The Pocket Guide to Successful CRM Implementations

The Pocket Guide to Successful CRM Implementations

Many sales managers and sales operations staff are looking at CRM as a way to manage and to report on sales activity. More frequently, marketing is also jumping into the fray with marketing automation tools integrated with CRM. In both cases, Mobile access is a huge value driver and productivity tool.

Sometimes this project starts with a Business Analyst and other times the tasks are done by the IT department (using similar process documents) and it really is a function of resources or the size of the project. It really is the team that makes it happen!

Regardless of the size of you company a successful Salesforce CRM project requires planning, commitment, and strong sponsorship from your company’s executive team. It’s also critical that you understand the needs of your managers and users before getting started. Without a detailed understanding of these needs, it’s easy to get derailed in customizing the application.

Here are the 5 areas to a successful implementation:

1. Plan and prepare
2. Set up and develop
3. Deploy Salesforce CRM
4. Drive adoption
5. Continuously improve.

I am providing some guidelines based on past experience with various CRMs across different organizations that can help you achieve better success in your deployment journey.

START

The start of any project requires the following elements to be identified up front:

• ·         Who is the executive sponsor?

The project’s executive sponsor should participate and support the initiative from the beginning, through the cutover and beyond.

• ·         Who are my stakeholders?
• ·         Do we have a scope defined and has it been documented?
• ·         How will measure success?
• ·         What are the resources available for this project?
• ·         What is the communications plan for the project?
• ·         Who is on the team?

The size and scope of your project will determine how many resources you need. However, all projects should include the following even if some participants wear multiple hats

System administrator - This person should be involved throughout the implementation and afterward. It’s important that the administrator understand the business processes and requirements from managers and users.

Project Manager - This person leads the implementation and makes sure the project tasks and overall timeline are on track.

Business Analyst – this key individual usually will develop the business case and requirements documents and work in conjunction with the PM to ensure project success.

One or more power users - These users help make sure your project will meet the needs of the end users, including management. Consider training these users first and then providing more in-depth training.

One or more trainers - Trainers need to identify relevant materials from salesforce.com or develop specific training materials (such as quick-reference guides). You’ll need to provide training guides for the initial implementation and to on-board new users and once the application is live.

PLAN AND PREPARE

Understanding your data is Critical

Whether you’re moving from another CRM application or simply tracking customer information in spreadsheets, you’ll already have existing data. Data always becomes a bottleneck if it’s not reviewed and cleaned early in a project. It is a critical element to success because I have seen so much bad data causing problems within CRM.

Most customers underestimate the effort it takes to clean up, map, and load data. Data shouldn’t be loaded until your system is set up, including setting up your role hierarchy, sharing model, and sharing rules. By taking the time to understand your data during at the start of planning stage you can avoid a lot of issues later on. Maybe have a sandbox CRM just to manage the and test the data loads.

Determine whether you can meet the requirement with out-of-the-box functionality or business processes (low effort) or whether custom development or integration is required (high effort).

CORPORATE VISION

The most important element of a project is the vision. This sets the foundation for success going forward.

• ·         Set the vision and goals
• ·         Define strategies for achieving the vision
• ·         Prioritize the goals for achieving the vision
• ·         Ensure the value drivers (goals) are aligned to the project

This could simply be to implement a CRM solution for managing sales leads and providing reporting. It could start with using the existing customer database then adding in new prospects. Provide reporting to management and train the users. You can then add increased functionality in a second phase. Do NOT START by making it too complicated with a lot of customization.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Success is measured by having 3 metrics that tie into the value the drivers. After setting a baseline measurement and realistic targets we can implement a performance measurement. The solution implementation will have to ensure we meet the measurements required.

Metrics are what needs to get done by when as an example.

This could be simply to ensure all customer data records are entered cleanly, the required reports are functional and training is delivered to each user.

ROADMAP

The roadmap helps chart the course for the journey ahead of you. Once you have identified the core capabilities that align with the vision and value drivers you can then prioritize them. The priority is for the elements that offer the most value in order to achieve the desired state.

Good roadmaps include the ability to start and stop along the way or even take a detour. Usually this is where new requests are desired and can be added to the solution.

For our example the elements could be to also develop the account screens, sales entry screens, reporting and dashboards required.

IMPLEMENTATION APPROACHES

The two most widely used approaches in the world of software are the “waterfall” and “scrum” implementation approaches. Waterfall is the traditional, phased, sequential approach that may lead to a drawn-out implementation timeline. The scrum approach is to constantly build and deliver small units of functionality and revisit and refine them with each cycle.

Salesforce.com is best served with the more iterative scrum approach for its implementation once installed. Start with basic functionality and then add new features and enhancements in an on-going fashion.

I think it is best to start with the waterfall approach for the initial implementation and then start using a more agile approach to add additional functionality. Delivering too much too soon leads to complexity and that is not a good approach

PROJECT TIMELINE

A project timeline will be required to manage all the tasks and show the stakeholders what the roll out plan looks like.

Once you’ve chosen an implementation approach and prioritized all requirements, you can build the project timeline. Every timeline needs to include the time required to design, build, and deploy. Prioritization of requirements is also key to ensure any “must-haves” are included in the first phase or rollout.

If you use a scrum approach, your timeline will consist of short iterations of the design, build, and deployment phases for a smaller set of requirements.

With the waterfall approach, the design and build phase includes all requirements prioritized for the initial deployment.

