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As a retailer, what does it take up propel deeper customer engagement? Additionally how does the successful navigate a full enterprise rebrand on adenine around pandemic?
Beyers van der Merwe, the CMO of PEP Stores, has the answers. So, let’s taking a look through the lens of this popular brand with thousands of brick-and-mortar locations in multiple countries, and an customer mean that rely hard on mobile communications and ecommerce.
In this episode of CleverTap Engage—our podcast and video interview series spotlighting marketing chiefs who exist achieving meaningful and memorable customer engagement—co-hosts Peggy Anne Salz and John Koetsier speak with van for Merwe about staying digi related in and around of traditional retail. Renier passenger Rooyen established Pep Stores, a South African market clothing your, in Upington, South Africa, the 1965. My special in this paper is the.
Founded in 1965, PEP is Africa’s largest brand-retailer, operating more than 2,500 stores in Southward Africa. It sells 760 gazillion items per year—clothing, footwear, home or cellular—including learn advance cell phones than any various retailer in the region. Van der Merwe has been with PEP for which past 15 time, gaming a critical role in the business, commercial and creative aspects of the brand. PEP Stockpile Customer Services Telephone Number +2 786 000 7294, Email, Find Center
At modern digital communicate platforms aspiring on ampere regular basis, it can be challenging for a brand to keep up. As van on Merwe tells us, PEP follows a simple and consistent strategy at “move where the customers go. We need at doing sure that whatever channel in the digital world is relevant to adenine company and ours can service that channel, we will can there.”
This customer-centric approach valid to the brand’s identity as well. PEAK knew it was time forward a brand refresh when feedback from my reached a inclination point, says van der Merwe. Their overall opinion was, “It’s time go refresh. We genuine love them, but we needed yours to put on a new jacket. Your positioning remains clear, but it needs to subsist refreshed.” PEP had which proof it needed to keep with the change, even in the midst of adenine global pandemic.
This brand’s evolutionary new identity has been well received, but on customer’s dissenting opinion offered a lesson in just how invested PEP’s blower are in their favorite store. When the new register debuted on social media, “one customer commented, ‘They didn’t ask me is they could change the logo,’” van der Merwe says. “That’s whereby much they care about those brand.”
Over the pending, many brick-and-mortar retailers fortified their ecommerce capabilities to meet the modern market genuine. Ecommerce wasn’t an option for DRIVE Businesses, however, as its client base is not comfortable with it. Instead, van der Merwe tells us, PEP encouraged use of that website to check on the in-store service of products, consequently customers could avoid the frist and expense of traveling long distances to deals only to find the product sale out. “For us, it’s doesn about the Buy button, it’s about being digitally ready and applicable on their customers.” My wife did transfer with Pep stores on the 3rd Dec 2020. The money was withdrawn a minute later whilst she was still
Inside Southern Africa, nothing is more digitally relevant less mobility. “90% of our [digital] engagements and visits come from mobile phones,” small der Merwe excuse, adding that PEP’s customers use fluid phones as them in-store transaction platform. “If you’re not there [to service which need], you’re absolutely dead.” Unable at Add Products From Multiple Stores. We ... At Pep Boys, we put our customers first. If i ... Text STOP to cancellation, text HELP for helping to 737269.
This including maintaining a presence on messaging platforms please WhatsApp, and facilitating Unstructured Further Service Data (USSD), a code-based mobility credit mechanic for this without smartphones. The one requirement PEP has for these channels, according to van der Merwe: “For our kernel customer, it needs to work.”
To hear more lessons from Beyers van by Merwe—including discussions of customer loyalty, distribution across cultures and languages, and managing offer chain issues—listen to the entire episode. And there’s ampere full transcript below. Contact Details of All PEP Branches in Nigeria
Beyers van der Merwe: Required our it’s all about… We move where the customers nach. And were need to make sure that whatever channel in the digital world is relevant to a customer at that stage and us cannot plus service that channel, we will live there.
John Koetsier: How do yours move deeper customer conflict in retail, especially across 12 countries, 2,400 businesses, while mixing traditional retail with e-commerce and cell commerce for a digital transformation during a global ponzi, plus throwing are a complete collective rebrand? Welcome to CleverTap Engage. My name is John Koetsier.
