The Douglas Beauty Card is available in 16 countries. Julian Grießl is Head of International CRM for the Douglas perfumery, Europe’s leading Omni-Channel Beauty Retailer, which adapts to the needs of a country with various features. For example, customers in Spain prefer to be contacted by mobile phone, while in Germany e-mail or direct mailing is preferred as a contact channel.
Julian Grießl has been working in Customer Experience Management and Data Driven Marketing for more than 11 years. He brought extensive experience in the design and implementation of various CRM & Loyalty programs, as well as in adapting them to the respective corporate strategy.
Since he joined Douglas in 2015, his focus has been on optimizing the customer experience based on data. This is done by individualizing communication in the various channels — including online, mobile and in the branch.
The aim of the programme is to help countries win more customers and develop them in the long term. “We activate customers and improve communication through personalization. We are also helping the countries to win more customers,” says Grießl.
In Germany, Douglas has completely reorganized its Douglas Card. Until a few years ago, the card was only available for a fee of 6 euros a year. The card also has a payment function. “This is a way that customers appreciate. In terms of the fee and the need to provide a lot of data when registering, there is a limit to how many customers want this card — and of course we want to reach as many of our customers as possible,” says the Head of CRM.
That’s why there’s been a free second card since 2016. It is very easy to sign up for it, the email address is enough. Thanks to this second card, the customer base of Douglas cardholders in Germany grew by 4 million cardholders in a short period of time.
Since the introduction of the DSGVO, it has become even more important to work responsibly with the data provided. “We collect customers’ consent to use their data, but we must also deliver communications tailored to them. We are working consistently on this,” says Grießl.
Ominchannel Thought Becoming More Important
Douglas uses a Unified Customer Profile for communication, which enables all CRM data such as master data, newsletters and web shop data to be brought together. This enables the Douglas team to communicate personalized offers or news in a wide variety of channels.
Previously, various channels worked independently with the data available to them. It could happen that a customer received several different offers on the same day. However, the customer does not see where these offers come from, or only perceives the brand as the sender. “This is not ideal for customers’ perception of the brand,” says Grießl.
With the introduction of Campaign, the communication channels have now been combined in one tool — which makes better personalization and stringent communication with customers possible.
Further personalization of content planned
“The Omnichannel idea is becoming increasingly important. Personalization is the be-all and end-all today. Once the customer has made himself known, he expects a personal and individualized approach to all interactions he has with Douglas in the various channels. Only if I include all available information about the customer in the personalization, I create a high relevance in the communication for the customer,” says Grießl.
As a result, Douglas is increasingly seeking to personalize content for its customers and communicate more than just products. “The subject of beauty is strongly driven by inspiration and innovation. This can also be seen from how successful influencers are with tutorials on Instagram. This is where we want to start in our communication and inform our customers about new products and trends, but also about beauty stories and tips & tricks”. stresses Grießl.
Douglas also wants to improve the experience in the store. “For example, if I know that a customer is interested in certain brands and I offer an event in his region, I can invite him to a specific branch — for example to a make-up service,” explains the CRM expert.
The existing possibilities of comparison with product prices have also changed the purchasing behaviour of customers. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to offer a very good service in the branch and to make the subject of beauty an experience — for example also via digital concepts in the branch.
With the “Beauty Mirror”, for example, customers can try out certain products or looks digitally. But we also offer targeted omnichannel services. If a product is not available in the store, you can place an online order directly from the store with our “Beauty Tab” and the product will be delivered as quickly as possible to the store or directly to the customer’s home”.
“If I only ever get through promotions, it’s short-lived, costs money and can be undercut by the competition. It is much better to bind the customer on an emotional level. That’s why we want our customers to spend time with us. It is an exciting industry, with an extremely high need for advice, in which the customer does not necessarily find his way on his own. This is exactly where we start and want to generate a unique customer experience,” summarizes Grießl.
Take part in our live 360 customer journey at DMEXCO. You can register for a tour here