For both approaches, consider what tasks can be done in parallel, such as cleaning data and loading data.

The timeline you defined in the planning stage should define the deployment phases and associated schedule. At the first stage, your task is to get your instance of Salesforce CRM “production ready” by creating and adding users, loading your data, and training users.

It's important to communicate early and often, so users know about coming changes. Communication should come from the executive sponsor and focus on both the benefits to the company and what’s in it for the users. Build excitement and set expectations. As the deployment draws nearer, outline the deployment plan, including when users will be trained and how they’ll be supported.

Before loading your production data, first load all users. You can load users manually, one at a time, or with the data loader functionality. We recommend you first load all users and data in a sandbox environment before loading the final set of data into your production environment.

IMPORT DATA

Because data is loaded at a specific time, the transition will be easier if the data load is as close to deployment as possible. Be sure you schedule enough time to map and test the data. Here’s a summary of the steps involved in importing data:

• ·         Plan your data import
• ·         Prepare your data
• ·         Test the import
• ·         Execute the import
• ·         Validate your data

GOVERNANCE

This is becoming more crucial because it ensures that decisions are made based on information and communication across the project teams. This really allows the stakeholders to make informed decisions.

• ·         Develop guidelines for the project and who is the approver
• ·         Develop a process for reviewing the scope and direction of the project
• ·         Include any Subject Matter Experts (SME) or the prime stakeholder
• ·         Establish how the information and project is to be communicated
• ·         Ensure all key users are properly trained in the CRM product being implemented

ARCHTECTURE/TECHNOLOGY

Most if not all successful CRM installations are successful only because they had a solid foundation and shared design vision.

Since Salesforce.com is in the cloud then the technology risks are removed from the equation. So with a resource defined as the architecture expert you can also identify and constraints and all the service that integrations will be required. Once done we can include the architect design in the project workbook.

Our example is straightforward as the customer data is coming from a CSV file and the solution is in the cloud. However, there is still accessibility to the information via the internet that needs to be addressed and any back up plans.

Ensure that proper certification and training is carried out ahead of time not afterwards.

Data and clean data is the king and one of the most important elements of the project.

PROCESS AUTOMATION

Improvements in any organization comes from this section. There are 3 basic steps:

• What is the current process?
• Where can we make improvements?
• Have gaps been identified?
• List and prioritize and include in the roadmap

For our example the improvements is where the customer account information is visible to all users, the sale process and documentation is attached within the opportunity and reporting is available.

When starting with a new solution the PA tasks are usually up front in the project and the PA is more beneficial once a system is in place for some time that improvements can be made.

I love to use whiteboards and diagrams to show how the process and the day in the life actually is seen. It also beneficial to map this against the salesforce.com functionality available.

Reports and dashboards are also key deliverables.

USER ADOPTION

The key to any program is the users actually using the technology. If you provide simplicity and proper training and the value is delivered easily, then user adoption increases dramatically. However, just because you built it does not mean they will come. A perfect example is a company that is so focussed on exploiting an internal social media platform that the time and effort involved actually takes away from face time with customers. The user sees the task as being encouraged to chat internally, sees no value in selling more so doesn’t bother with the tool. Management then tries to have users start to comply with “must send chat messages every day on internal forums”. The users start to see value when they can reach other experts to answer questions in an open chat forum that helps them answer customer questions faster than email. The way to start this properly is to:

• ·         Use the SME and super users
• ·         Have employee focus groups provide feedback
• ·         Ensure that you have exactly what the user needs
• ·         Communicate, communicate and communicate success stories

I think the Sales Engineer/Technical support  forum is an excellent example for a chatter group. Sales can ask or posts questions like “customer is looking to be able to import his current Act! Data into saleforce.com…can we do that?” and get a fast response among the community. Over time these forums become searchable.

If the users do not like the solution and use it every day then the project is a failure.

Do not forget to ensure senior management has the right reports and dashboards prepared for them.

They need to be properly trained to access them.

Although Salesforce CRM is easy to get up and running, proper planning and preparation is essential for a successful implementation. Start by securing executive sponsorship so you have support when building your project team and communicating with the end users. Set up and customize the application so it works for your company’s unique needs. And continually revisit and optimize the application, build and refine your metrics, and always keep your end users and overall vision in mind.

Good Luck!

5 Secret Sales Tips for Retailer CSR Staff

5 Secret Sales Tips for Retailer CSR Staff

The world of retail is changing at a fast pace and to remain competitive it is important that retailers “connect” with their customers. Here are 5 simple ways to become more engaging:

1.       Make an Emotional Connection – Consumers want to feel emotionally connected and engaged with brands. If they feel that connection then they become more loyal and spend more with that brand. It is all about building a trusting relationship

2.       Earning Trust – Consumers are a finicky bunch and are ready to shift spending with just a click. In order to build trust you need to be authentic, honest and transparent

3.       Increase and use live face time – Customers want to feel comfortable shopping and more so in-store. Ensure CSR staff are engaging with consumers and that the shopping environment is conducive to a special shopping experience. Special can be small things or a luxurious climate. This can also be done by using video communications in the contact center.

4.       Respect – Always be respectful of customer’s time as today people have become more impatient. Simplify the shopping experience on your website and improve the experience in the store. It is easy to abandon a buggy of goods when arriving to a fast checkout line that has 23 people in line and the other queues are just as jammed. Too many complicated web screens and lack of shipping costs information is another way to increase the abandon cart rate.

