With 30 years of experience as a Sears and Neiman Marcus executive and a strategic advisor, Steve Dennis has seen his share of retail disruption.
The president of SageBerry Consulting has experience working with both Fortune 500 clients and start-ups, with specific focus paid toward driving digital innovation, customer centricity and omnichannel growth. In a Q&A with Chain Store Age, an RIS sister publication, Dennis shared insight from his new book, “Remarkable Retail: How to Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Digital Disruption.”
Among the strategies he counsels today’s retailers include a directive to “stop thinking about omnichannel and start thinking about harmonized.”
“With most customer journeys that result in a physical store sale — and many in-store experiences being enabled by digital technology, it isn’t about being everywhere, it’s about showing up in the moments that matter in remarkable ways,” he said. “That means dissecting the customer journey to root out friction points and, more importantly, finding ways to ‘amplify the wow.’”
Indeed, in a recent RIS “Curb the Panic” webinar, Dennis shared two things retailers can focus on right now during this challenging environment:
No. 1: Investing in building relationships and trust “as this will always serve you well.”
No. 2: Understanding the customer journey and where retailers can amplify the customer experience — “and then test, test, test.”