive amounts of data, but could not access it quickly enough
at the point of sale, where it could be used most effectively to give customers a superior purchase
experience.
To outperform competitors the company needed to use its data far more effectively. By fully
leveraging data-driven analytics, Barnes & Noble could develop a deeper, more nuanced understand-
ing of its customers, improve targeting, and create more effective comarketing initiatives to grow its
business.
Use case
A deeper understanding of customers: “Part of one family.” To differentiate the Barnes & Noble shop-
ping experience and take better advantage of its well-known loyalty program, company executives
needed to understand purchase intent and behavior at a much deeper level. Quick access to detailed
customer preferences for books, music, and other items would increase brand awareness, enhance
customer loyalty, and reduce churn.
By engaging with readers in a more personalized and individual way—at retail, online, and
through its Nook reader—the company could treat customers as if they were “part of one family.”
Unfortunately, Barnes & Noble's systems did not provide a single POS connection that could enable
that kind of integrated marketing approach.