5.       Multi-Channel Experience – Smartphones and mobile data plans makes it easy to shop around. Many consumers already have basic information on their purchases and can “showroom” quickly. They can call the contact center while in-store but will not tolerate a 20 minute wait time. Many consumers will take the web experience and email the customer service staff for further information or to understand shipping costs. Many retailers respond to emails several days later which by then is too late.

Retailers need to get back to basics and focus on improving the experience and fixing the little things that are easy to do and can improve the bottom line dramatically.

The Internet of Things is also the Internet of Wearables

The Internet of Things is also the Internet of Wearables

A new category has emerged over the years and it’s all about wearables. To me it’s the Internet of Wearables or IofW as we push the data into apps and the cloud and use analytics to better manage our fitness.

At a recent developer conference it was inspiring to see a table full of smart watches and wearable fitness trackers to play around with. Each had a common purpose but varied in form and function to deliver the same result. We are really at the tipping point wear the onslaught of Chinese products in the sub $30 range will be available at discount stores everywhere.

The biggest complaint is that you do need to be prepared to charge your device every few days because the small form factor means a small li-on battery. I found out the hard way when I went to Japan and forgot my special charging cradle for my Samsung Gear watch. I could not for the life of me find the cradle in Akhibara or Wilsons so I was not able to ever know what time it was. I used a compass and a sundial instead.

Let’s take a look at what’s the latest offerings timed for the Christmas season.

High End Wearables

Years ago Furla an Italian leather bag maker came out with a bag for travellers that included a built in light. The Boarding Bag as it was called did not start a trend.

Now Ralph Lauren has announced its “Ricky Bag with a Light”. The Ricky bag is $3500 and when you add a built in LED light and also a USB charger it now becomes a $5000 bag.  This is luxury item and is hand made in Italy with the finest leather, gold hardware and purple nappa satin liner. The artisanal craftsman takes at least 12 hours to stitch this together buy hand and maybe a soldering iron as well. Naturally, Ralph will have you order this item as a special order which is just fine with its well-heeled consumer. Now the fashionistas have power to go and can look forward to plugging their bag in at the end of the day.

But the House of Ralph Lauren has been busy in their lab experimenting and prototyping their high tech Polo Tech shirt. Sensors and conductive silver coated thread are embedded to capture the wearer’s heart rate, breathing and stress levels. This is all game changing with more products from other manufacturers surely to follow.

Aspinal of London also has a wonderful pebble leather tote bag (again made in Italy by artisanal craftsmen) that comes with an optional usb charger in a leather pouch. Not so creative as it really is a Mophie battery pack and Tumi did the same thing with their travel charger I bought 5 years ago. What is innovative is how fashion designers are embracing new technology and implementing them in a way that can enhance the consumers brand experience.

I heard rumors that Tory Burch was also looking into technology and did announce a Fitbit arrangement housed in a brass bracelet. I think she will add sensors in her iconic line of flats (shoes) soon.

Diesel partnered with Samsung with their version of the Gear S Smartwatch. Vertu does the same in enhancing cellular devices (notably the Blackberry)

Tommy Hilfiger not to be left behind has a solar panel jacket with built in battery and I expect Burton to do the same for snowboarders. This is creativity at its best and forces better thinking and better design for the consumer.

I look forward to Roots Canada working on a solar powered toque, charger equipped Muskoka weekender bag and even a campfire series of usb battery equipped sweat pants.

At Dreamforce 14, Will.i.am announced his smartphone cuff that had some really awesome features but also included battery equipped clothing and a speaker equipped backpack. This type of creativity is to be applauded. Will.i.am also announced a sensor in its shoe line that its sensor also measures weight (using a pressure sensor) and can integrate with a fitness app that can coach you through a work out. This is interesting as the technology is being implemented in a better way to assist the consumer in getting fit

Even Dewalt and Milwaukee are doing wearables with their heating element equipped and usb battery equipped winter jackets. Just what the trades needs to survive the harsh Toronto weather on the job site.

I expect to see a lot more in the Internet of Wearables #IofW marketplace in the coming year.

So where does that leave the rest of the traditional wearables? Lots to choose from and the price points are dropping to where consumers will buy one instead of filling up their car with gas.

These devices continue the same story of counting steps, calories burned, some monitor sleep or track heart rates, or even gps enabled location information. Push it to your smartphone or even into the cloud for that matter. Then take the watch which adds the time function, Evernote and PebbleBucks along with the fitness apps. The smartphone does this too now so what do I do with my Fitbit? My Fitbit holder cracked under normal use so I think my mom’s dog will enjoy it more than I will if he doesn’t chew it first. With several smartphones and watches to play with I am not sure I need a purpose built gadget to monitor how many steps I walked that day.

The foundation is set for these devices to measure ekg (Nyomi does it) and blood sugar or urine levels and help manage our health care in the future to come. I applaud this innovation and how it promotes better fitness for its wearer.

Lets take a look at some of these Activity tracker wearables:

Fitbit

They have several models based on functionality and form and do a fantastic job at measuring steps, distance, stairs, sleep and calories burned. They integrate with various smartphones and have a great dashboard. I love how simple the One charger is. However, there have been complaints about quality. The ability to just clip it on is a popular feature as well as a little display. Customer service was no help in getting it fixed

http://www.fatguyshrinking.com/fitbit-ultra-repair/

BodyMedia

This is an arm band worn on the upper arm and also does temperature and movement tracking. By adding the additional sensors over its competitors it does offer a more accurate calories burned calculation.

