Univers Retail was present at the 2019 edition of Paris Retail Week. We attended a number of conferences focusing on sales force digitalization and seamless customer experiences.
Things to remember
It used to be that the consumer was the target of communications and marketing. Today, it's the consumer who seeks out the information he needs. The challenge is to capture their attention and enable them to identify with brand values. We have progressively spoken of multi-channel, cross-channel and now omni-channel to effectively meet customer expectations: accessibility, flexibility, fluidity, personalization and responsibility*.
Customer experience at the heart of our omnichannel strategy
To do this, you need :
- Develop tools: a shared view of inventories, for example
- Understand the customer's purchasing path: i.e., understand and anticipate their expectations, such as simplifying the order process or speeding up preparation and collection.
- Develop contact points as part of an omnichannel strategy : i.e., share data simultaneously so that customers can use all channels as they wish.
- Put the salesperson at the heart of this strategy and motivate him or her: a CRM in real time with access to the customer's account (orders, opinions and comments, range extension items to offer... and an overview of his or her information).
- (Re)position the brand in relation to its competitors
Digitalization can be deployed, as at Kiabi for example***, with the aim of improving internal communication (at head office and on the sales floor) and ultimately customer service, by making data available in a secure way (1 e-mail address per employee). By equipping employees' cell phones with a secure application similar to "WhatsApp", they can launch initiatives 24/7.
digital, an asset in the field
The digital also takes care of the "product knowledge" part, leaving the employee to concentrate on the emotional part of the commercial relationship with the customer. To do this, the retailer needs to collect a lot of customer data and invest in tools that are adapted, useful and easy to use. The example of one of the conferences held at Paris Retail Week*** was the use of tablets by the "Renault" sales force to advise customers. It took 2 years to deploy these tablets in 70% of the Renault garage network, and the results have been convincing: a closer relationship, fewer administrative tasks, reliable and comprehensive information.
Another example presented at the show was that of Probox (distributor BtoB of professional equipment and tools). A 12-month project which saw the deployment of :
- From the e-commerce site: view in real time the availability of products in store (only 1/3 of references in stock, i.e. 10,000 products) or throughout the network, choose delivery in store or to the address indicated by the customer, ask questions via web callback, save items in the basket, associate an order with a worksite, choose the delivery date...
- A customer app for mobile ordering, technical data sheets and range extensions.
- Logistics site.
- 5 sales outlets.
- In-store PDAs for seamless omnichannel order processing: orders can be selected and prepared on a just-in-time basis (10 minutes). A simple tool adapted to daily use (receiving, inventory, order preparation, etc.).
Here, too, the role of sales assistants has been enhanced, since before digitalization could be integrated, it was necessary to understand their expectations and needs in order to strengthen their role in advising customers. Today, customers can order via multiple channels: website, app, telephone or in-store.
These different examples have shown us that it is worthwhile integrating "digital" on sales floors and investing in omnichannel tools that are adapted, intuitive and agile. This digitalization has enabled sales forces to move from the role of salesperson to that of advisor, and this has an influence on a retailer's positioning (in an article published by LSA, it is mentioned that stores equipped with sales tablets record a 3 to 5% increase in sales).
* Move into the new retail era by creating new shopping paths with omnichannel OMS", by Keyneosoft
** "Behind the scenes of a differentiating strategy: 100% store 100% digital ", by Octave
*** "Increase your sales force through digitalization", by Microsoft and Intershop