LAS VEGAS, March 20, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that
Performance Bicycle, the nation's largest independent bicycle
retailer with more than 100 locations around the U.S., is using
Watson Customer Engagement solutions running on the IBM Cloud to
help create personalized customer experiences that extend from
online to each of its brick-and-mortars stores.
The retailer is also preparing to infuse the cognitive
capabilities offered today in the Watson Customer Engagement
solutions, which will help Performance Bicycle better understand
and learn how individual pieces of content from their vast library
of resources can impact the customer's purchasing decision.
Performance Bicycle is a popular destination for cycling
enthusiasts researching the latest products before taking a trip to
their local store to test them out first hand and make a purchase.
To best serve customer needs at each step, the retailer wanted to
understand the content customers invested time looking at online
and then get this into the hands of associates to meet their unique
needs once setting foot in the store. It's this pervasive
personalization that can help drive loyalty among customers who are
spending as much as $5,800 on a new
bicycle.
"Retailers that don't think bridging the on and offline world is
important better think again. Companies with omni-channel customer
engagement strategies retain on average 89 percent of their
customers1," said Harriet
Green, General Manager, IBM Watson Customer Engagement. "IBM
cloud and cognitive solutions are available now and helping brands
such as Performance Bicycle deliver service excellence anywhere, as
well as a personalized touch whether you are online or in
store."
Working with IBM and Business Partner BlueSky Technology
Partners, Performance Bicycle is beginning to incorporate new
cognitive capabilities, including Watson Content Hub. In fact, the
company has already leveraged these capabilities, which understand
and learn about the data in its content management system,
including dark data that accounts for more than 80 percent of
information has been invisible to computers. The solution then
trains itself to better understand what has been stored and
recognizes and automatically tags content including images, videos
and documents based on millions of previous examples.
Performance Bicycle found that the offering tagged content and
made connections that the team could not have done previously. For
example, Watson discovered that customers who bought mountain bikes
were watching specific videos that the team had not tapped into
previously, including one featuring desert riding. By seeing these
connections, the retailer will be able to proactively present this
content to others in the future to help drive sales.
In addition, Performance Bicycle is leveraging additional IBM
Watson Customer Engagement capabilities on IBM Cloud to bring
together information from its e-commerce sites (products they are
researching, preferred price range, etc.…), email marketing
campaigns (which ones are driving action), contact center and more.
As a result, marketing teams can deliver personalized experiences
to customers across multiple channels, and with IBM Watson Customer
Experience Analytics, assess their responses and refine them as
needed to drive the desired outcome. Performance Bicycle can also
study how customers combine their in-store and on-screen browsing,
identify patterns and create customized journeys that can lead to
an increase in store visits and purchases while strengthening brand
loyalty.
"Today, a lot of customers will do extensive research on our
sites before they visit, and move back and forth between channels
throughout the decision-making process. We needed a single view of
the journeys our customers took with us to best meet their needs,"
says Mike Starkey, Senior Vice
President of Information Systems at Performance Bicycle. "We are
excited to expand on our relationship with IBM which is allowing us
to better understand what inspires our customers to purchase now
while at the same time paving the way for our cognitive journey
which will allow us to continue meeting their needs through the
power of Watson."
Today with Watson Customer Engagement solutions on IBM Cloud,
Performance Bicycle's marketing team can, for example, see large
numbers of novice customers viewing bike review videos on their
Learning Center website. With this insight, they can adapt the
content into a targeted email campaign, providing links to
additional information and local beginner riding clubs, setting up
an in-store appointment to look at and try out bicycles and
delivering offers off their first purchase, everything needed to
give them the confidence to visit their local store. Once in
store, the sales team has the customer's preferred bicycles and
other alternatives ready for viewing as well as accessories that
beginners should consider (helmets, gloves, etc…).
In addition to its impact on customers, IBM Cloud is also
helping expand the retailer's presence globally. In 2016,
Performance Bicycle was acquired by Advanced Sports Enterprises,
which designs, markets and sells premium bicycle brands in 80
markets around the world. Through the IBM Cloud, they are in the
process of efficiently integrating the two business systems that
will allow them to combine the B2C expertise of Performance Bicycle
with Advanced Sports Enterprises' global trading partner network to
reach thousands of new customers while helping to gain a valuable
advantage.
IBM Watson Customer Engagement powers a full spectrum of
solutions including cognitive engagement offerings delivered as a
service and on premise. Today IBM is the only vendor that helps
companies infuse cognitive technologies into their marketing,
commerce and supply chain capabilities on their terms, when and how
they need.
IBM currently is working with more 17,000 companies around the
world including Amadori Group, American Eagle Outfitters, Boots,
Ermes, Luxottica, Moosejaw Mountaineering, Office Brands,
Performance Bicycle, REI and Sherwin Williams
For more information follow us at #IBMAmplify and #WatsonCE.
About Performance Bike
Founded in 1982 and
headquartered in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, United States,
Performance Bicycle is a leading retailer of cycling products. With
1,800 employees, a presence in 20 states and a comprehensive
offering of more than 10,000 products, the company operates
bricks-and-mortar stores, a printed catalog business and an
e-commerce website.
1. 10 Notable Omnichannel Trends and
Statistics [Infographic] http://bit.ly/2mDuKH5
Contact:
External Media Relations, IBM
Douglas Fraim
617-501-6376
dfraim@us.ibm.com
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SOURCE IBM