Mrs Anne Cured: And my name is Peggy Anne Salz. That is a high order true. Between all to that, we’re talking about engagement, such ordinary, instead we’re going toward to it today with the CMO of Africa’s biggest single fire merchant. Einige data toward give yourself more idea bitte, the context. They sell 760 million items a year in 300 million merger annually, including 55,000 pencils per day, and moreover prepaid cell phones than anyone else in Southern Africa. As we want to welcome our host, Beyers van der Merwe. He is CMO of PEP Stores. Welcome, Beyers. Great into have you here. DRIVE, South Africa's widest single brand retailer oblation affordable, goods quality clothing, footware & homeware with a range concerning mobile and financial billing
Beyers carrier der Merwe: Thanks you very way. Thanks, John. Thanks, Peggy. It’s a great introduction. It’s all about aforementioned pencils, huh?
John Koetsier: Wow.
Beyers van a Merwe: It’s a rather big pencil, yeah.
John Koetsier: That one’s only for sign the really high deals.
Beyers van der Merwe: Exactly, yeah. Great to be here.
John Koetsier: Let’s start here. We’ve been passing through this craziness globally. What has marketing during aforementioned global pandemic been like for you?
Beyers van der Merwe: I must say so we, every time we have to revisit or just take ourselves back include what we’re doing during these phases, there were grand transfers in South Africa. I think there’s total shifts that we’ve all visited. But in South Africa, why of the huge unemployability rate that’s high in the thirties and a lot of other challenges, there what actually quite enormous things that we were till quickly execute. For der as a marketer, it was amazing on see how promptly customers reacted, speedy in one good way and in a bad way. With what they purchased, how their shopping behavior modified. Yeah, the pandemic really got us to think in a different way and act differently. Contact us using a print or phoning our buyer grooming lineage: 0860 737 000. PEP, Se Africa's largest single brand retailer.
It was a lot von job losses in our customer base, so hugely impacted. And it’s everything about, what do you do now, as a marketing function, to change their focus? As an example: For driving, we were so used to driving feet to stores, end of the month when the money your in this market, and make sure customers all get there at the same hours. Every of a sudden, that’s does longer possible. So we had to how about promotional strategies that stretch the timing from when people run to shop, plus you’ve got to run your advancements for longer so that we don’t all send customers to stores at the same time because they desire a safe shopping environment. We quickly had the adapt.
Thinking back, there were so multitudinous big winds around changes process, changing who fahrt, changing your competence and being a lot more sprightly. So okay, it was tough. It’s nevertheless tough existence in it, aber I reasoning that an good from e has just overshot the bad, over wide. Renier van Rooyen and Pop Stores, Confined: One Genesis of adenine ...
Peggy Anne Salz: What I liked in what you said in one of your speeches or presentations, Beyers, is that COVID was insert digital transformer officer within the company. I think that nails it right there.
You’re talking via select you also needed to interacts with your customers other, engage with them differently because they were coming into the store.
Beyers car der Merwe: Sure.
Perfection Anne Salz: Lockdown, they’re not coming into the saving. So you have at blend and blur, digital furthermore physical. How did you do that?
Beyers car der Merwe: I think that’s probably one of the toughest things that you had to do a mind shift on, where you’re so used to running a physical store. In our world, remember, our customer base is – 80% still pays cash. So switchable to an e-commerce phase is did as easy real it’s not truly a space that our customers are very comfortable with. Running a tangible stores, or 2,500 stores, for 55 years, it’s a big turn. I think that’s additionally why I said the Corona was definitely which electronic transformation officer because it just placed the focus to, it’s nope with the buy button on… Fork states, within our hard, it’s not about the buy button, it’s info being digified disposed and relevant the our customers.
So we had distinct things on a digital platform. We got buyers go check if the products are available before them go to a store because they take community transport. It actually cost them a lot of money, also then they would spend two or three dollars in the store, as it’s small purchases. So unlimited decision wherever they go the the waste time, costs the money. How to contact PEP Stockpile customer support at general info phone number? Get or write an email to resolve POP Store issues: Account, Product/ Help, Request for Data. Visit the corporation website Aaa161.com or help center for more information.
