Multichannel communication tools: The best strategy for store teams to unlock retail growth

Retail leaders know that clienteling is the most powerful strategy for getting customers to buy more (by our counts up to 83% more than non-clienteled customers).

The challenge is that traditional clienteling takes a lot of time and effort because of its high-touch nature. This is why it’s usually reserved for a small, top group of your best customers. For everyone else, retailers use mass corporate marketing. While this is necessary, those messages often result in low conversion rates, typically 2-5%, because they are rarely personal or offer a clear way for a customer to connect with a real person for help.

To solve this business problem, successful retailers are using a new type of tool: store-based multichannel communication platforms that centralize communications across the customer’s preferred channels—text, email, social media, and others—all from a single, unified mobile platform. These platforms are designed specifically for store teams and product experts. They enable targeted, personal conversations that work much better than generic outreach. 

This strategic shift can dramatically raise conversion rates from personal outreach; top-performing retailers using specialized platforms like Tulip Outreach Plus and Tulip Clienteling achieve conversion rates as high as 37%. This approach is key to growing your loyal customer segment and making your retail business more profitable.

Why are specialized retail communication platforms necessary today?

The main goal of any successful retailer is to get more highly engaged, loyal customers. The problem is that for many brands, no more than 10% of their customer base is considered loyal.

This is where specialized platforms, such as Tulip Outreach Plus, come in. This solution is specifically designed to work with your current clienteling strategy. It gives store teams the tools they need to manage and scale personal communications—meaning you can effectively expand your clienteling reach.

What this means for your team

The primary benefit of using a dedicated system like Tulip Outreach Plus is the ability to create deeper, measurable, and more profitable customer relationships.

• For retail operations leaders: You establish a structured, reliable system to measure and grow customer loyalty, shifting focus from one-off transactions to repeat purchases and long-term value. This creates a more controlled and profitable overall shopping experience.
  • Outcome: Increase the segment of loyal, repeat shoppers beyond the typical 10% ceiling by providing the right tools to store teams.
• For store managers and store associates: You gain ownership over cultivating valuable customer relationships, leading to more motivated teams and direct credit for stimulating sales. You can reach out with the right message at the perfect moment.
  • Outcome: Drive significantly higher conversion rates from your personal customer outreach efforts, and take full credit for the ensuing growth in sales.

Why truly personal outreach delivers better retail results

The difference between successful outreach and ignored emails comes down to timing, personalization, and context. You can’t grow your loyal customer base using generic messages.

Specialized platforms help bridge this gap by empowering store teams with rich customer data to enable truly personal conversations:

• Leveraging deep customer profiles: The platform utilizes essential data points like a customer’s purchase history, known preferences, and existing relationships with specific store associates or stores. This ensures every message sent is highly contextualized and compelling.
• Targeted and timely messaging: Store teams are positioned to reach out when a customer is most receptive—for instance, when a viewed item is back in stock, or when a recent purchase suggests a relevant accessory. This is far more effective than relying on a generic, broad-reach marketing schedule.
• Facilitating two-way connection: This solution enables an actual, easy conversation. Customers can immediately connect with a real product expert for assistance, which is a major factor in driving higher conversion rates compared to one-way marketing blasts.

Key features that drive outreach success

For retailers searching for the best tools for retail clienteling or researching how to increase customer conversion in retail, look for solutions that include these tailored features:

• Multichannel delivery: Tools should centralize communications across the customer’s preferred channels—text, email, social media, and others—all from a single, unified mobile platform.
• Scalable personalization: The solution must empower associates to manage hundreds of personal conversations efficiently without sacrificing the quality or relevance of the message.
• Analytics and tracking: Critical to operations, the platform must measure which personal communications generate the highest response and sales, allowing leaders to assess and measure the direct business impact of individual team efforts.

By adopting this specialized, operational approach, retailers can move beyond low-performing general blasts and implement a strategy that directly nurtures and expands the high-value segment of loyal, repeat shoppers.

Bringing it all together

Relying solely on broad, corporate campaigns limits your potential for true retail growth. 

The most effective way to transform your customer base and achieve a significant sales lift is by empowering your product experts and store teams to build genuine, personalized relationships at scale. This strategic shift requires moving beyond outdated corporate marketing systems and adopting modern store-based multichannel platforms that integrate deep customer knowledge with associate expertise. 

By implementing a focused, enterprise solution like Tulip Outreach Plus, your retail operations, store teams, and eCommerce teams can gain the necessary control and intelligence to convert more customers, ensure lasting loyalty, and achieve predictable, profitable retail growth. The power to create these loyalty-driving relationships is already within your stores; it just needs the right technology to unlock it.

Learn more

Ready to see how a specialized platform can help your retail teams deliver more targeted and timely personal communications that convert better than corporate campaigns?

Book a personalized, 1:1 demo of Outreach Plus with our team of retail experts today.