Stars of the Show: Our Customers will Take the Stage at CRMC

It’s one amazing conference after another for us at Vibes! Next up is CRMC in Chicago, June 5-7. We’re sponsoring this event which centers around marketing and CRM strategies for retailers. If you’re in retail, this is a must-attend event: with 750 attendees representing 200 leading retail brands and service providers, there will be tons of workshops, 1:1 meetups, lounge discussions, receptions, dinners, and more opportunities to network and learn! 

We’re Proud of Our Customers 

At Vibes, we’re delighted that we get to work with some of the biggest brands in the country and on the planet as we help them leverage mobile marketing. At CRMC, several of our customers will be speaking. 

Hope Tannenbaum, Senior Director of Loyalty & Research for Foot Locker, will discuss how retailers can step up their loyalty games with engagement. Such a favorite topic of ours!  

Then, Chico’s Elpida Ormanidou (she’s Senior Vice President Analytics and Insights) will talk about personalization and retailtainment! I love that term and can’t wait to hear what it means and how retailers can use it to connect with customers. 

And finally, our customer Sephora will have Allegra Stanley, Vice President Loyalty, presenting A Loyalty Makeover: Redesigning SEPHORA's Beauty Insider. It’s always insightful to hear from brands how they revamp a loyalty program. We’re huge fans of mobile loyalty programs because consumers expect them and they’re so much more beneficial in terms of analytics and data than card-based programs. 

We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done with each of these brands in helping them drive loyalty and engagement through mobile marketing, and we look forward to hearing them share their insights at CRMC. 

Themes to Watch For 

This year’s agenda is action-packed, and there are a few themes that are worth taking note of. 

Loyalty 

It’s interesting: loyalty plays a much bigger role in today’s retail space than it ever has. Now there are job titles with “Loyalty” included. At CRMC, it will be a repeated (and worthwhile) theme throughout: 

The fact that 43% of customers are willing to pay a fee for an enhanced tier of membership in a brand’s loyalty program means that it’s time to look beyond the free membership. Scott Robinson and Sean Claessen of Bond Brand Loyalty will dive into this subject in The Path to Paid Loyalty – The Time is Now. 

What do you do when you have multiple brands or products under one loyalty program? Aaron Glick, Vice President, Loyalty, for Williams Sonoma, will address the challenges and best practices for this in Cross-brand Loyalty and the Road to Personalization - Leveraging Customer Insights, Brand Strategies and The Key Rewards to Drive Overall Awareness, Engagement and Incremental Sales. 

The Future 

Naturally, we’re all wondering what comes next in retail. Things are changing at the speed of light, and it can be challenging to know where to focus. Fortunately, several sessions will provide the answers. 

There’s no question that technology is changing the face of retail. In The Wired Future: Nine Crucial Questions about How Technology is Changing Retail, Nicolas Thompson, Editor of WIRED, will talk about how AI, robots, blockchain, and more are impacting retail. 

Technology is one thing, but what do consumers want for the future? CX Futurist Blake Morgan will discuss the future of the customer experience in The Future Belongs To Retailers That Create Incredible Customer Experiences. 

In between these eye-opening sessions, there will be plenty of time to network with other retail professionals. And don’t miss a chance to walk through the sponsor tables! Stop by Vibes’ booth and say hello.