Morrisons preps CRM system to match rivals
Morrisons is leaning on the data expertise of its Kiddicare business to develop a CRM programme to sharpen its marketing efforts as it looks to play catch-up with rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The first phase of the CRM programme will roll out across the 10 Kiddicare stores opening over the next six months. It will eventually give Morrisons and Kiddicare a single customer view across the businesses.
It is not clear whether this solution would be a data collection loyalty scheme similar to Nectar or Clubcard, or whether it will come via the development of Morrisons’ online business.
Morrisons is currently unable to collect transactional data in the same way its rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s do using their Clubcard and Nectar schemes that would enable it to develop more targeted activities using deep customer data driven insights and understanding of customer behaviour.
As part of this CRM push, the group is to launch a Mum’s Club across the Morrisons and Kiddicare brands that targets mothers and families with relevant cross promotional initiatives.
Speaking to Marketing Week ahead of the opening of the first store later this week, Scott Weavers Wright, founder and CEO of Kiddicare and also managing director of Morrisons.com, said: “There is a huge opportunity for [Morrisons and Kiddicare] through big data. If Kiddicare knows which customers are buying nappies at Morrisons, as there’s 11.5 million shoppers a week at Morrisons, it gives us a huge advantage.”
The supermarket group, which bought online baby wear retailer Kiddicare last year is using the online retailer’s platform to build it’s own online platform. Morrisons Wine Cellar , it’s first online venture launches next month with additional online services for additional categories due to launch early next year.
Kiddicare, which has operated as an online businesses for 15 years, has a database of one million customers.
Alison Lancaster, Kiddicare CMO and marketing director of Morrisons.com told Marketing Week: “We don’t have one Kiddicare database and one Morrisons database – we’ve got one central view using big data stuff with the web. It’s not just about having a single customer view, but having a single organisational view,” she says.
She added that one benefit of coming to data driven CRM late is that Morrisons doesn’t have to deal with a legacy system that needs updating, but can build it from scratch now.