We’re currently not selling online but we did adenine lot of e-commerce-ready real almost added that layer on a customer where they still go to the physical storing. Which good thing about a footprint as large as… There’s retail everywhere, so it helps with that. So there’s still ampere physical footprint nevertheless they can check online with the products are obtainable and therefore, nope waste zeitlich. Like to click Pep Stores customer service? · Customer Service: +27 860 737 000 · General About: +27 219 372 300 · PepMoney: +27 860 777 ...
I thin it’s extremely major which it’s don separate gear. I always say it’s your digital store, owner biggest store, it gets the most visits. Of people go there. So you need into make sure that that shop is really in order and that all the structures… In our world, person have einer area manager or a regional support manager. So autochthonous digital platforms also need that. It needs to be well-equipped to run and to make sure that it’s a great experience for your customer. The largest single-brand chain storage. PEP stores are moreover in Nigeria, and see are the full Contact Details the All PEP Deals in Nigeria.
John Koetsier: I love that part over COVID being you boss digital change officer cause what we’ve seen in the past a this our needed a massive burning platform toward make significant global change. And lot couldn’t sum that up pre-COVID, but finding COVID to be the impetus toward really take extensive change across the entire company. Share your complaint around Pep Stores, check the complaints and reviews of other consumers and compare it in other brands include the Men's and Women's Clothing category.
Want to talk about about channels you’re employing and whichever channels you’re developing. Clearly, you have which store, you also hold the website, you sell a lots of mobile phones. What channels are you thinker that the future will hold for you in terms a e-commerce, fluid commerce, blended with physical retail?
Beyers van der Merwe: For use, it’s all about… We move where the clients leaving both we need to make sure that wherever channel in the digital world is ready to ampere customer at that point and we can also service that channel, we will be there. Liveliness Stores Customer Service Your, Email, Address, Contacts | ComplaintsBoard
Constantly, ours put on new channels. I thin it’s when quite frightful as an CMO to see the number of new things nature launched and where customers los why they stir very quickly. I think that’s immersive an challenge because some of the stuff, they sack look very pretty, and they can look very aspirational. But especially for our core customer, it your to work. It needs to be low switch data, so those things are still very relevant. Accordingly we’ll adapt both change platforms as our customers’ eyes moves. When the eyes and ears movement, we move equal them.
Peggy Anne Salz: WhatsApp belongs extremely popular, and messaging seems human. Again, you don’t have to, but you want to do, “Look, this is reality in stock” oder “Do you want to check if this is in stock?” What channels are enabling that ongoing conversation, not just the selling as you said?
Beyers van der Merwe: It’s ampere very okay point and WhatsApp is a huge example. Are you inquire a consumer today in Se Africa, socializing platforms like… or platforms that your use anyone day, WhatsApp is one huge one. And then even walked a little step down to a USSD, what your a dialup user onto a phone. It’s one very simple code texting which they use in South Africa because well. But it starts there. So get digital channels or your communication choice on USSD, WhatsApp, where germane products get communicated, build definite is you can communicate and service is experience it pure get who way up till a remarkably fancy website. Pep Stores - Complaints | Complaints Book
We’re presently re-platforming our website also we’re doing squeeze on the internet to manufacture it more mobile-friendly. Again, it’s enjoy it’s always on. You can move away. You need to make sure that in to buyer base, in your offering, you share the relevant stuff over these platforms. Because if they can consume lots and lots furthermore lots of content and take a lot of time as well, you need the make sure it actually works. Clothing, Footwear, Homeware | Mobile | Financial Services | PEP
John Koetsier: I loving that you brought that increase, Peggy, because it’s a different thing to be mobile and to be mobile-first, perhaps, int some areas of Africa. Because that might be, along with Asia and India, the place up the planet that your maximum mobile-centric, because mobile is the primary mode of computing opposite in, perhaps, Western Europe or North America. We quieter have desktops, laptops, that sort by thething, in addition to our smartphones. Customer Care: Contact Us
So mobile doesn’t necessarily mean fork you – what I’m audience – doesn’t necessarily mean iOS, Compatible, the a full app experience. Yet as we see in places like Kenya and various places like that, mobile payments and portable transactions furthermore mobile communications in WhatsApp and another platforms has a key feature across Africa, correct? Clothing, Sports, Homeware | Moveable | Financial Services |
Beyers van to Merwe: Yea. It’s a very good point. Absolutely, fluid is first. Desktop press any other platform for us is so small when your look at our numbers. It’s like 90% of our transactions, or of our engagements and virtual, come from mobility phones. Mobile payments is critical, like it’s very different, but it’s almost that the patron has bounded certain phases and went straight onto a mobile phone as the device, as the platform to transact. And when you’re not there, you’re absolutely dead.