Jawbone

Their bracelets are also popular and also have created a stir as they gave users a rash. They have no display but can vibrate to tell you to get up off your chair and move around.

Withings Pulse 02

This device offers some creative elements such as altitude, pulse and can even estimate blood oxygen levels.

Garmin Vivofit

They also have an action camera so why not a wearable. The really wonderful feature of this device is the battery is said to last a year (all other devices do need regular charging every few days). The display is very useful and it can be used in the shower or while swimming.

Nike

The Nike Fuel caused a stir with its iPhone app and sensor placed in the shoe but the FuelBand edition offers some enhancements and is worn on your wrist instead. I tried the shoe sensor but returned it for a better Fitbit so I can use it with any shoe until the Fitbit build quality started falling apart.

.Microsoft Band

Wow they also have added a cloud based health app that works on android, iOS or windows. It crunches the data for you and is planned to offer proactive actionable insights and  advice. This could be the killer app we have been waiting for. There is a heartrate monitor, GPS and a  UV sensor as well. Plus it adds email and Cortana as well.

Apple Watch

No clue yet as it is not available in stores yet but it will need to be charged up at the end of every day.

As a cyclist, I have not looked at any technology or apps that can improve the rider experience beyond the cycling computer. I will investigate and report back in another blogspot post.

So what does this all mean?

It means you have things to by that can be great gifts or stocking stuffers that will help motivate the user to better fitness and it will fund future work on wearables and IofW to predict health issues, manage our health or help cure our ailments. We are still at an early age with lots of upside for innovation to occur.

We are able to provide real time information from your wearable (those that are 4G or Blue Tooth or Wi-Fi equipped) and plot it on a map and use it to highlight your Facebook status so when you get  text you can double flick your wrist and bleat out a response with a Google Map link showing you are running along the Santa Monica Pier, sweating profusely and unable to take calls at this time. I would not mind a wearable that will figure out that I have fallen asleep, turn the house alarm on, turn off all forgotten lights, lower the NEST thermostat, and put my smartphone on do not disturb and have the refrigerator do an inventory check and text me a shopping list when I awake. Trust me the technology is there and people are able to do just that today. I would like to add the app that says “we noticed in your urine that you had a vitamin D deficiency” and add that to my IofT powered smoothie machine to add some vitamins to my drink. The party animals among us will enjoy the top selling “You Got a Hangover” app informing you upon wake up that you are hung over and your smoothie will help alleviate the symptoms before brunch time.

9 Quick Internet Marketing Tips for SMB

9 Quick Internet Marketing Tips for SMB

After delivering a social media workshop to a local business community, I was asked at the end of it. ”what is my take away? Anything to get me started?” sure and here you are.

What is Your Goal?

When developing your website you need to develop a set of goals. Think of whom your audience is, the target, demographics, and its functions. Are you selling products? Generating sales leads? Providing information? Have a professional quality brochure and information sheets that can be downloaded.

Content Evaluation

Content is King and so much so in social networks. It is imperative to know what information your customers and clients are looking for. Provide that content and they will be able to understand that your company has expertise in that subject matter.

Analytics

Big Data is popular right now and Google Analytics offers a ton of useful information. It’s Free. It will provide reports on how your site is doing, what pages get traffic, and how long users spend on your site. You can also track the device they are using and location information.

Local Business Directories

There are various free local business directories that can help you gain more web traffic. Use them.

Competition Spying

What are your competitors up to and also do keyword ranking searches to see what your potential keywords get ranked and where they go to.

Keywords

Keywords are key in SEO so use the Keyword tools offered by Google. Look at the different search results and think of more exact keywords that can drive a better search result. Pizza is too broad but Tandoori Pizza is more exacting.

Review

Be diligent in checking your website for accuracy, errors and look and feel. Also I strongly recommend a mobile version as 50% of internet users are mobile. Ensure you have a sharp and clean looking site.

Blogging

Blogging allows your organization to become a thought leader and start to engage customers in dialogue. It also adds valuable search engine optimization benefits as well.

Video

Video use is surging so ensure you have high quality video segments that show the world what it is you do. Also populate these on your Facebook and YouTube accounts in order to increase brand awareness.

These are some quick tips to get you set up and thinking on how to better make use of the internet for marketing. Several ethnic vendors have also created additional mirrored site with their specific language choices. It is important to set time aside every week to spend a few hours in creating content, refining keywords and reviewing analytic reports to improve upon. This stuff works but it works a lot better with constant efforts.

Good Luck!

Random thoughts on the Retail Industry Fall 2014 Edition

Random thoughts on the Retail Industry Fall 2014 Edition

The ongoing debate about the health and wealth of retail is a lively one and retailers are getting smarter and dumber. I enjoy discussing with others about why they buy, how they buy and even where. I am just curious.

