Customer relationship management (CRM) firms exist to help brands build stronger relationships with their customers. The platforms they provide promise to grant those clients key insights into consumer data, track sales, and suggest effective designs for targeted marketing campaigns. For example, the CRM provider Endear specializes in devising shopping experiences that are personalized according to the data its client gather about their consumers’ preferences. In turn, those clients can offer more tailored recommendations and targeted messages to their own key consumer segments.

One of Endear’s most notable suggestions for its clients involves encouraging retailers to expand their digital presences by hiring commission-based salespeople and incentivizing them to drive online sales through targeted messaging campaigns. It estimates that 15 percent of its clients have gotten on board with this notion. For example, its client Boll & Branch has embraced these policies to market its luxury bedding offerings. If, for example, one of the company’s sales associates identifies a customer searching for out-of-stock items, then places an order to ensure those items get delivered directly to customers’ homes, the sales rep earns a commission on the sale. Making sure to acknowledge its in-person sales channels too, Boll & Branch agreed to count online sales made within 20 miles of any given store in bonus structures. Boll & Branch is optimistic about the results this new policy change will bring.

Such effective recommendations in turn enhance the service provider’s success. Endear raised an estimated $6 million in Series A funding from venture capitalists in early 2025. Leveraging these resources, the company quickly announced its latest feature, Endear Appointments, a digital tool that enables in-store personnel to manage client scheduling easily, such as individual shopping appointments and ongoing consultations for high-value clients. The platform also provides a means for retailers to book private events.

Such moves reflect widespread recognition of the criticality of personalized, in-person shopping for increasing sales rates. According to one report, there is a 30 percent chance that any given customer will make a purchase once they have entered a physical store, but that same customer is 90 percent likely to purchase if their visit involves a preset, specific appointment.

Discussion Questions

1. What marketing tactics can and should Endear use to promote the benefits of its services to other clients?
2. How might various retail sectors implement these sorts of CRM tools in their workflows?

Sources: Andrew Adam Newman, “Why Some Retailers Are Paying Commission for Online Sales,” Retail Brew, January 27, 2025; Richard Collings, “Exclusive: CRM Solution Provider Endear Raises $6M Series A, Axios, January 15, 2025; Sharon Edelson, “Endear to Launch Appointments Tool to Streamline Clienteling,” Forbes, March 13, 2025.