Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova.

This week, I feature Steven Dennis on the show. Steve is the president of SageBerry Consulting, a strategic advisory firm focused on innovation and growth strategy for retail, luxury, and social impact brands. Prior to SageBerry, Steve was SVP, Strategy and Multi-channel Marketing, for the Neiman Marcus Group and earlier in his career, he held senior leadership positions with Sears including Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Multi-channel Integration.

THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… sellers, retailers, and e-commerce marketers.

TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…

It's true - some retailers are getting left behind, which means there is no shortage of store closings. Yet, even with the volume of closures, some retailers are actually growing and opening new retail storefronts. Why is that? Those that are thriving are becoming much more experiential, customer focused and have a clear, differentiated value proposition.

If you want to make sure you are not left behind, ask yourself if you are fundamentally customer-centric and if you truly understand how your customers' behaviors are changing. You'd have to be living under a rock to not realize that there has to be innovation for retail across the board. Today, technology is "a must-have, not a nice-to-have."

You must look at your customer beyond their demographic descriptions or other generic data points. Assess how and where your customers are influenced. Go beyond the single transaction to build relationships and create a lifelong customer. Notice how the customer buys and shops, and view those interactions separately.

WHAT I LOVE MOST… We finally have the truth behind the adage, "retail is dead!" It's not - mostly. As much as people want to believe this blanket-statement, it's just not true. Yes, the digital download market has disrupted a few key players, but the markets that have focused on customer data and experiential shopping are going strong.

Running time: 36:10

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