Coming to grips with omni-channel retailing

Experienced ecommerce and digital strategy chief Larry Promisel outlines the key considerations for retailers bringing together their physical and digital offerings

A successful omni-channel strategy is an organisation-wide change that requires solid technology foundations and a clear strategic roadmap incorporating the ideas and support of the entire business.

How to create such a roadmap was the theme of a presentation by Camuto Group senior vice-president of digital commerce and experienced online retail leader, Larry Promisel, at the recent Online Retailer Conference and Ecommerce Expo in Sydney. He also shared his real-life experiences crafting an ecommerce and digital strategy.

Promisel is currently building Camuto Group’s online digital and ecommerce strategy, and has previously held similar roles with Bloomingdales, Barneys, Coach and BlueFly.

“Ecommerce is a disruptive force within an organisation and that’s a good thing – it shakes things up, but it also integrates and ties things together,” he said.

As a first step, Promisel advised retailers to gather as much data from across the business as they can. “Review and assess the gaps in your current state against future state, competitive benchmarks, and against best practice,” he said.

“You need to have a starting point to then determine where you should be, and what your targets should be.

“Interview as many people throughout the organisation as you can, and become a ‘superactive’ listener. There are a lot of good ideas already resident in organisations and people who know what should be done and how things could be better. Tap into these and create alliances - it will give you more capabilities and grow the business much further and faster.”

Aussie shoppers want real-time help online
Tranformation of a retail giant: The Co-Op’s Greg Smith
Why shopping isn’t the only thing online retailers should worry about

For Promisel, anyone building new capabilities into their business should base decisions on three core questions: Where are we; where do you want to be; and how do you want to get there? The responses to each of these can then be broken up into functional areas and digestible parts, he said.

Retailers should also strive to take a phased, low-term approach and to build solid foundations before a staged deployment, Promisel continued. This will also ensure you have the flexibility to adapt and embrace new trends when you need to.

“Be realistic with your timing, especially when you’re building the foundation,” he added. “You not going to paint the house before you’ve poured the foundation or done the plumbing or electrics. That’s what you’re doing if you don’t have the right technology systems and architectures in place. Those are all the mechanisms and by building that foundation to extend off.”

Camuto is in the process of replacing all of its Web systems, which are expected to come online in October, and is taking a long-term view of omni-channel, Promisel said. But regardless of the approach you take, digital teams need to establish quick wins to cement their authority and trusted position within the organisation, he said.

Promisel then outlined as range of considerations brands should include in their action plans for omni-channel. These include growth management, international ambitions, top-down support and buy-in, timing, money, cross-channel cooperation, evangelising, organisational change, technology platforms, analytics, fulfilment and distribution and mobile devices.

“This requires human and technical capital, marketing, customer service – there are a lot of inputs into doing this right,” he said. “This is about organisational change.”

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO Australia conversation on LinkedIn: CMO Australia, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia

Signup to CMO’s new email newsletter to receive your weekly dose of targeted content for the modern marketing chief.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in