Slay The Big-Box Dragon With CRM

Written by Matt Pillar, Editor In Chief, Integrated Solutions For Retailers Magazine

I've called grocery the great testing ground for retail technology. Metro's Future Store (Rheinburg, Germany) is one sign that trend is not about to change. But I can think of at least one technology that many grocers haven't taken advantage of, and it's an important one. Grocers who have invested in the execution of one-to-one CRM (customer relationship management) programs have found them the go-to weapon in the battle to compete with giants like Wal-Mart. It's surprising that so many regional grocery chains have yet to catch on.

What's that, you say? You have caught on? You've issued customer cards and offer discounts to cardholders? I hope your boss isn't reading this, because that's simply not good enough.

CRM Is Not Plug And Play
As is the case with all IT, the key to CRM becoming a grocer's magic bullet is execution, and plugging in a card program is not execution. CRM is not a plug and play initiative. The execution of CRM in grocery is realized when your data-gathering initiative – driven by your customer card program – has generated sufficient information to be analyzed and acted on. You may offer discounts to the bulk of your shoppers, but that's not one-to-one, and you'll never beat the wolf at the door at its own deep-discount game. Customizing your products, services, and even stores based on customer needs is one-to-one. Recognizing your most valuable customers with personalized thank-you letters and gifts is, too. But, you can't achieve one-to-one without elevating your card program by applying analytics to the customer data repository it generates.

Hire The Best Associates, Train Your Best Customers
Associate training requirements are significant, but given the high rate of turnover in grocery, even the best-trained associates won't guarantee the success of the initiative. But a customer's experience makes or breaks their return to your store. Ensuring you hire quality employees is another key to the execution of your CRM program. Use modern means of initial employee screening – such as administering pre-employment tests via kiosks – to test the character of applicants before interviewing them. Hire the best, and you'll not only see improved retention rates, you'll find it easier to train employees on the importance of CRM.

Still, quality employees will come and go, but the end game to CRM is getting quality customers to stay. That's why the execution of your CRM program should be customer-centric, not employee-centric. Train your employees to train your customers, and make every single customer interface you create as simple and pleasant as possible. CRM is successful when the customer, not the sales associate, is empowered to use it.