Retail TouchPoints: Retail Executives Share Challenges With Solution Provider Partners
Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.
At the RetailNOW conference held in Vegas in July, one of the highlights was the customer panel discussion, designed to allow end-user retail and hospitality customers to let their solution providers partners know how they can help their businesses move forward.
Panel members shared their experiences with their current solution provider partners and how those relationships could improve. As a single-store retailer, Mario Berlango, owner, Mario's Westside Market, expressed particular concerns around receiving proper attention and service from his solution provider partners.
"Mario's comment is the biggest complaint of smaller retailers," noted Greg Buzek, President, IHL Group. "They feel they are treated as a notch on the bedpost. Once a solution provider gets the sale, they're gone." Instead, he advised solution providers to differentiate themselves with service offering. "If you sell with the mindset of how to help the retailer succeed and provide processes for key initiatives, such as loyalty, you will endear merchants and they will feel they have a partner to guide them along their journey."
Doug Redding, technology manager, sales, Nature's Best, the natural foods wholesaler, noted that his retailers often need assistance finding information on new technologies and facilitating change. "As a distributor working with many different retailers, what we ID as a key challenge is helping to control change," he explained. "I have had retailers call me to ask how to go about searching for a new POS system. If you (as a solution provider) can control that fear of change and provide answers to tough questions, then you will earn their trust."
Raphael Cohen, founder & president, Universal Watch Co., shared a specific instance in which his company did not receive the expected services in a new technology implementation, resulting in lost sales. When moving forward with a new e-commerce platform, Mr. Cohen found out, during the process, that the system was not offering guest checkout. "This was a big turnoff for our customers," he said. "Our sales dropped 40 percent without that feature." Later, Universal Watch learned that the feature did exist within the platform — it just wasn't turned on.
Phil Crawford, CIO, Yard House Restaurant Group, expressed his satisfaction with some of his VARs (value added resellers), who work to interact with the company. He adds, "Having mutual respect and understanding of the business' wants and needs ... is very important to us."