Guest speaker: Kristin Maa
Kristin Maa is Senior Vice President, Growth at Saks, where she is responsible for growth and retention marketing and online category growth. Prior to being appointed to this role in March 2021, Kristin held various leadership roles across marketing and business strategy at Saks Fifth Avenue and HBC. Kristin holds a master's in business administration from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel.
Episode summary
This episode features an interview with Kristin Maa, Senior Vice President of Growth at Saks. At Saks, Kristin leads growth and retention marketing and online category growth. She has held various leadership roles at Saks Fifth Avenue and HBC in marketing and business strategy.
In this episode, Kailey and Kristin discuss customer DNA, uniting online data and in-store experience, and creating VIP customers through predictive analytics.
Key takeaways
Customers expect their digital profiles to be reflected in their in-store experience. It’s critical for associates to structure in-person conversations around online data to provide a personalized omnichannel experience.
Through the use of predictive analytics, it’s possible to identify potential high LTV customers based on their behavioral data. This practice gives customers the VIP treatment and leads to higher engagement and retention.
Customer DNA helps pinpoint which brands, categories, and engagement channels customers prefer. This enables marketers to identify and suggest similar products and channels a shopper might be interested in, effectively moving them along their engagement journey.
Speaker quotes
“If we are giving early access to our VIP customers, we're also taking a group of people that haven’t ‘earned’ that status already, but they're indicating that they probably will, and going ahead and giving it to them because we want to make sure that we're retaining them. It gives us a better chance to engage them and wrap our arms around them early and make sure that they fulfill their destiny as that high LTV, VIP customer that we think that they're going to be.”
– Kristin Maa
Episode timestamps
*(02:08) - Kristin’s background
*(04:23) - Industry trends in customer engagement in luxury retail
*(11:11) - How Saks is building personalized digital experiences
*(18:24) - How Kristin defines “good data”
*(22:10) - How Saks is using good data to build customer engagement
*(28:02) - An example of another company doing it right with customer engagement (hint: it’s Delta)
*(31:34) - Changes in customer engagement in the next 6 to 12 months
*(35:14) - Kristin’s recommendations for upleveling customer engagement
