Case Study Magazine zum Globus
Dr. Björn Goerke
Co-CEO & Co-Founder
David Spray
Head of CRM
In a conversation with Dr. Björn Goerke, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of CrossEngage, David Spray, Head of CRM, explains how Swiss multi-channel retailer “Magazine zum Globus” used the CrossEngage Customer Prediction Platform (CPP) to drive their customer-centric marketing and achieve a huge increase in productivity.
Hi David! Can you tell us very briefly how the collaboration with CrossEngage came about and what were the reasons why you started to work with us?
That was simply good timing. Philippe Take from CrossEngage was right on target with his offer at the right time. At Globus, we were considering either hiring data scientists to take care of customer-centricity and marketing efficiency or finding a software solution for this purpose.
Classic data mining tools were available at Globus, but not the necessary number of people to realize our requirements. Therefore we invited you from CrossEngage to present us your product and vision and you convinced in your presentation on site. The main point was the speed with which the CPP should build predictive models.
Sounds good! We were really happy that you started to use CrossEngage for your Marketing. What was the goal? What expectations did Globus have?
We had already come a long way with our personalization strategy. Now the last piece of the puzzle was missing. The customer-centric marketing we were aiming for was about a profound transformation of the entire company. We wanted to approach the individual customer more and thus implement fundamental changes in the existing strategy as a whole.
One specific goal was to build up data-driven CRM as a key competence in our marketing. This involved creating predictive scores in the CPP every week, reviewing the goals, and getting good results. The change was realized in the handling of predictions and customer affinities and slowly also in the marketing strategy.
So the key question was which path we will take to increase our analysis capacities and therefore reach our main goal towards customer-centricity.
I like how you first define your main goals and then, in step two, are searching for the right way to achieve that. What specific tasks should the CPP take on?
The focus was clearly on optimizing marketing costs and budgets. We wanted to define more precisely the contact rules that decide at the touchpoint in which direction the customer journey continues. Customer centricity is about understanding each person individually. If this works and the actions are coherent, we increase the likelihood that a customer will buy. For the decision at the touchpoint, we expected the CPP to calculate for us which action is best for each customer.
You built up a very profound process of customer understanding and personalization. What were the biggest challenges that you were confronted with?
A big challenge was the training of our specialists. With the CPP, we were able to create predictive scores quite quickly, but in the beginning, we didn’t know how to evaluate them. What I mean is the correct interpretation of the predictive scores, for example checking what they explain. What forecasts can be derived from them? How can I use the scores profitably? As already mentioned, we had few data scientists, so we first had to introduce our team to the subject so that they could start to work with it.
After the introduction and training of your team – Which solutions were found?
We worked very closely with the experts at CrossEngage. There were weekly meetings where we presented our theses and discussed them with CrossEngage. They supported us well and filled the gaps in the system – between the individual challenges and the corresponding data science solution.
“We achieved customer centricity in a short period and made a huge leap in productivity.”
– David Spray, Head of CRM, Magazine zum Globus
Over what period did the implementation of the Customer Prediction Platform take place and what has been achieved since then?
We have been working with CrossEngage since September 2018 and have already developed no less than 200 predictive models to use in 2019. This represents a huge productivity gain in data science, in part because we haven’t had to hire any additional staff.
We were able to completely transform our email marketing and found content that makes sense and allows us to target our customers individually. We also optimized mailing lists for print magazines, of which we send out over 1.2 million per year. In the meantime, we have achieved a high level of personalization in our content and soon also in offers across different media and channels. As a result, we are optimizing marketing costs significantly and continuously.
I’m pretty sure that was a ton of hard work. What has Globus benefited from the most?
We are not yet at the end but still in the process of evaluating and looking at where the journey will take us in the future. What we can say is: We have achieved customer-centricity within a short period and have made a huge leap in productivity. That’s how it can continue. And definitely with CrossEngage.
The Company – Magazine zum Globus AG
The premium brand Globus stands above various retail stores and an online shop. In both, the company offers women’s and men’s fashion as well as accessories, articles for kitchen, lifestyle and beauty products, delicacy/gourmet food, and wine. The mission statement and claim at Globus include uncompromising premium quality, excellent customer service, and a sensual shopping experience. The company is based in Zurich and has been led by CEO Thomas Herbert since 2015. Globus has around 3,000 employees and generated sales of more than 730 million Euros in 2018.
