Grocers are leaning more heavily on technology to engage shoppers and attract new business. When it comes to digital technology, it can be overwhelming, and finding the key to long-term success can seem elusive.
Anything worth doing is worth doing right. When it comes to choosing the right technology platform for customer engagement, there are many important considerations that should drive success. We’ve compiled questions you should ask yourself as a starting point for shaping the right approach to your grocery retail technology.
5 Questions to Find the Right Approach
1. How can technology help you win against your competitors?
When we think about retail technology, our minds go straight to eCommerce. Maybe some of your competitors have implemented online shopping, but many grocery stores are harnessing other technologies such as social media, advanced digital circulars, and personalization to reinvent the customer experience and attract new shoppers.
Rolling out a technology approach that can help you against your traditional competitors doesn’t have to be complicated and could help you enter new markets.
2. What would it take to exceed your customers’ expectations?
Whether grocers like it or not, customers are being educated on retail technology by leaders like Amazon and Apple. They are beginning to expect a convenient, personalized experience in real-time. And those expectations are rising quickly. The bar is only getting higher for delighting customers in a digital world.
Grocers often feel that meeting these enhanced expectations will take a significant effort. Webstop has advanced personalization tools available to clients of all sizes and budgets. You can have easy access to the same expert analytics, personalization, and customer behavior strategies that Tier 1 retailers are using. We’ll give you a clear path to exceed your customers’ expectations.
3. Does your budget reflect the potential of how technology can increase your profits?
Technology expenses can seem high, but they are relatively small compared with their potential to boost the operating performance of your business. Technology can improve business performance by driving revenues, reduce overall costs by automating end-to-end processes, and lower risk costs by using data to aid risk calculations.
By seizing the opportunities and mitigating risks, grocers can improve their overall performance and sales. Keep your technology budget dynamic. Carefully review what you’ve spent in the past and how you’ve seen a return on your investment. Then, factor in new technology and shopping trends and adjust your investment to continue growing the impact of your digital technology.
4. Are you getting the most value from your existing technology?
Technology alone delivers no value. It’s the combination of the right technology, data and analytics, a clear strategy, and in-store efficiencies that add up to create value. One store thought turning their paper circulars into pdfs so customers could view them online would move their sales needle. Still, they found their revenues didn’t increase until they invested in a more integrated digital circular that engaged customers through added personalization. Also, they trained their staff on how to have the right conversation with customers to boost loyalty and further incentivize their use of the store’s digital offerings.
Webstop helps our customers assess their capabilities and target their weak spots. We operate as part of your team to help you get the most out of your technology investment.
5. Are you making the most of your technology story?
Your technology has a story to tell. It’s the story of your customers and their buying behaviors. It’s also a story of convenience, loyalty, and trust. Mobile apps, emails, notifications, and advanced digital circulars are already on the minds of your customers. Interest is only rising as our world becomes increasingly digital. Your digital capabilities should be a predominant part of your personalized customer engagement.
We’ll Help You Find Your Answers
At Webstop, we can help you identify the key messages you want to communicate through technology, and then understand how, when, and to whom they should be delivered. We can help you uncover the answers to all your questions and find the right digital solutions for your store to get you the best results possible, by taking a deep dive into:
- The advantages you have over big-box stores
- How to mine for customer data and turn it into actionable growth
- Why personalization without behavioral strategies can hurt your profits
- The importance of the right digital partner for long term success