Link: How Retailers Use Technology to Get an Edge | Inc.com.

Sorry for the troll title in advance.

While this article isn’t specifically about marketers and marketers are not lazy, this post did get me thinking of my experiences in the last few months with marketers at retailers and brands of all shapes and sizes including their agencies (media, shopper and digital)

In evaluating programs, scale is undoubtably the #1 killer of ideas and sales efforts.  And I don’t blame the buyers at retailers and their agency suppliers….if it can’t be big enough to make a dent in the topline, I wouldn’t do it either.  This applies from retail apps to NFC, DOOH and mobile….doesn’t matter what the medium is…if I can’t get mass influence (even at a local level) I don’t have the time in a day to address it.

But what I’m finding is the #2 killer of ideation and sales can only really be described as “fear and laziness” – Complexity fills the #2 spot.  As soon as something requires more than a cursory thought in how it would be executed, programs get shelved.  The fear of complicated raises the fear and likelihood of failure.  A program could have scale and, in tests, show returns of 300% along with massive customer satisfaction increases in 2 days but if thinking is actually required and it requires “pulling multiple pieces and companies together”, it dies on the vine.

I’ll will say this to those who fall down on #2:

Get used to it

Programs are going to get more complex because customers are more complex. More technology is needed.  Integration between promotions, loyalty, price/value and personalization across channels are needed.  Another 100 services are going to launch in the next year that you need to incorporate because your consumers expect you to.

Complexity is the new black and, as the article states, if you aren’t addressing it via technology and putting actual thought behind your customer efforts instead of leveling the “media howitzer” at it trying to insert yourself via interruption, yet again, into a customer’s journey for another “Like” you’re doing yourself, your company and your customers a grave disservice.

A customer can tell when you’ve actually put effort into something and appreciates it.  Use technology to satisfy and delight and be proud of the depth and quality of your initiatives again.  Might you fail?  Sure! But do it intelligently and learn from it for the next complex program because it’s only going to get more complicated not less.

Link: How Retailers Use Technology to Get an Edge | Inc.com.