(Direct Newsline)—In detective novels of old, dropping a dime on someone meant placing a tip-off call to the police. But when Bloomingdale’s drops a dime, the only booking being done is revenue, and the dialers are the chain’s sales associates.

Naturally, not every customer hears from the associates: Of the chain’s 20 million customers, the top 20% account for 73% of its business. Its best customers shop more than 30 times a year in its best stores.

When people shop that often, chances are they’ll get to know the store’s associates. And the Bloomingdale’s reps will likely know them as well. But if they need a little prompting, they rely on Klondike, a campaign management system designed by MBS, which feeds customer data straight to the call center—or the sales floor.

The Bloomingdale’s system features a consolidated marketing database of customers, including their transactions and promotion history, as well as some basic household information. Live links, which go directly to point-of-sale terminals, allow associates to provide access to individual customer snapshots, with the ability to drill down quickly.

The point-of-sale system, which is activated by swiping a credit card, enables salespeople to custom-build merchandise suggestions. Aggregate spending information atop each customer’s file allows the floor rep to make snap decisions about offering special services. If a consumer who buys thousands of dollars worth of merchandise every year wants to return an item that hasn’t been stocked in four years, a salesperson knows to accept it with a smile.

The POS system can also send customized messages to the floor, which are then delivered to the customer. For instance, when the store hosts one of its “Girls Night Out” specials, a sales rep can be alerted that a given customer is particularly desired at the event, and can be fed information about it. The information is also printed on the customer’s receipt.

The customer data also influences which reps make outbound calls. Store promotions tend to fall into one of three categories: storewide, targeted and cosmetic. For a storewide special, such as free gift wrapping when purchases reach a certain amount, the associate with the greatest amount of interaction with the customer usually makes the call.

If a promotion is contained within a single department—men’s clothing, for instance—the rep within that area who has dealt with the customer is likely to place the call. And for cosmetics promotions, a category that often engenders a personal relationship with a single salesperson, that individual is given exclusive access to the customer.

Klondike can also assist in cross-sell activities. Using merchandise codes, an associate can determine if Bloomingdale’s has room to increase its share of the customer’s wallet. For instance, a heavy apparel buyer may not necessarily be spending comparable amounts on accessories.

“If you are spending $6,000 on clothes, you are wearing shoes and cosmetics,” said Anne McAndrew, Bloomingdale’s director of clienting.

The system also provides monthly transaction records on Bloomingdale’s 15,000 most valuable customers. Rather than wait for one of them to drop off, a manager who notices a purchase activity slowdown can call the customer and find out if there has been a bad experience with the store.

Not that Bloomingdale’s is abandoning wider-net marketing: The system also provides the backbone for the retailer’s more than 400 highly segmented mailing campaigns.

While Bloomingdale’s is open to most customer suggestions, it does draw the line somewhere. According to McAndrew, the system will occasionally record requests from customers who want bathrooms moved from, for example, the first to second floor.

“The stores are built,” she said firmly, during a session at the National Center for Database Marketing conference in Orlando, FL. “It’s not going to happen.”

(Direct Newsline)—In detective novels of old, dropping a dime on someone meant placing a tip-off call to the police. But when Bloomingdale’s drops a dime, the only booking being done is revenue, and the dialers are the chain’s sales associates.

Naturally, not every customer hears from the associates: Of the chain’s 20 million customers, the top 20% account for 73% of its business. Its best customers shop more than 30 times a year in its best stores.

When people shop that often, chances are they’ll get to know the store’s associates. And the Bloomingdale’s reps will likely know them as well. But if they need a little prompting, they rely on Klondike, a campaign management system designed by MBS, which feeds customer data straight to the call center—or the sales floor.

The Bloomingdale’s system features a consolidated marketing database of customers, including their transactions and promotion history, as well as some basic household information. Live links, which go directly to point-of-sale terminals, allow associates to provide access to individual customer snapshots, with the ability to drill down quickly.

The point-of-sale system, which is activated by swiping a credit card, enables salespeople to custom-build merchandise suggestions. Aggregate spending information atop each customer’s file allows the floor rep to make snap decisions about offering special services. If a consumer who buys thousands of dollars worth of merchandise every year wants to return an item that hasn’t been stocked in four years, a salesperson knows to accept it with a smile.

The POS system can also send customized messages to the floor, which are then delivered to the customer. For instance, when the store hosts one of its “Girls Night Out” specials, a sales rep can be alerted that a given customer is particularly desired at the event, and can be fed information about it. The information is also printed on the customer’s receipt.

