Studying data can become dizzying, yet it can also yield keen insights as to how a marketer can best leverage certain aspects of it to create better customer engagement.
At Restoration Hardware, CEO Gary Friedman discussed how the company reviews data internally to produce optimal effect.
“The economic environment, the competitive environment, consumer trends, preferences, so many things,” Friedman said during the company’s Dec. 10 third-quarter earnings conference call, according to Seeking Alpha. “We believe our success is based in our ability to improvise, adapt, and win. So when we looked at recent data and said, ‘what’s different, what are we seeing and what are we learning, and how are we improvising and how are we adapting, and how are we going to win,’ there’s a few things that are different, and there’s some new data that’s affecting our thinking. Some of the things that are created inside the company, that we have more control over shorter term and then longer term, some outside the company that we’re evaluating and figuring out how to adapt our plans accordingly.”
One thing that’s happening, Friedman noted, is tracking all competitors’ promotions.
“And we know what everybody’s doing, just like you do,” Friedman explained. “And we’ve noticed that there’s been an uptick in competitive emails year-over-year. And you have to look at the details to really get it sometimes, because if you’re just counting emails, you’re going to miss it. If you’re just looking at the generalities in the emails, you’re going to miss it. And many of the people in our industry today are sending multiple emails, and there are multiple messages, and there’s multiple promotions being stacked on promotions.”
What’s more, Friedman said when his company reviews data internally, it has concluded that this is the most promotional environment it’s ever seen.
“There are new players that are bringing a whole new dynamic to the marketplace,” he said. “I tell the team, ‘Look, I don’t care who it is, whoever is selling goods in our case, right, that’s coming in, whether it’s an online player, you can’t ignore someone like Wayfair today. They’re doing big volume, they’re not making money, but they have cash flow, and the last thing you want to do is let yourself get Amazoned by somebody. We’re not going to allow that to happen. We’re going to figure out how to play the game to win.”
Friedman added: “If you look at the promotions from everybody from Ethan Allen to Our House to the Pottery Barn to West Elm … at holiday time, if you’ve got stores in retail districts or retail malls, and there'’ thousands of people in those malls, and you’re not doing something to maximize share, then you’re a spectator. So we’ve noticed a more aggressive promotional stance from all of the people I have mentioned. The landscape is different. I think this is not a traditional time. I think this is a very unique and different time. I think it’s time where you’ve got to pay attention to all the details, and you’ve got to worry about everything. So because these are the times when you don’t, quite frankly, something could change in the economy, something changes in the competitive landscape, and you wind up on the short end of the results.”