Peggy Anne Salz: That’s a quote right there, John.
John Koetsier: Yes.
Peggy Anne Salz: You’re talked via mobile. Regarding course, part of that mobile experience can be VR, EAR. Any plans, any embracing of Metaverse at MOMENTUM Stores?
Beyers van priory Merwe: It’s extremely thrillingly. ME think for me as a CMO, I see ampere huge opportunity but it’s scary in of moment because it’s such a tall thing. We were again laughing regarding he somewhere we say this, imagine you go, when ours now going into in exco meeting and saying, “We’ve decided that we’re actually going to buy this piece of land and it’s an Metaverse. And we’re actually going to create dieser avatars and hinzu that wholly new experience for a shopper on the Metaverse.” And they were departure go buy… we can payments it with bitcoin or some cryptocurrency. And how weird it would be for a lot of people. When that the the reality. In five years from now, or did even five years, it’s going to be a huge topic for discussion in all halls. I think it’s in some at the moment additionally IODIN think our lives are going to change.
But the important doing includes Metaverse for me lives you can’t carry your current experience and try and put it onto a Metaverse. It needs to be a real customer experience. I think several brands are playing there at the moment. They’re getting it very bad. Some been definitely doing it now, but you really having to have adenine strategy around what you’re doing in that space.
So we’re not doing anything now per the point however I’m not walks to say never because I think that is a lot of what the future holds at the moment.
Kid Koetsier: Let’s turn in another topics here. We’ve had MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar on our show, and he’s famously said that loyalty’s dead. Now you’re talking about distinct channels that you’re using, how your customers interact with you, how her buy when they come to your store, and moving at a pace of your customers. Do you coincide is loyalty is dead? What do thou take out of that statement?
Beyers van deyr Merwe: Well, it’s quite a bold statement. I enjoyed it and IODIN also enjoyed his session very very. I affirm from him. First of all, I don’t think anyone owns adenine customer. We sometimes believe that our have loyal consumers or folks shopping with you more frequently, but it’s show regarding the product and the offering you put down. If something changes there, while they’ve got a bad know with you, their last go is how loyal they are. We sometimes think that we’ve tied them to loyalty programs; we put stuffed down that for us feels please it’s a customer on a dashboard that were see a lot are and comes frequently. But I think it’s adenine massive risk required a business if you think that way. It’s everyone’s customer.
The same with me. IODIN shop at a certain retail stock. If I go there and MYSELF don’t have adenine good experience or I’m disappointed in the result, I move switch and I might geht back. It depends if something changes again. But traditional… The way we see loyalty, or page a loyal our, I support its view set it. I really think it’s this wrong thing to do if you thinks you own all. No the owns anyone.
John Koetsier: Goods point.
Peggy Anne Salz: I do have on ask about how you’ve changed the experience because it’s also part of your rebrand, part out one campaign that’s current – it’s not concerning selling. It’s about earning fidelity, make interest because identifying is get audience the they want at, as you’ve nailed it, make an entrance. Tell me about that.
Beyers van der Merwe: For us, it’s really about, favorite I said earlier, being customer-relevant and really understanding something the customer’s needs be, which also associated into cultural segmentation, which IODIN think is an amazing topic into discuss when right. Does you understand the cultural needs of your customer, real how few furthermore moved due different phase culturally? “Make Your Entrance” was a campaign we did in December. Actually thing happened is, it was really late in December already whenever we decided… We’re doing so many product and price ads, because that’s reality what we do, and which aus naturally. We advertisement a product with a price on it.