The customer data also influences which reps make outbound calls. Store promotions tend to fall into one of three categories: storewide, targeted and cosmetic. For a storewide special, such as free gift wrapping when purchases reach a certain amount, the associate with the greatest amount of interaction with the customer usually makes the call.

If a promotion is contained within a single department—men’s clothing, for instance—the rep within that area who has dealt with the customer is likely to place the call. And for cosmetics promotions, a category that often engenders a personal relationship with a single salesperson, that individual is given exclusive access to the customer.

Klondike can also assist in cross-sell activities. Using merchandise codes, an associate can determine if Bloomingdale’s has room to increase its share of the customer’s wallet. For instance, a heavy apparel buyer may not necessarily be spending comparable amounts on accessories.

“If you are spending $6,000 on clothes, you are wearing shoes and cosmetics,” said Anne McAndrew, Bloomingdale’s director of clienting.

The system also provides monthly transaction records on Bloomingdale’s 15,000 most valuable customers. Rather than wait for one of them to drop off, a manager who notices a purchase activity slowdown can call the customer and find out if there has been a bad experience with the store.

Not that Bloomingdale’s is abandoning wider-net marketing: The system also provides the backbone for the retailer’s more than 400 highly segmented mailing campaigns.

While Bloomingdale’s is open to most customer suggestions, it does draw the line somewhere. According to McAndrew, the system will occasionally record requests from customers who want bathrooms moved from, for example, the first to second floor.

“The stores are built,” she said firmly, during a session at the National Center for Database Marketing conference in Orlando, FL. “It’s not going to happen.”

In detective novels of old, dropping a dime on someone meant placing a tip-off call to the police. But when Bloomingdale’s drops a dime, the only booking being done is revenue, and the dialers are the chain’s sales associates.

Naturally, not every customer hears from the associates: Of the chain’s 20 million customers, the top 20% account for 73% of its business. Its best customers shop more than 30 times a year in its best stores.

When people shop that often, chances are they’ll get to know the store’s associates. And the Bloomingdale’s reps will likely know them as well. But if they need a little prompting, they rely on Klondike, a campaign management system designed by MBS, which feeds customer data straight to the call center — or the sales floor.

The Bloomingdale’s system features a consolidated marketing database of customers, including their transactions and promotion history, as well as some basic household information. Live links, which go directly to point-of-sale terminals, allow associates to provide access to individual customer snapshots, with the ability to drill down quickly.

The point of sale system, which is activated by swiping a credit card, enables salespeople to custom-build merchandise suggestions. Aggregate spending information atop each customer’s file allows the floor rep to make snap decisions about offering special services. If a consumer who buys thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise every year wants to return an item that hasn’t been stocked in four years, a salesperson knows to accept it with a smile.

The POS system can also send customized messages to the floor, which are then delivered to the customer. For instance, when the store hosts one of its “Girls Night Out” specials, a sales rep can be alerted that a given customer is particularly desired at the event, and can be fed information about it. The information is also printed on the customer’s receipt.

The customer data also influences which reps make outbound calls. Store promotions tend to fall into one of three categories: storewide, targeted and cosmetic. For a storewide special, such as free gift wrapping when purchases reach a certain amount, the associate with the greatest amount of interaction with the customer usually makes the call.

If a promotion is contained within a single department — men’s clothing, for instance — the rep within that area who has dealt with the customer is likely to dial. And for cosmetics promotions, a category that often engenders a personal relationship with a single salesperson, that individual is given exclusive access to the customer.

Klondike can also assist in cross-sell activities. Using merchandise codes, an associate can determine if Bloomingdale’s has room to increase its share of the customer’s wallet. For instance, a heavy apparel buyer may not necessarily be spending comparable amounts on accessories.

“If you are spending $6,000 on clothes, you are wearing shoes and cosmetics,” said Anne McAndrew, Bloomingdale’s director of clienting.

The system also provides monthly transaction records on Bloomingdale’s 15,000 most valuable customers. Rather than wait for one of them to drop off, a manager who notices a purchase activity slowdown can call the customer and find out if there has been a bad experience with the store.

Not that Bloomingdale’s is abandoning wider-net marketing: The system also provides the backbone for the retailer’s more than 400 highly segmented mailing campaigns.

While Bloomingdale’s is open to most customer suggestions, it does draw the line somewhere. According to McAndrew, the system will occasionally record requests from customers who want bathrooms moved from, for example, the first to second floor.

“The stores are built,” she said firmly, during Deliver Data to the Sales Floor, benefits to your Customers, and Dollars to Your Bottom Line, a session at the National Center for Database Marketing conference in Orlando, FL. “It’s not going to happen.”