CRM Strategy

How Lowe’s is Improving their CRM Practices Post Corona

The American retail giant is known for their remarkable home improvement products. But how do they score on our 7 commandments of CRM?

Dafna Sheinberg

Once again, we’re at it. This time with Lowe’s Home Improvement, which goes by the slogan of: “Do it right for less.”

This time around, we don’t really care about the “less” part, but for sure want to see if they are indeed doing it right when it comes to executing the basic principles of CRM right now.

Read on to find out how they score and rank against the other brands we examined to date.

And if it’s your first time, here’s a quick reminder of the 7 basic CRM rules brands must obey in a post-corona world for successful customer relationships.

1. Be Transparent 9/10

Lowe’s will not make its retail employees enforce face-mask policies that are meant to curb the spread of coronavirus.

“Safety has been and continues to be our priority,” Steve Salazar, Lowe’s spokesman, told FOX Business via email. “We will not ask our associates to put their safety at risk by confronting customers about wearing masks, so we are consistently requesting that customers wear masks for the safety of everyone in our stores.”

This clearly shows that the safety of their employees is a top priority for Lowe’s. And they’re not scared to show it even though some shoppers are less likely to step into their stores for this reason. This a big statement as many violent confrontations in the country have taken place, one even causing the death of a security guard.

Here’s another nice way Lowe’s is showing the world their company values:

Even during the pandemic, consumers need Pros to complete projects around the home. Therefore, Lowe’s and HomeAdvisor announced a partnership to further their commitment to keeping Pros working by offering Lowe’s for Pros Loyalty Program members a free, year-long HomeAdvisor subscription.

“A consistent flow of quality leads remain very important for our Pro customers and we are here to make their lives a little easier,” said Fred Stokes, Lowe’s senior vice president of Pro Sales and Services. “As a member of Lowe’s Pro loyalty program, we are providing personalized offers, business management tools and now a free one-year subscription to HomeAdvisor. It’s another way to show how committed we are to helping keep Pros working during the pandemic and beyond.”

2. Incentives and Perks 10/10

Lowe’s Daily Deals section is perfect for coronavirus times. It offers different products at discounted prices, great for millions stuck at home who are low on cash.

On this same page, you can find Daily Deals at Lowe’s according to category: appliances, bath, flooring, and more. The text reads:

“Save every day at Lowe’s with daily deals on appliances, power tools, and more. Whether you’re shopping for tools like drills and circular saws or outdoor power equipment like lawn mowers and snow blowers, check Lowe’s Deal of the Day to see how you can save. Our daily deals also include the best appliance package deals, best refrigerator deals, and savings on washers and dryers. Deals are for one day only, so make sure to act quickly and check back every day to see new online-only deals.”

Lowe’s Gift Cards, which includes an entire FAQ section on the cards, is a unique way to engage customers and offer a promotion at this time.

In fact, no matter what webpage we were on at what step of the customer journey, we were prompted with some sort of offer, for instance, 5% OFF* or 6 Months Special Financing:

 

Likewise, when adding an item to our cart (see more below) we were offered a 17% discount.

3. Be Relevant 10/10

When quickly entering Lowe’s homepage, we saw two things we loved: Curbside Pickups (making life super simple for customers) and the grey banner below showing how Lowe’s is assisting small business (through a program for minorities and rural communities that releases grants):

 

Another scroll down, Lowe’s is promoting stylish work sheds, ideal for these WFH times.

And the brand remains relevant when scrolling all the way down:

 

4. Be Helpful 10/10

As previously mentioned, Lowe’s is giving small businesses the option to apply for a grant to receive assistance – a very nice gesture for these exceptionally hard times.

“7.5 million small businesses are at risk of closing permanently. As the cornerstone of our economy, we can’t let that happen. That’s why we’re more than doubling our commitment to provide $55 million in relief to small businesses and help them recover.”

In addition, Lowe’s teamed up with Dupont to support companies making PPE (personal protective equipment.)

“From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis until the end, DuPont is committed to providing protection for frontline workers. We are proud to partner with Lowe’s, a distribution partner of Tyvek HomeWrap and Tyvek garments, and their selected converting partners in the donation of Tyvek to support the ongoing and critical needs for PPE,“  said John Richard, Vice President & General Manager of DuPont Safety Solutions.

And it keeps going and going. Most recently on other news, Lowe’s stores are said to distribute free cleaning supplies to those affected by Hurricane Hanna.

5. Realtime Personalization 6/10

When adding a lawn mower to our cart, Lowe’s automatically suggested additional items we may need to upgrade our purchase. You may think it’s basic, and you’ll be right. But judging by the brands we analyzed so far, it’s not as common as we expected.

 

We were not retargeted with the product, however, when going back to the company’s homepage or on our social media accounts.

6. Master UX 10/10

Overall, our experience with the brand was good. We enjoyed reading about the overview of each product we were interested in, in a very clear format with bullet points on its features.

We also appreciated the specifications, stars and ratings, reviews, Q&A’s, protection plans, and finally – we loved the personalized product recommendations widget:

 

Lowe’s discount and payment calculator was especially useful for the customer experience as it allows customers to enter their project cost in dollar amounts to estimate monthly payments or discount amounts:

7. Leverage Social Media 8/10

Their updated Twitter profile reads:

As our daily routines change, so are our homes. We’re with you every step of the way as your #HomeBecomes more than it ever has before – perfect for showing support.

The following giveaway presented as a challenge, really shows how Lowe’s knows what they’re doing on social media. It even offers customers a chance to win a trip for two to the 2021 NCAA Final Four:

Their Facebook profile that boasts 4.58 million followers is super engaging with high posting frequency. The posts include video content, free DIY kits, kid summer activities, coronavirus support, and so much more.

Lowe’s Instagram account does post in high frequency with the same content as the aforementioned social media channels. We were disappointed, however, to see that they don’t use the Instastory feature much, or post different content to IG, as it has a different audience.

**

Overall, Lowe’s is getting a fantastic 63/70 here (90%) putting them in a tie for first place with Petco. Well done, Lowe’s, for properly adapting to the new reality amidst all the chaos!

Here are the full rankings of the 11 brands we measured to date.

  1. Lowe’s 90%
  2. Petco 90%
  3. Uniqlo 86%
  4. Best Buy 78%
  5. Etsy 76%
  6. Tommy Hilfiger 70%
  7. Walgreens 70%
  8. Fiverr 67%
  9. Next 63%
  10. Patagonia 61%
  11. Burberry 60%

Watch this space for more brand analyses coming your way!

Meanwhile, check out the previous ones: