Why Your CEO Needs to Be The Chief Omnichannel Officer
Posted by Stephan Schambach on Jul 14, 2020
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Omnichannel just became essential.
Some brands have been on the journey to omnichannel for several years now. However, for those who haven’t, waiting to make the investment is no longer an option. Retail won’t return back to “normal” in the post-COVID world, especially for DTC brands. The pandemic is accelerating the use of capabilities such as contactless pay, curbside pickup, and endless aisle. These were once niceties. Then they became points of differentiation. Now, they are a necessity for survival.
For a brand to get started with omnichannel, there need to be efficiencies across every dimension of business. Importantly, innovation isn’t just in the technologies you build or the end-user experiences you create. You need to innovate from the inside-out and the top-down.
Let me explain.
Most in-store and ecommerce technologies were not built with the other in mind. In fact, they were likely built long before there was a need for them to be connected. Before seamless shopping online, in-store, and across mobile was a consumer expectation. So, not only were the systems existing in silos but so too were the teams that managed them.
With blinders on to other areas of the business, technology decisions would be made to the benefit of the team buying the solution. Often times this meant settling on a point solution for a short-term problem. Today that might be implementing just buy online pick-up in-store (BOPIS), which has grown in adoption since the pandemic hit. Retailers want to enable instant gratification, diversify shipping locations, and move merchandise, among other things.
However, the more brands lean on stop-gap solutions versus long-term investments, the more difficult it will be to support the business through its next season of transformation. I’ve seen this to be a barrier for many brands trying to become omnichannel organizations. It’s the end of four wall economics. Omnichannel can drive value for every group in the business if you drive down the silos and let it.
The first step is for the senior-most leaders, specifically the chief executive, to understand what technology can achieve. Ideally, you want a system that is innovative today but also flexible enough for the innovations of tomorrow. The only constant in retail is change so your infrastructure needs to be able to support your brand as its business needs evolve. This much is true: those executives who don’t understand this or don’t want to hear from those who do will sabotage the future of their business.
One of the most effective ways to quickly become an omnichannel organization is if the CEO is the change agent. The Chief Omnichannel Officer, if you will. It also works if they know it’s important and they empower others to make the right decisions. In some cases, that means bringing in new talent. Someone with an open mindset and a forward-thinking agenda.
What doesn’t work is continuing to think in silos. There needs to be a holistic understanding of the importance of technology for a seamless customer experience.
Once you’ve found alignment at the top, it’s necessary to clearly define your goals for transformation and then articulate them to the entire organization. From your founders and board all the way down to your retail store employees. In making your goals and project milestones visible to everyone, you’ll ensure eagerness for only the very best results.
Letting teams operate and make technology decisions as they did in the past will not result in successful brands. For those leaders looking to set a plan for long-term business vitality, including sales growth and brand relevance, you need to go omnichannel. Investing in omnichannel is not just investing in a new system. It is a strategic initiative that will spearhead growth across all direct selling channels.
Most companies that fail, do so because of organizational and technological challenges. Don’t let that be the checkmate on your digital transformation. Move tech decisions out of individual teams and up to the C-Suite.
