Performance Bicycle, a bicycle retailer with more than 100 locations in the U.S., is using Watson customer engagement solutions on the IBM Cloud to create personalized customer experiences on both online and offline stores and drive sales.
IBM said the US-based retailer will be using cognitive capabilities available in the Watson Customer Engagement solutions to understand and learn how individual pieces of content from their library of resources can impact the customer’s purchasing decision.
“Companies with omni-channel customer engagement strategies retain on average 89 percent of their customers,” said Harriet Green, general manager, IBM Watson Customer Engagement.
Performance Bicycle will incorporate cognitive capabilities, including Watson Content Hub.
Watson discovered that customers who bought mountain bikes were watching specific videos that the team had not tapped into previously, including one featuring desert riding. By seeing these connections, the retailer will be able to proactively present this content to others in the future to help drive sales.
Performance Bicycle is leveraging additional IBM Watson Customer Engagement capabilities on IBM Cloud to bring together information from its e-commerce sites (products they are researching, preferred price range, etc.…), email marketing campaigns (which ones are driving action), contact center and more.
Marketing teams can deliver personalized experiences to customers across multiple channels, and with IBM Watson Customer Experience Analytics, assess their responses and refine them as needed to drive the desired outcome.
Performance Bicycle can study how customers combine their in-store and on-screen browsing, identify patterns and create customized journeys that can lead to an increase in store visits and purchases while strengthening brand loyalty.
“We are excited to expand on our relationship with IBM which is allowing us to better understand what inspires our customers to purchase now while at the same time paving the way for our cognitive journey which will allow us to continue meeting their needs through the power of Watson,” said Mike Starkey, senior vice president of Information Systems at Performance Bicycle.
Watson Customer Engagement solutions enables Performance Bicycle’s marketing team to see large numbers of novice customers viewing bike review videos on their Learning Center website. They can adapt the content into a targeted email campaign, providing links to additional information and local beginner riding clubs, setting up an in-store appointment to look at and try out bicycles and delivering offers off their first purchase.
IBM Cloud is also helping expand the retailer’s presence globally. In 2016, Performance Bicycle was acquired by Advanced Sports Enterprises, which designs, markets and sells bicycle brands in 80 markets. Through the IBM Cloud, they are in the process of integrating the two business systems that will allow them to combine the B2C expertise of Performance Bicycle with Advanced Sports Enterprises’ global trading partner network to reach new customers.