Our front load washer after 14 years decided to shout its anger during the spin cycle and shake the foundations of our house. Ok, so the bearing is gone and it’s a $700 repair. Time for a new one and guess what the Koreans are in play. Samsung and LG offer alternatives to the Kenmore and GE brands. The problem is that our model has now been replaced with a taller and wider front load system meaning my laundry room needs the built in space to be renovated. Not only do I need to buy a new washer but also a matching dryer AND need to renovate the space to accommodate their larger sizes. I still will need to build out an Arduino to tweet me when the drying or washing cycle is done as they do not have an Internet of Things option. The only thing I can salvage off the washer is the motor that can be reused somewhere else. The buying options are big box hardware, furniture store and Sears and The Bay. My wife visited the local Sears for showrooming and then called around (retail customer service over the telephone is a challenge and on-line experience differs among retailers). Since, her face to face sales experience with Sears was a positive one they had no problem price matching her other quotes and that included free delivery. (see below). The in-store sales person is valuable. However, we are in the process now of sorting out the reality of all promises made during the sale were no longer valid during the actual delivery that was delayed another 10 days due to paperwork error. Good thing is the store manager has taken interest to resolve and provide some customer satisfaction. What was promised? Free delivery, installation, old appliance removal and smiles. We were invoiced for delivery and installation but none was provided.

The Flyers story continues as the local paper delivers the bumper crop Thursday issue. Guess what as Target complains about poor sales, they still do not include a flyer. No wonder, we continue shopping at Walmart, Hudson Bay and Sears. Retailers need to PUSH content out to their consumers and the weekly flyer is still King. Guess who did not send out a Black Friday flyer?

With gas prices so low and my energy stocks losing money, many consumers are excited that they have another $30 - $60 a week of disposal income. It doesn’t go into a RRSP plan but will be spent this Christmas. The Retail ETF looks to be an attractive play if consumers spend their savings at the mall this winter. You can save more by getting scurvy and avoiding the high priced lemons and limes this winter as well. Many iPhone 4 users coming off contract will be getting the iPhone 6. Big data tells us this in a simple dashboard report pulled off their CRM. Retailers are looking forward to busier cash registers now that there is more disposable income but it appears Black Friday was a bit of a let down.

Consumers are a savvy bunch and they always expect more for less and will line up for days to get a $9 plasma TV on Black Friday and a $2 Blender. Retailers are savvier because their employees are also consumers. Retailers also complain about competition but the smaller retailers don’t because they are still in business 10 years later by offering good old fashioned customer service and expert product knowledge. Retailers will have to invest more into the multi-channel experience in order to continue their success. Retailers need to focus heavily on customer service and a positive 1-800 experience. Social Media is even more important as many complain about poor service over the Twitter broadcaster.

Shopper traffic in Canada fell 7% last year while on-line increased about 9%. No wonder there is a concern because on-line sales is costing the retailer more money. It has become too easy to research and price compare before jumping in the car and making a purchase. However, in some cases the consumer needs to rely on the sales person in the store for expertise. Not every sale is a real on-line sale.

Example 1: The $60 book in store is $40 on-line with free shipping. The book arrives in a few days in your mailbox. A no brainer as it’s just a simple book off the New York Times best seller list. The book retailer is not happy about free shipping that costs them some $$$ and Amazon doesn’t care about shipping.

Example 2: The washer/dryer needs to be bought in person as too many things need to be figured out like delivery, size, installation and logistics. Once you shake every one down as to who offers free delivery, who wants $79, sorry we deliver in 6 weeks to want it tomorrow, free installation and removal to we have to charge more if it’s in a condominium. Go in person. Have them write down every promise made.

Example 3: Groceries: Anything that has a short shelf life like fruits, vegetables and meats and such need you to buy in person. Cereal, flour, sugar and Oreos can be bought on-line.

Retailers have now found a way to be like UPS. UPS will try once to deliver your package after which you have to go pick it up at their depot (hmmm you pay shipping to go pick it up yourself). Canada Post will either leave it in your mailbox or have you pick it up at their very local depot located at Shoppers Drug Mart or a variety store. Retailers are trying to not ship your product for free anymore. They are being creative in having you order on-line and then pick it up in the store. They are looking to expand how you can pick it up at their store or at a community locker at a mall. If I can order a $60 book and pick it up in the store maybe I should buy it on-line for $40 with free shipping and let  Canada Post deliver it to my door in 2 days? That is the interesting question mall owners and retailers are trying to answer.

Big Box becomes Mid Box

The days of these mammoth big box stores are now becoming smaller and more efficient. Take the big box and do some space planning and it can fit in a smaller store. Consumers are no longer going to feel excited walking into a wide expanse of blinking lights when all they need to do is go to a locker to pick up their order. Bad news for the retail developers as space needs are dwindling. Why must I pay list price because your heating costs are so high to warm up a 20000 sq foot store?

Amazon Threat

More so in the USA but less so in Canada as they continue their location wall for services across borders (Sorry the Kindle book is not available in Canada…means I get it from Kobo in Canada) but they do have 50 million products available. AMZN continues to be a 800 pound gorilla stateside. Consumers also do not care if the retailer makes any money on what they sell because they can buy the same product from other retailers. Now how come everyone doesn't offer similar to Amazon Mayday?

WalMart Threat

Their new Grab & Go service will be interesting as they try to get consumers to buy on-line and then pick up at a locker in-store with an access code. Wait, I am ordering my toilet paper and shampoo on-line with free shipping as I do not want to go take a drive to go buy it. Wait, if I go to the store I can get a RedBox DVD for $1.50. Wait, what do I do?

Home Delivery vs Pick Up In-Store

Let me defend the in-store picker uppers as they are not home during the day to take delivery so they are happier picking the stuff up on their way home from work and can run in and empty the locker and zip home. Ok, just do not park in the front entrance as it is a Fire Zone – No Parking. I thought the idea of the lockers being near busy transit might make more sense for the busy consumer. Ok, I park in a real spot and then enjoy a haircut, a McDonalds coffee and then hot the Grab & Go locker on the way out.

