Brick & Mortar Reborn

Navigating the Great Resignation: Vikas Bhambri and Devon Mychal on Fostering Employee Engagement and Wellbeing

Is the Great Resignation just a buzzword, or is it real? Either way, employees are quitting their jobs and looking for new roles. And research shows that workers who are engaged in their work and workplace can actually be more likely to outperform competitors. It’s time to start rethinking employee management and come up with new strategies for improving the employee experience.
Here to talk about this subject today is Vikas Bhambri, SVP, Sales & CX at Kustomer and Devon Mychal, Director of Product Marketing at Talkdesk. In their conversation today, they’ll be exploring ways for companies to have a truly employee-centered workforce with top-down advocacy for employee wellbeing. Listen to the episode to hear them discuss why it’s more difficult to sustain engagement in the workforce, especially for deskless employees, how to address staff shortages and reductions, and what ripple effects a workforce experiences from high turnover.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Vikas does at Kustomer✔ What Devon does at Talkdesk✔ Why has it become more difficult to build and maintain an engaged workforce✔ The perfect storm of legacy concepts, remote working, and bring-your-own-device✔ Addressing staff shortages and reductions✔ How to set up workers for success✔The ripple effects of high turnover rates in a company✔ Hits to morale due to turnover✔ Training and updates due to new technology✔ How recognition plays a role and how companies should manage it✔ Trend changes that are going to have a future impact on workforce management
 
Resources:
Devon Mychal
Vikas Bhambri
Talkdesk
Kustomer
 
QUOTES:
“The staffing shortage is real and companies are getting creative in terms of how they’re approaching these things.” –Devon Mychal, Director of Product Marketing at Talkdesk
“Even for very large legacy brands and companies, you’re seeing how a change in leadership can not only have an impact on the employee brand but ultimately the bottom line and the share price.” –Vikas Bhambri, SVP, Sales & CX at Kustomer
“Any individual leaving a company has a profound impact.” –Vikas Bhambri, SVP, Sales & CX at Kustomer
“Companies that aren’t investing in a strong customer experience brand and really making that a priority are having trouble attracting agents and keeping agents because they don’t want to be a part of something that doesn’t value the work that they do. –Devon Mychal, Director of Product Marketing at Talkdesk
“The recognition has to be meaningful, it can’t just be that everyone’s recognizing each other all the time because it’s an easy thing to do and we just want everyone to feel happy.” –Devon Mychal, Director of Product Marketing at Talkdesk
“We’re at a time where a lot of what we develop now is really going to springboard us for several years from an employee perspective.” –Vikas Bhambri, SVP, Sales & CX at Kustomer

Love and Resilience: Kelly Cook on Navigating David’s Bridal Through Changing Times

No matter what’s going on in the world, people will still fall in love and want to get married. For that reason, businesses like David’s Bridal are always going to be important, in the midst of COVID or during any other time.
In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Kelly Cook, EVP and Chief Marketing and IT Officer for David’s Bridal. Listen in to hear what she has to say about how she ended up at David’s bridal, what changes she’s seen in the behavior of consumers who are using David’s bridal, and what David’s has coming in the future in terms of technology and omnichannel experiences.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Kelly’s background✔ What David’s Bridal is about✔ What brought Kelly to David’s Bridal initially✔ What “transforming” means to Kelly✔ Changes Kelly has seen in consumer behavior✔ Key omnichannel experiences that David’s has adopted✔ What David’s is seeing on the horizon that they want to do✔ Technology decisions that are important for David’s Bridal✔ The elements that make the loyalty program at David’s successful✔ Metrics that David’s is held to✔ Best in-location experiences Kelly has had with other brands✔ Kelly’s advice for retailers
Resources:
Kelly Cook
QUOTES:
“Loving the love business, which is what we’re in at David’s.”
“It’s really about pulling back and looking at every single way we serve her, and figuring out better ways to do that given the way she lives her life today.”
“One of the things that we’re really going to be focused on this year is digitally transforming the entire wedding planning process for her.”

