CMO

Customer loyalty key to next phase of growth at The Iconic

Australian online retailer brings on first head of customer retention as its focuses on growth in 2014

The Iconic’s chief executive officer, Patrick Schmidt, has highlighted the importance of driving and measuring customer loyalty as it looks to take the next step as an online retail business.

His comment follow the appointment of the group’s first head of customer retention, Clare Zacka, (pictured) who joins from brandsExclusive, where she headed up the marketing function. She also has extensive experience in consumer loyalty marketing and customer relationship management across both client-side and agency positions for brands including David Jones American Express and CommBank.

Reporting directly to The Iconic’s managing director, Adam Jacobs, Zacka will be responsible for CRM, loyalty and retention. Schmidt told CMO she will work closely with teams across the business to ensure customer interactions across all touch points are enhanced to build “long-lasting relationships with customers”.

“The Iconic has always been focused on delivering an exceptional customer experience, requiring a shared level of commitment and dedication across every department within the business,” he continued.

“The appointment of the head of customer retention at this point in our journey will allow us to continually optimise our efforts towards achieving growth of our loyal, engaged customer base.”

With so many metrics that can be used to measure success of customer retention efforts today, from net promoter score to engagement rates, Schmidt said the company will utilise them all to better understand what makes customers tick.

“The more we learn about our customers, the better we can continue to service their needs and exceed their expectations, and that's the goal at the end of the day,” he added.

Zacka is one of several senior appointments made this month at The Iconic. The group also brought on former Westfield marketer, Sally Bonner, as its new marketing director, as well as Adrian Gribbin as its chief financial officer.

In a statement following their appointments, Schmidt said growth was a key focus for the three-year old group this year as it looks to expand its market position and consolidate successes.

The Iconic has chalked up more than 1 million orders, 250,000 IOS app downloads and a 90 per cent net promoter score rating since its launch.

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