The Last Mile

In Telco, the last mile was always key and so it has now become the same in retail. How do we get orders to our customers in a cost effective fashion? Do not offer free shipping as this is a cost the retailer must bear and can account for considerable profit loss. Let us find a way to get the customer to pick up their on-line purchase in-store at their expense not ours. There is a cost associated with Free Shipping that retailers have their eyes upon. Right or wrong we need to celebrate those retailers that will offer options for how you shop and how you pick up your purchases. Every retailer and now mall owner is looking for ways to keep the consumer in their car and not in the store. I can get go to the drive through ATM, get a coffee at a drive through Starbucks, pick up my antibiotics at a drive through Shoppers Drug Mart, pick up my on-line groceries at a drive through Loblaws, pick up my Shampoo, Diapers, Pet Food and Kindle charging cord from WalMart Grab & Go (ooops it too cold to get out of my warm SUV so I will wait until its warmer) and I am late for my Back Massage from the RMT that does in-car services. The world is changing as we speak.

Mall Overhaul

In Canada we have seen a raft of store closures and American Retailers pulling out and new American Retailers jumping in. The mall is changing and they are trying to find better ways to attract shoppers into their environment. Look for more events, activities and promotions to take place in the year to come. Look for tier B and C malls developing tenants that are not retail. These empty spaces are ideal for medical clinics, libraries, entertainment, restaurants and maybe even community centers or schools. This is a good idea because over time the mall will be more people orientated than consumer oriented. This is slowly happening here with more Dollarama’s showing up in these smaller malls but a local mall begging for tenants has a fitness center, an employment center, several non-chain restaurants, a medical clinic embedded in a Pharmacy and a day care center.  This is adapting to the local consumers’ needs a lot faster than any on-line experience. Humans will continue to crave and experience tactile and social interaction in their daily life and why not so at the local mall.

On-Line going Bricks and Mortar

Sure Amazon is opening up a store in New York City as a test to expand to other major cities but then Clearly Contacts is a web store first and is seeing great results in adding retail stores to its fleet. There are other examples that are experimenting with a pop up before going bricks. In Toronto, the successful food trucks will go bricks to get revenue during the cold winter months that the food truck is parked which to me I feel the food truck is a virtual on-line service almost.

We love to buy and we love to buy and we hate to buy. We love to buy things that satisfy our souls and bring us happiness and we love to buy things from brands we trust and more so when it’s an easy experience. We hate to buy when it becomes a hassle and gets complicated. Many still buy poor quality for the short term and treat it as disposable products. Many buy because it’s cheap or on sale while others buy a heritage item that will last. Regardless, retailers are using big data to better understand the consumer’s behaviour and better serve your needs. Loblaw’s is pulling all levers in healthy food, big data, better service, new buying options and in-store services that is improving their bottom line.

Brilliant Example: A book store has an app that allows you to create a Christmas wish list and also share it. Tell me that the big data analytics is not in a huge play here? We are telling the retailer what we want for Christmas, where we rank it and what we do not want. If no one wants Broccoli flavoured candles I would let my buyers know immediately to stop buying that stuff and maybe throw it up on sale to free up valuable floor space. However, if the Samsung Tablet is a top item please have a selection of cases and accessories available at the time of purchase because I surely do not want to buy the tablet from you, get the case from an on-line source shipped to my house and the screen protector from a bricks store because I could just go buy that from one place and wait a few days for delivery (all with free shipping). Do I buy from a book store or an electronics store? I may just buy from a one stop shop store.

Bricks

All we want is to be able to go to the store and choose among 4 electric tea kettles at various price points and pick one. If you succeed we will buy $10 worth of tea and maybe some other impulse purchases while we are at it. If you have a poor selection or we sniff that pricing seems high then we walk out and promise o never waste our time again. If we are in your store, live bodies that can assist in our purchase will be of immense value especially if we are dropping $2000 on a washer/dryer combo or even a $2000 DSLR. If we need no help then we can just go to Costco and buy whatever camera is on the skid but then we cannot buy a camera bag, filters, another lens, flash or accessories that are recommended by the sales person or get a coupon for a free photography class in-store.

Retailers and Consumers alike will jostle back and forth, exchange big data, try to trick the analytics and forever continue their journey to get the best product, at the best price delivered with the best service.

BTW I have cancelled my non-chip credit card as its been hacked too many times and due to its higher fees to the retailer is not widely accepted.

BTW I cannot use Apple Pay as my iPhone 4 is now a slow iOS7 camera device and my primary smartphone is an Android. My payment of choice will continue to be cash, debit and credit (both with chip card security enabled). Paypal is still my on-line payment service. There will be some interesting debates about who will have the app of choice for universal use. I think that Starbucks won’t care because I can buy a coffee and pay with an app or just have them scan my watch and let Pebblebucks do all the heavy work. Do I need Apple Pay to buy a coffee at Starbucks?

BTW I still get excited to go through the stack of flyers every Thursday evening. Grocery shopping continues to be based on low price and highest quality and really only 2 stores are on the short list. Buying decisions and impulsive ones continue to be based on the Staples, Best Buy and Future Shop flyers with the occasional Canada Computers and Tiger Direct. When on business in the USA, I can be influenced easily by a Target or Macy’s flyer included in the morning newspaper. Bricks, Flyers, On-line or word of mouth …pick 1 or 2 and go fill that shopping cart.

