In today’s retail and shopping centre landscape, it is becoming increasingly difficult to compete for consumers’ attention. Steven Burnstone agrees, and also added that standing out and being attractive to consumers is not impossible-all it takes is an understanding of your customers.
Burnstone, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Analytics for Eighty20 Consulting, said that understanding one’s customer base is key. “The way businesses communicate to customers is one of the many areas that need to be focused upon. Businesses need to shift away from traditional, product-focused advertising models and focus on delivering advertising and promotional messages that are customer-focused and tailored to specific individuals, he said.
Burnstone will be sharing his invaluable insights at the eighth annual South African Council of Shopping Centres’ (SACSC) Research Conference on 9 May 2018, taking place at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton. He will share the stage with renowned speakers who represent respected companies both locally and internationally. South African customers are members of multiple programmes, receiving countless marketing messages across all channels. How can retailers set themselves apart and be heard in this competitive environment? Big data and artificial intelligence is enabling retailers to speak more accurately to customers and better understand what marketing strategies work best to drive feet in stores and grow customer satisfaction. Steve will explore these opportunities by looking at real South African examples.
In his presentation at the conference, Steven will be looking at a case study to explain how to assess the customer behaviour change achieved by promotional campaigns and loyalty programme. “In highlighting the data required, methods used and the common problems encountered, we will uncover some of the nuances of customer behaviour change and what to look out for. We then look at some of the insights gained from these analyses and how they can be used to systematically optimise these campaigns and programmes. Finally, we will make some recommendations, based on our experience, to improve the efficiency of marketing to customers, through personalised targeting of messaging and communication channel,” he said.
This year, attendees can look forward to presentations by:
- Kundayi Manzara, Director of Sesfikile Capital
- Justice Malala, Political Commentator
- Lebo Motshegoa, Managing Director of Foshizi
- Dr. Martyn Davies, Managing Director, Emerging Markets and Africa for Deloitte
- Moses Mushirivindi
- John Ryan, Retail Analyst and Journalist for Retail Week
- Margaret Constantaras, Independent Consultant for Research IQ
- Nikolay Dolgov, General Mananger, Point of Sales tracking for GFK SA
- Nicolet Pienaar, Business Group Manager for GFK SA
- Steven Burnstone, CEO Eighty20 Consulting
- Ray de Villiers, Futurist for TodayTomorrow Global
- Lebogang Mokubela, CEO of the Lemok Group
- Catherine Stevenson, Senior Consultant, Cushman & Wakefield
Chief Executive Officer for the SACSC, Amanda Stops, said the SACSC Research Conference had become the industry event that gives attendees an invaluable insight into the year’s perspective on retail and shopping centres. “The SACSC Research Conference has grown into an event that ‘sets the tone’ for the year with regards to the South African retail and shopping centre industry. The event focuses on pertinent topics presented by renowned speakers. We look forward to seeing you there,” she said.