How to successfully implement technology in your retail business
Nowadays, it is tempting to say that the key to a successful retail business is to keep up with the latest technologies. While this is technically true, there are some important nuances. The key to success is in fact to choose wisely the technology that you will be using, and to tailor it according to your business priorities.
Step 1: Identify your needs and strategize
Take a step back and make sure you and your partners develop a perfect understanding of what your growth objectives are. Assess where you are and where you want to be, then strategize to fill that gap. Do you need to reach new customers? Are you trying to expand your offer? No matter what your motives are, you need a solid plan to achieve your goals.
Step 2: Identify the needs of your consumers
As you know, the game changes pretty fast in the retail industry. Take the time to assess your customers’ demographics and needs, analyze your sales, use the data you have in hand to get to know your consumers better. Be ready to challenge yourself and identify what you can do in order to stay in the game. Nowadays, anybody can order anything online. If you want your brick and mortar store to succeed, you have to know the consumers’ habits and provide them with what they need, even before they realize what their needs are.
Step 3: Find the right technology (don’t follow the hype)
You really don’t have to do this alone. Tech innovation can be scary, as it is so vast and complex. Do yourself a favor, and save a numerous amount of effort and money, by not trying to figure out on your own what technology would suit you the best. That’s exactly why tech professionals are here for. Hire a team that you will trust, to help you attain your objectives and allow your business to thrive. Choose people who will invest time and great attention into listening to your needs. That’s the key to know what app or tech device will better work for you. Sure, you will have to invest time and resources. But at the end of the day, it’s all about ROI.
Step 4: Train your staff
We can’t stress that enough. Your staff is the representation of your brand to the world. No matter how good your business plan is, and how tech savvy you and your partners are, your employees need to be on board and be properly trained on your latest technology updates. As you know, new technology comes with new procedures. Not only it is your responsibility to hire knowledge-hungry people, you also need to make them aware of the changes and efficiently train them to make the most of the technology, and let your customers in good hands.
Step 5: Test and implement
If you are in the fashion retail business, you might want to follow the example of PacSun. The Californian company recently invested on a multi-year plan to deploy unified commerce, a centralized platform for all customer-engagement points, starting with the implementation of an enterprise Order Management System (OMS) within the next 12 months. The example to follow here is not necessarily to use the same technology, but to build a strategy on several months in order to implement it successfully. The key here is to remember that you are in a trial-and-error period at this point.
Step 6: Measure
Data is a precious gift that should not be taken for granted. Invest in good data collection and analysis tools and use them to their full potential. Set measurable goals and evaluate your results on a regular basis. If your strategy is not working, those tools will help you figure out why and you will be able to shift focus, fast.
In the modern world, there is no way you can survive in retail without the use of technology. However, this subject should not be taken lightly, and an app that doesn’t suit your customers’ needs won’t do anything for you. Choose wisely, strategize and take action.
