Seeking out customer sentiment 

Data is everywhere in retail, and the metrics are many: Conversion rate, abandonment rate, return rate and so on. But which ones matter the most? 

We put that question to Constantine Gavrykov, an experienced design leader who has worked with top clothing brands Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, and now adidas. His view is that metrics and data are one thing, but having a conversation with customers is potentially more rewarding. "It is important to talk to the customer, to ask questions directly, or even indirectly."

Understanding, seeking to build a deep relationship, and even prioritising this approach over converting a sale, can be difficult for a lot of brands. Especially as sentiment is a harder thing to quantify than a metric that calculates how long it takes on average for a customer to complete an online order. 

Here are Constantine’s key considerations when seeking out customer sentiment: 

Figure out the customer touchpoints that matter 

Owning the conversation at every customer touchpoint might be too ambitious. Instead brands need to think about which touchpoints matter the most to their customers and show up strongly in those places. 

Find out where your customers are hanging out 

Differentiate signal from noise. You might be spending your marketing budget at the channels that are just popular at the moment, but not specifically the channels that give you the possibility to have a dialogue with your customer. 

Tailor communications to technology 

Different technology promotes different ways of conversing. A Natural User Interface (NUI), which is effectively invisible (examples are voice assistants like Alexa or Siri), prompts a different way for customers to interact than messaging a chatbot on a website. 

Only very few brands get to own entire ecosystems, such as Google, Apple, and Amazon. Most brands must be selective in what parts of the customer journey they focus strongly on, which communities they want to be present in, and what technologies enable them to have a meaningful and ongoing conversation with their customers.