‘Retailers need to keep looking for fresh, innovative ways to provide value to the customer’: Wunderkind’s Richard Jones

Richard Jones is the CRO of performance marketing engine Wunderkind. I recently spoke with Richard about his experiences as a two-time CEO, how brands can provide genuine value to the customer in exchange for their data, and the digital marketing trends that retailers need to keep an eye on in the near future.

I bet you get this answer a lot, but there really isn't a 'typical' day for me! There are some things I tend to do pretty regularly - talk with the Wunderkind senior leadership team, get updates from finance and sales, assess global marketing performance, set down the foundations for expansion and growth - but every day brings new challenges and opportunities. Retail's a dynamic and fluid industry, and you really can't stay on top of it unless you're willing to embrace new approaches, try to do things differently, and accept that what seemed like the best solution yesterday won't necessarily be the optimal one tomorrow.

Lately, I've also spent a lot of time talking on podcasts and speaking to retail and tech publications. I want to get the Wunderkind message out there and give my view on how the retail sector is changing (mostly for the better). I don't do this every day, so it's not technically 'typical', but it's an increasingly important part of my role, and it's something I love doing.

I've learned countless lessons during my career. It's actually one of my favourite things; I love finding a new way of approaching a problem or hearing a unique point of view on a topic. I wouldn't go as far as to say I like being wrong - who would? - but I never want to sit still. I want to keep evolving my thought processes and embracing new, better ways of working.

A few of the core lessons would be:

The first step - and it's a crucial one - is gathering first-party data. That requires brands to offer up a value exchange that consumers can get onboard with, and it means having a firm idea of exactly how to use that data to the greatest effect. After that, there are tons of things brands can do, from better understanding consumer behaviour to recognising their buying habits, keeping on top of how and when they like to be communicated with to making them feel (constantly) valued. Put yourself in the mind of the consumer and appreciate what they do and don't want.

Brands can go wrong in all sorts of ways when it comes to personalisation, but I guess the biggest one is taking consumers for granted and getting a bit lazy. Convincing someone to hand over their data shouldn't be seen as the end goal - it should be viewed as the very beginning of the personalisation process. Retailers have to keep refining their approach and they need to keep looking for fresh, innovative ways to provide value to the customer.

 There are a couple of brands that really stand out. One is Patagonia, a genuine pioneer in the world of sustainable, innovative outdoor clothing. It's a brand that's big on recycling - around 70 percent of all Patagonia materials are now derived from recycled materials - and it's dedicated to educating people on the importance of tackling environmental issues. Its famous 'Don't buy this jacket' campaign, which encouraged shoppers to consider the impacts of mass consumerism and to only buy products that last, sticks out as a really powerful and vital piece of marketing.

The other is G-Star RAW. Not only do I love the way the clothes fit, but the brand worked really hard to develop a direct, mutually beneficial relationship with me from my very first visit to its site, and has continued to enhance that one-on-one experience ever since. G-Star knows how to deliver powerful, personalised messaging based on my browsing and shopping behaviours, and uses that knowledge to give me an enhanced and entirely beneficial experience. It's why my wardrobe has a dedicated G-Star section! When I first encountered G-Star I didn't know its personalisation and identification capabilities were powered by Wunderkind, but now I do, and so I can attest to the fact that it really works.

A big trend to keep an eye on is, of course, the imminent death of third-party cookies. I really can't overstate how much this will impact retailers that either aren't fully prepared, or simply haven't taken it seriously yet. The demise of cookies will fundamentally alter how retailers reach and target consumers online - it's as simple as that.

From my perspective, the core solution to this is gathering and harnessing first-party data. Retailers need to be owning their audiences and giving customers personalised, beneficial content and recommendations that will, ultimately, keep them loyal. Doing that without first-party data is essentially impossible. Brands need to focus on building their marketable database and figuring out how to establish meaningful, genuine one-to-one relationships with customers. For retailers to thrive, they need to understand consumer behaviour, recognise what they do and don't want in terms of brand comms, and then go out of their way to provide value.

On a slightly different (but tangentially related) note, I think text message marketing is going to really blossom in the next year or so, especially in the U.K. and the rest of Europe. Research has found time and again that consumers want it, that it works, and that text messages have way higher open rates than email. Mark my words - text marketing is going to explode.