BIRMINGHAM, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The leading store department group Debenhams has won the Best Use of Social Media to Enhance Loyalty award for its work with Customer Experience Management (CEM) expert Empathica and their GoRecommend social media advocacy application at the 2012 Loyalty Awards.
The app, which makes it easy for brand advocates to make a recommendation to their friends on social networks, works as part of Empathica’s online customer experience management system, and has been recognised as helping to drive customer loyalty - over 22,000 Debenhams customers have made brand recommendations to their networks in less than 18 months of the Debenhams CEM programme.
“Over the last five years there has been a fundamental shift in the way that people access information and make purchasing decisions,” said Empathica’s EMEA managing director Gary Topiol:
“Clever use of social media has allowed us to close the gap between customers with an intent to recommend and those that make an actual recommendation online. In this regard, the results at Debenhams clearly demonstrate the power of peer to peer recommendation and have shown a strong positive impact on sales.”
As part of the Debenhams CEM programme, satisfied customers that show a high intent to recommend the brand are identified by the online feedback system and given the opportunity to connect to their social networks and share their positive experiences.
In less than 18 months, the programme has enabled the retailer to gain feedback from over 380,000 customers and has enabled Debenhams’ advocates to make recommendations through social media to 2.2 million of their friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter via GoRecommend. The retailer was also recognised for an innovative two week campaign that used the application to spread a discount coupon, resulting in thousands of redemptions and a direct increase in sales.
Topiol continued: “Since its launch, GoRecommend has helped transform over one million satisfied and loyal customers into brand advocates, who have in turn communicated their brand experiences to over 110,000,000 friends and followers.
“Winning this award cements GoRecommend’s success and proves the power of social media as a tangible tool for driving customer loyalty.”
For more information on the Loyalty Awards, visit www.theloyaltyawards.com.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About Debenhams:
Debenhams is an iconic British department store group which was established over 200 years ago. Debenhams has a strong presence in key product categories including womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, home and health and beauty and offers its customers a unique and differentiated mix of exclusive own bought and international brands, as well as concessions.
Debenhams has 167 stores in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark as well as 62 international franchise stores in 25 countries. Debenhams products are also available online at www.debenhams.com and www.debenhams.ie and through iPhone, Android and Nokia apps.
Designers at Debenhams include Jeff Banks, Jasper Conran, Henry Holland, Betty Jackson, Julien Macdonald, John Rocha, and Addition.
About Empathica
Empathica is the leading provider of social Customer Experience Management (CEM) programmes to the world’s most respected multi-unit brands in the retail, hospitality, banking and petro sectors. Its rich analysis of survey data using state-of-the-art surveying and dashboard reporting software allows for performance-improvement solutions, evidence-based marketing insights, and customer experience management consulting.
Annually, Empathica’s 30 million customer surveys in 25 languages reach more than 70,000 locations in over 50 countries. A privately-held organisation, Empathica is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, has a European office in Birmingham, England and executive consultant offices throughout the United States. For more information about deriving actionable insights that enhance a brand’s operational excellence, visit Empathica at www.empathica.com
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