Technology as a tool to achieve the Perfect Store

Proper distribution and availability are two core elements of marketing execution—the basics if you will—that turn your marketing strategy into action and bring the most fundamental goals and tactics to life. Plenty of other vital elements play an essential role in improving your company’s bottom line. Still, as a brand, it is crucial to focus on the basics and ensure that the core elements of execution are correct.

Store execution is known to drive sales, cut costs, cut risks, and increase customer satisfaction. That said, turning a profit relies on details and organization.

That said, achieving “Perfect Store” programs has been the main profit driver. What does it mean?

Achieving a Perfect Store

A Perfect Store is one in which consumers can find the right products in the right location, presented in the best way to influence buying behavior while granting a quality customer experience. 

Think of your local supermarket and the shoppers; they all have their preferences, with some products they want to buy already in mind when they enter the store. Are they doing their weekly shop, or have they come in for a specific item? Studies show that only one-third of in-store purchases are pre-planned. Product placement and perfect store execution are vital in attracting shoppers. They concern the so-called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), criteria that a product must meet.

What do KPIs include?

  • Distribution availability on the shelf

  • Promotional execution 

  • Sufficient shelf space 

  • Customer satisfaction

  • Internal Process Quality 

  • Financial Performance Index

If your brand performs well with all these criteria, the execution is successful, driving sales and maximizing earnings.  

The role of technology in optimizing KPIs

Establishing KPIs to measure, track, calculate, and evaluate business performance is crucial for your business. In the last decade, technology has been increasingly used to optimize these KPIs, helping brands achieve a perfect Store. In addition, it has transformed marketing, as there are many technological solutions for retail mapping execution.

One example is using AI-powered image recognition, which converts shelf photos into data points, replacing manual scanning through thousands of pictures to find the best performing using intelligent software. It can even classify images based on specific trends and use them in several contexts. 

Start with the basics.

Although marketing technology is becoming more accessible, we understand it is a universe that can sometimes be overwhelming. Technology allows us to track so many performance metrics that when the “what can we do with so much data?” question sparks in a conversation, our advice is to start with the basics. Beginning with a simple way to organize the basics is key to reaching for advanced technologies.

As we know, COVID-19 poses a considerable challenge for all kinds of businesses. It forced brands to reinvent themselves, redesign their business models, understand how to operate from virtuality, and, above all, go back to basics.

The pandemic brought concepts as essential for marketing as distribution and availability back into the spotlight, emphasizing the importance of closely monitoring them. 

How can a business correctly implement technology?

Start by assessing the usability of the data. What is the point of gathering it? How can you benefit from it? How can you process the results? What can you do with this information at HQ and/or the store? Who will work with it?

It is essential to analyze the role played by this information in distribution, availability, and the business itself. Is the company prepared to use this data constructively? What resources are available to process, design, and implement the information? It is helpful to think of this technology as an intrinsic tool, but the business must work in tandem with it.

Translating data into improvement

Once you have assessed the usability of the data, the next step is to translate it into improvement. There is no point in having the latest technology tools to gather large amounts of data if you do not categorize it, analyze it, and then present it in a way that allows you to develop improvement strategies for your business. 

At AmartSpotter, we have those tools to help your business grow, solve problems effectively, and be competitive in the marketplace.

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