Q&A with Tobias Gunzenhauser, CEO and Co-Founder at yamo
We sat down with Tobias Gunzenhauser, CEO and Co-Founder at yamo to find out more about how leading brands are creating loyal customers. Here’s what he had to say…
How can data be used to create loyalty?
As a direct-to-consumer company we collect a variety of data from our customers. The most important data we collect is on customer satisfaction with their experience with us and our products. This helps us tremendously in continuously iterating and adapting everything we do and how we do it towards what our customers want.
How do you see retail’s relationship with personalisation evolving in the coming decade as omnichannel takes over?
As different channels continue merging, customers will expect to find a certain grade of personalisation across the board. Of course, personalised just-in-time offerings have their limitations (especially from a manufacturing point of view,) but I expect we will see more tailor made offerings in traditional retail e.g. a drug store could take a blood sample from me and then immediately give me the vitamins that I am lacking.
How can having one pool of real-time data for each customer across all channels help retailers gain the competitive edge?
To actually make personalisation possible, retailers need accurate data. Having everything connected in real-time will ensure consistency across channels. So if you as a retailer want to differentiate yourself from your competitors by offering personalisation, then you need to start recruiting software developers and data engineers.
Why are predictive analytics so effective?
We are aiming to target the customers with the most potential for loyalty, so that we can retain these people and grow their lifetime value over time. To do this, we are creating marketing campaigns which are solely based on data. It is like Helmut Kohl once said: "Those who do not know the past cannot understand the present and shape the future."
Do you expect to see more collaboration between brands and consumers when it comes to drawing the boundaries for data privacy, and what do you think this will look like?
Data privacy is becoming more and more important to people. But I think that convenience is still weighted higher than privacy. I could imagine that with blockchain technology and government issued and regulated electronic identities, we will see very different methods for data collection, storage and application in the future. I expect to see a move away from ownership from profit oriented companies and towards state ownership.