Discussing strategies for creating more compelling customer experiences has dominated my meetings with retail executives for the past 24 months.

This topic is retail’s new Holy Grail, and for good reason. With consumers embracing social media and all things mobile, they now expect seamless, personalized and value-driven experiences whenever and wherever they shop.

In retail’s race to deliver “experience nirvana” across existing and emerging channels, leaders are tapping into a core set of emerging technologies to drive positive, con­sistent execution. The Home Depot, for example, rolled out 30,000 mobile devices to empower associates with en­hanced, on-the-floor functionality and communication tools.

Such customer-focused initiatives have game-changing potential for differentiating your brand. Yet to be successful, they require enterprise-wide execution, with every member of your organization sharing consistent customer knowledge and an understanding of why your experience offering is unique. They then must consistently and collec­tively execute and enhance that experience each day.

From product-centric to customer-centric

Another must is shifting from being a product-centric to a customer-centric retailer. This starts with empowering employees with the proper tools for shared knowledge and teamwork and then recognizing and rewarding them for knowing more about your customers and proactively responding to their needs. It also includes demonstrating customer appreciation and seeking opportunities to build trust.

Spikes in store portal and messaging projects, both on­ premise and in the cloud, indicate leading retailers are increasingly moving towards customer-centricity. According to a recent Microsoft Work Without Walls survey, one-third of information workers in retail/hospitality also say their company has internal social networking tools to collaborate with customers and vendors.

Pacific Sunwear, for example, recently turned to Mi­crosoft and Microsoft partner Neudesic to help outfit its youthful employees with the technologies they intuitively understand including a web-based company portal and internal corporate social network tools which has led to enhanced employee engagement, better customer ser­ vice and the ability to capture 3,400 pieces of employee and customer feedback a year. This critical information is shared throughout the organization to continually define and enhance the brand’s unique differentiating formula.

Best practices

Think of this as your call to action. As you shift towards customer-centricity, consider that:

Your customers are already collaborating. If you are not communicating internally about your customers as much or more as your customers are communicating about your brand, you’re still a product-focused company. Real-time collaboration is a critical pillar in any retail differentiating strategy.

Happy employees make happy customers. Your as­sociates are both the face to the customer and the voice of the customer. Plug them into your organization via col­laborative tools and processes. Listen to them and reward them for speaking up.

The cloud is more than pie-in-the-sky. Retailers like Starbucks are embracing the cloud for associate collaboration. Look for cloud technologies with strong adminis­tration tools, remote manageability, proven security and enterprise-grade service level agreements. By quickly and affordably outsourcing your needs to the cloud, you can convert IT resources to customer-facing projects.

Security and privacy rules still apply. With real-time collaboration driving record levels of information, establish and enforce proper security and privacy across your stake­ holders and their evolving devices.

Potential pitfalls

There are also some potential pitfalls to avoid during your collaboration journey:

Collaboration is a means, not the end. Mobile devices and tablets can be effective communication tools but are not the end game. Drive the utilization of these tools along with metrics on customer satisfaction, customer growth and profitability.

Silos must be smashed. Tear down departmental barriers that encourage self-protecting behavior and hinder seamless, enterprise-wide customer-centric thinking.

Think before you leap. Avoid devices and unproven technologies that pose infrastructure integration issues, lack enterprise capabilities, strain IT resources and raise maintenance costs.

While the tools and technologies are an important conduit, customer-centric retailers must create a culture that nurtures teamwork and activities that foster unique cus­tomer experience delivery.