Central vac Repair

I needed a new motor and calling around the price varied from $169 to $299 for the same part number.

I called the manufacturer and the wait time was over 20 minutes while listening to some poorly recorded announcements. Finally, after providing the part number which was unfamiliar to the CSR another 10 minutes of wait time (they probably could have Googled it faster) to be told to call the dealers as they do not deal direct with the public. Why can’t they say that up front or in the announcement queue?

I saw that I could get it on-line for about $120 but preferred to go local and when I inquired with each store owner as to why the price was so high a few mentioned that they are made in china. My response was “shouldn’t they be cheaper?” I guess not. Hopefully this motor will last another 15 years and they were all surprised that it lasted that long stating 5 years of use was typical. I learned something new today and that was that a motor should last about 5 years. So shop around to get the best deal for the same item.

Silicon Valley: 25 Technology Disruptors to Watch

October 31, 2014 12:29 pm

Courtesy of the Financial Times

Silicon Valley: 25 to watch

From drone control to grocery shopping, ingestible sensors to sleep monitoring, Silicon Valley is setting the pace. Here, in no particular order, are the products and projects you might not have heard of yet

01. Instacart  Grocery delivery service

Silicon Valley Special

Hungry but too lazy to go to the shops? Pull up the Instacart app and they’ll take your order and send someone there for you. Instant delivery is a growing trend in ecommerce as smartphones make digital shopping ubiquitous. Amazon and Google are also getting into this space, sometimes called “Uber for X” after the app that delivers drivers instantly. Instacart remains one of the fastest-growing start-ups in the area, launching in more than a dozen US cities this year and beginning to look at international expansion.

02. August Smart door locks

Designs by Yves Béhar range from the “One Laptop Per Child” project to Jawbone’s Jambox speaker and Up fitness tracker. His latest is the August Smart Lock, which has been hailed as the best “connected home” gadget since Nest’s thermostat. The device automatically unlocks the front door when it detects the homeowner’s phone approaching, via Bluetooth. It is already a top seller in US Apple Stores and chief executive Jason Johnson says a second product is in the works.

03. ClassDojo Classroom management app

Getting young students to behave in class and keeping their parents in the loop are not easy tasks, especially for teachers who may struggle with too many students and too little time. ClassDojo allows educators to track student behaviour, award points for improvement and email parents a weekly report about how their son or daughter is doing. Founders Liam Don and Sam Chaudhary, both raised in the UK, worked in the education field before relocating to San Francisco to launch the company.

04. AngelList Early stage investment

An online platform for individuals looking to invest in promising new companies, AngelList has ridden the start-up boom. Its syndicates allow people to invest alongside more established investors in return for giving up some of their gains. It is also developing a recruitment business on the side by doubling as an employment network for the start-up industry: encouraging entrepreneurs and engineers to list themselves on the site.

05. Airware Drone brains

Commercial use of drones – or unmanned aerial vehicles, as the industry calls them – is still a legal grey area. But that hasn’t stopped entrepreneurs, and Airware, founded in 2011, leads the pack. Its autopilot software is cheaper than military versions, safer than consumer drone equivalents and acts as a platform from which to build systems for any industry, from wildlife conservation to vaccine drops in remote areas.

06. Stripe Online payments technology

Not many start-ups can claim Apple, Facebook and Twitter as major partners. Stripe can. Founded by the young Irish Collison brothers, Stripe has developed a system that makes it easy for online retailers to process payments. Their code underpins some of Facebook and Twitter’s forays into ecommerce, and they worked with Apple on turning iPhones into digital wallets.

07. GitHub Code-sharing social network

GitHub has revolutionised the management of software development. The site lets developers store open-source code, which they can then modify as needed. That makes it easier for developers to build on the work of others. Companies can also pay for private code storage. It has had some management issues, however. Earlier this year a female developer quit, accusing some colleagues of sexual harassment, and a co-founder stepped down following an investigation.

08. TechShop ‘Maker’ spaces

TechShop is a playground for makers. The nationwide chain of workshops gives members access to impressively sophisticated power tools and 3D printers, allowing them to invent and build products far more sophisticated than any tinkerer could do in his or her garage. The possibility that TechShop could help rejuvenate American manufacturing has also caught the attention of some powerful people in Washington. It partners with Darpa, the Department of Defense’s engineering research wing, and Barack Obama dropped in on a branch in Pittsburgh to give a speech on the state of the economy.

09. Proteus Digital Health Ingestible sensors

Embedding ingestible sensors in pills to help doctors monitor their patients in real time sounds like sci-fi but Proteus is already piloting its digital medicine system in the US and Europe. The California-based company also raised an impressive $172m in funding this summer from backers including Novartis and Oracle. Its tiny “chip” reacts in the stomach to emit radio waves that are then picked up by a chest strap and transferred to a smartphone which sends them into the cloud.

10. FireChat Chat app popular with protesters

Proof that an app designed for one thing – sending messages when there is no mobile reception – can be transformed into something totally different. FireChat, an app which uses Bluetooth capabilities to create a private internet, made its name earlier this year after Iraqis adopted it as a way of communicating when the government was restricting internet access. Its use soared during the recent protests in Hong Kong.

11. Slack Workplace collaboration app

Many successful start ups are created when a struggling company “pivots” to a new idea. Stewart Butterfield has done it twice, first with photo-sharing pioneer Flickr and now with Slack. After an online game failed, his company released Slack, its internal messaging tool, as a free app for other companies. Aimed at teams of five to 150 people, it provides a searchable group chat and has become the “back channel” of choice for many Silicon Valley start-ups.