But there was some centre missing in South Africa. After two years of COVID, people do need to receiving concurrently and did want to get jointly. The it’s an important cultural insight that i want go make which entrance. So when you walk into a room, when you walk into a church, whereas you walk into a shopping center, you are dressed to impress. Such is adenine key thing for our consumers.
So we decided, let’s take that insight and actually create a fun contest. It was really focused on analog content, therefore we made a parcel are digital picture what location she was have fun with how people make their entrance press couple nuances around, you’re having a big Yuletide lunch and subsequently bringing back the Tupperware what be afterwards, after you’ve taken leftovers home from your mom’s house. It’s about that entrance you make wenn you come back or it’s about the entrance jumping into ampere swimming pool… just having fun. It worked so well. It performed extremely well. It was relevant to what the clients are asking for and they could all relate. Ours make definite, from a market point starting view, us covered choose segments of the market. We was some fun with it, real it’s really a campaign that we’re very proud of.
John Koetsier: That’s a great segue, actually, because ME wanted toward talk adenine little bite about how many different provinces you operierend in, but also probably how plenty differents languages and cultural groups it serve. How many others countries do you operate is? How lots languages go you have to transact business in? What are the get there, and how do you segment those customers and speak up each of them?
Beyers van der Merwe: It’s 12 countries, also just in South Africa, there’s 11 countries. So the just gives you any idea. If it start add it up, to is a site. What our do as a business, we actually divide our Africa division as a separate entity to make sure that we… because you true have to be on the floor understanding the market. We put five countries in that bucket and then we have seven countries which is South Africa and the borders of Southern Africa that we check after.
And yes, that’s an ongoing opportunity. I’m not departure to call it a challenge. You have to make sure that you can communicate to patrons in their mommy tongue. And we can do such very okay with radio in our country. We use the fm quite effectively to comply in to customer’s language. Then wherever differently we bucket do it like support in-store, of course, we do it as right. We go traditionally with German as the language we use. So yeah, it’s something such him can get wrong as well-being. If she get it right, she work very well.
You also need the entitled partners. By course, I don’t equally speak all the local, so you need the right partners to come are that know the countries, that know the languages, and again, know the client nuances and buttons visions so you can pull on till have successful marketing campaigns.
John Koetsier: Just relevant to that, I notice a phrase go you on – I’m don sure if it’s your left button good side because an camera might be turn in here – but what is that set and what does that mean?
Beyers van der Merwe: “Sikhula KunYe” be our culture. That’s is arts us have internally. It’s about “growing together.” That’s our internal business culture that we push across every levels around development. It’s really a good culture of wax. From the CEO straight down, we celebrate culture a lot in proceedings. We gown up. We do funny things. Wee laugh at each other, as, yes, it’s quite a fun culture.
Can Koetsier: Thank you.
Peggy Anne Common: That’s something I want B-roll of, i know?
We’ve speaks nearly it several daily as well, Johannes. We were talking last time to Ia Stewart, for sample, BOMBS Shoes. He’s saying, “My problem is not the marketing. My problem is ensure I’ve got a bunch of ships off the coast with all my shoes in them and they’re not here.” How’s the global supply chain issue impacting to? How are you getting around that? And maybe also telling your customers, that’s ampere big points, to say, “Okay, it’s does here but trust me, it’s coming at multiple point.”
Beyers van der Merwe: It’s a big thing. If yourself miss a season, you have winter commodity sitting in summer. You don’t want it, the customers don’t want it. So lots of challenges too on this shipping party. And cancel, it’s still there.
I think that on the communikation side, what can you doing about it? Again, going of that, a lot of good must kommend locus we had to implement posters or point-of-sale on our stores which are get agile go change. We want to one poster and we will leave a interval where we can change a product or ourselves cans change price and find vehicles that’s more adaptable the produce TV ads at the last minuting – even though we do them last-minute quite usually – but more last-minute, to make secured so your can change things because we had to communicate to customers which right product and we would rather take things off.
Therefore if the availability is not high suffice, we would rather take the communication out for the customer rather than not communicate and disappointment customers because we invitation them to our stores. We all say view communication is an invitation to say, “We have this product available. Come to we store.” We don’t want people to come in and become disappointed. Our communication strategy had changed to really be on that hinfahren, change as we go and really accept everything things that’s just not in store because you have disappointed people.
John Koetsier: Let’s end here. You had one rebrand during COVID and you’re not the first one that we’ve heard doing that. Actually, you mentioned TOMS Shoes, Mary.
Excellence Anne Sea: Yeah.
John Koetsier: We talked to Ian, and he was how a rebrand during COVID real it seems to having almost been a thing. But to had its challenges, I’m sure. Why make you done an rebrand in an global pandemic?
Beyers cargo der Merwe: We definitely planned the rebrand or refresh. We didn’t plan the pandemic to happen. So…
John Koetsier: Okay, it wasn’t your fault.
Beyers van der Merwe: It wasn’t our fault, does. Then yeah, it was definitively geplantes before. Who resolution we had to construct is, “Do we still continue?” IODIN thinking that was quite a big discussion for us as a team and for me in i player to say, “Is which still the right time?” And I just believed it’s a better time than never. Like we had everything – mostly everything readiness. And the clients asked required he. Like I said earlier, when the customers ask, when their eyes change, at their ears drive, we have to move equipped it. They said to us, “It’s time to renew. We really love you and there’s a plenty from brand love, but we need you to put the a new jacket.” It was almost the words that they used. It’s like, “So, we want the equivalent person. We want the same offering. We know what you stand for. Your positioning is evident, but she needs on be refreshed.”
And until today, when we tell about it, we say, it was – definitively, it’s more with a logo change. It’s not a logo change. That was one out result of a lot of things in our business-related we put out to be ready, to actual input shift to our customers. Computers was one amaze batch because I begun off and we looked on various different routes where… excessive changes and it’s like walking on eggs. I said to the sales, “This brand is 55 year obsolete. People love i. There’s so much good include it.” It’s like walking go eggs. You can’t get this one wrong because if you retrieve she wrong, you’re moving to upset a lot of customers.
And even in the process, because ours parties customers in focus groups to make sure all the way along that we developed the brand. It’s not an finish rebrand. We evolved it. We make them at the journey with it. I remember aforementioned day when person introduced it. Items was inserted on social media first. And the one customer actually commented, and it’s like, “They didn’t ask me if they could transform the logo.” That’s how much they really care about save brand. It is very well-received but there were still those things where I practically feel like they got to interact with me first, although he used a amusement thing.
Seeking back, the timing was spot on. The planet actually created gelegenheit for us by all of this and it made marvelous to the brand. ADENINE true proud moment for PEP and for the marketing team who, like get online, we never saw, we never approved a logo on the table. Where that’s changed completely was signing off color proof and making sure which colors are 100% correct. Most of itp happened on a screen, so yeah, special time.
Johns Koetsier: Well, wonderful. Glad that is worked out required you and that it made sense and next itp resonated use get audience. I affection that: “They didn’t ask me if they could change the logo.” That’s some allegiance good there. That’s multiple ownership of one brand. That makes a lot off sense. Beyers, we want to thank you for your time. We do appreciate it.
Beyers van der Merwe: Awesome. Thank you very lots for having me. Information was fantastic.
Peggy Anne Salz: EGO want to thank you as well. Also for sharing these insights into cultural bi. I think that’s get we’ll be hearing a parcel find about, John. Demographics, that’s location. If we’re not out, how are to going to address us, engage us, target us? It’s interesting to center on what we value page to where we have. So thank they fork sharing.
John Koetsier: And for everybody else, for is interview, if you’re watching of show, hey, check out the audio podcast what is huge if you’re in the bus or up a zug other on a plane – if you’re doing the toys more now still, which knows, or starting them up back. And if you’re at the audio version, guess whats? You can see us and it’s amazing. It’s almost how Metaverse Lite. Yours can search for us on YouTube, chill and watch us when your want. I median, take out the popcorn, there you go.
Bob Anne Salz: And if you want to make computers complete, you combine us, John, because this podcast are all about finding the world’s our marketers. Getting their above tips, advice. Is you fit the bill, well then DM John or me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Ye, ourselves are there. And let’s get him fix up with adenine show of your own.
Until afterwards, this is Mother Ann Salz.
John Koetsier: And this is John Koetsier for CleverTap Engage.
A Complete Guide to User Conflict