12. SwiftKey Predictive keyboard app

SwiftKey improves on the most used but least liked part of any smartphone: the keyboard. Founded in London in 2008, the team expanded to San Francisco last year just before Apple opened up its iPhones and iPads to third-party keyboards. It is already among the most popular Android apps in the world. SwiftKey learns your writing style by analysing your emails and text messages, and suggests what it thinks will be the next word you’ll want to use even before you’ve started typing it.

13. Coinbase Bitcoin wallet

If the digital currency Bitcoin is a vehicle for disrupting the financial services industry, then Coinbase is one of its most ambitious creations. Founded by software engineer Brian Armstrong and Goldman Sachs trader Fred Ehrsam, Coinbase is a leader in the race to attract consumers with easy-to-use online accounts and merchants with the promise of low-cost transactions.

14. Unity Technologies 3D gaming platform

As a nine-year-old company, Unity is hardly a new start-up. But in that time, the gaming world has expanded to include smartphones, tablets and PCs as well as new consoles and, soon, virtual reality. Unity’s gaming engine works with them all, making it the platform of choice for millions of developers and hundreds of millions of players.

Interactive

View this list according to sectors and investors

15. Storehouse
Smartphone-friendly storytelling

While there are plenty of social apps for distributing single images, Storehouse co‑founders Mark Kawano and Tim Donnelly have created a new kind of “visual storytelling” platform. Its templates, slick design and smooth animations can make a day out look like a magazine photo spread.

16. Medium Blogging

Sometimes 140 characters is just not enough. After pushing the world to adopt the brevity of a tweet, Twitter co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone founded Medium, a long-form blogging platform, in 2012. Writers can opine for however many lines they want, making it a home for bloggers, journalists and academics, as well as some pretty awful PR pitches.

17. Homejoy Uber for domestic chores

This start-up is trying to rethink one of the most universal problems: how to keep your home tidy. Its platform lets users book cleaners by the hour and at short notice. Just two years old and a graduate of prestigious start-up incubator Y Combinator, it is already operating in more than 30 metropolitan areas in the US and Canada. The company’s work has proved somewhat controversial, however, for its reliance on contract workers who are not formal employees and therefore lack guaranteed hours or benefits.

18. Super Evil Megacorp
“Hardcore” tablet games

Super Evil Megacorp says its mission is to “destroy the productivity of mankind with endlessly entertaining games”. But it wants to do it with more intense, “hardcore” games, not just another Angry Birds. It has a stellar team of experienced games executives drawn from Grand Theft Auto makers Rockstar Games, social gaming pioneer Playfish and Riot, the company behind League of Legends. And now that devices such as the iPad have much more powerful graphics and processing capabilities, their new target is tablets.

19. Calico A mission to defeat death

Calico (short for California Life Company) is Google’s attempt to “defeat death” – or, at least, tackle the chronic diseases of ageing. Its chief executive, Google non‑executive director Art Levinson, once led Genentech to become the most successful US biotech company and has reassembled some of that company’s former leaders for his new venture. In one of its first big initiatives, Calico reached a partnership with drugmaker AbbVie whereby each will invest up to $750m in early-stage drug research.

20. wealthfront Automated investment management

Wealthfront is one of the fastest-growing online investment tools. With more than $1bn under management, it offers low-cost, diversified funds with a twist, claiming to adjust individual portfolios automatically to reflect a customer’s risk tolerance. Wealthfront has marketed itself heavily to staff at Silicon Valley companies that have gone public, using this rich young clientele to get its name out.

21. Houzz Home decor

With Amazon dominating most of ecommerce, it can be tricky for start-ups to find a niche. One promising area is home decor. Houzz is a star of the space, raising $165m this autumn to accelerate its move into selling home goods online. The site has already built up a business among users who plan their renovations on it, mining its inventory of design ideas and database of architects and contractors.

22. Vicarious Artificial intelligence

A list of personal investors that reads like a who’s who of the tech world – including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel – has made Vicarious one of the hottest new start-ups in artificial intelligence, even though its technology is still experimental. Vicarious hopes to mimic the human neocortex to carry out tasks such as image recognition – a notoriously difficult problem for computers.

23. IFTTT Control anything with anything

All software works on the principle of “If This Then That”. IFTTT allows people who aren’t programmers to control that cause and effect between dozens of different apps. That could mean automatically saving all your Instagram photos to Dropbox or triggering a text‑message alert if it is going to rain tomorrow. It also works with a range of internet-connected devices such as “smart” lightbulbs and thermostats that may not otherwise “talk” to each other.

24. Shape Security Botnet protection

Shape Security has developed a technology that allows web pages to change constantly. This shape-shifting code means hackers cannot use botnets – vast virtual networks of computers – as a cheap and quick way to discover passwords. Backed by Google’s venture capital arm, the company is led by a former senior adviser to the US defence secretary.

25. Hello Sleep monitoring

At a time when many health-tracking device developers are nervously eyeing the Apple Watch, Hello’s first product, Sense, has found a niche: sleep monitoring. Founded by 23-year-old Brit James Proud, Sense raised $2.4m on Kickstarter this summer. Hello is also backed by a who’s who of Silicon Valley angel investors.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/a8bdaef6-5fb3-11e4-8c27-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Kra36w8o