Sweet Traditions Meet Innovation: Pat Egan on Steering See’s Candies into a New Era

See’s Candies is a retailer that hardly needs an introduction, because it’s so widely known. And what could be better than working for a popular candy manufacturer and retailer? In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Pat Egan, the CEO of See’s Candies. Listen in to learn about what brought Pat to the brand from the energy field, how to keep employees happy and providing great experiences for customers, and how to balance innovation with the essence of an established, historic brand.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Pat’s background✔ What brought Pat to the brand✔ Changes Pat has seen in consumer behavior✔ The secret to happy employees and good in-location experiences✔ Balancing innovation and keeping the brand essence intact✔ What customers enjoy about the brand and store location experiences✔ Advice Pat would give to other retailer✔ See’s company culture✔ Keys to keeping customers happy✔ What brick and mortar retailers can learn to make them better✔ Celebrating See’s centennial✔ See’s plans for the future✔ Pat’s favorite in-store locations outside of See’s
Resources:
Pat Egan
QUOTES:
“Our job is to make people happy. And we get to do that every day.”
“In 2019, we broke a million packages shipped for the first time in company history, this year we anticipate breaking about 2.2 million.”
“Always take care of your customer and listen to them.”

Self-Service Revolution: Samuel Mueller on the Evolution of Retail Technology and the Future of Scandit

What is driving the demand for self-service technologies inside store locations? That’s one of the things that you’ll hear about in today’s episode. Joining the podcast today is Samuel Mueller of Scandit, a company that provides technology that facilitates better communication between retailers and consumers. Listen to the episode to hear what Samuel has to say about how he began Scandit, what changes he’s seen in consumer behavior, and what he sees in the future of the retail industry.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Scandit is all about✔ What led Samuel to start Scandit✔ How retailers use Scandit technology✔ Changes in consumer behavior and the use of technology✔ Whether there will be more technology changes in the near future✔ Samuel’s advice for retailers✔ Influencing factors that drive demand for self-servicing technology✔ The future of the retail industry and physical store locations✔ Samuel’s favorite places to visit in Zurich
Resources:
Samuel Mueller
QUOTES:
“If you think about what a smartphone does and what a smartphone is, it’s really, in many regards, an extension to ourselves at this point.”
“Everyone obviously needs to think hard about the core operational needs and digitization needs relative to business strategy and strategic objectives that they’re setting out to accomplish.”
“Physical store locations, in some sense, are sort of experience, curation, and instant gratification hubs of sorts.”

Flavorful Expansions: Michael Mohammed on Navigating the Fast-Casual Restaurant Space and Building the Chronic Tacos Brand

What do you need to think about when establishing a franchise business model? What’s attractive about fast-casual restaurants? These are some of the questions that Michael Mohammed will address in today’s show. Michael is the CEO of Chronic Tacos, a restaurant that focuses on food authenticity and a flavor experience. Check out the episode to learn what Michael thinks about the experience customers get in Chronic Taco locations, what the keys are to building a brand, and how to know what customers are demanding.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ The Chronic Tacos story✔ How many restaurants there are✔ The restaurant’s business model✔ The experience created in Chronic Tacos locations✔ Michael’s background outside the restaurant industry✔ What intrigued Michael about the fast-casual restaurant industry✔ The keys to building a brand✔ Michael’s plan for scalability✔ Challenges Michael experienced franchising locally and overseas✔ Consumer trends that have changed in the restaurant industry✔ Knowing what customer demands are✔ How to ask for customer feedback✔ The Chronic Tacos approach to managing social media pages✔ How to create visibility in a new market✔ Critical aspects to a great in-location experience✔ Why brands fail at delivering great in-location experiences✔ What’s ahead for Chronic Tacos
Resources:
Michael Mohammed
 
QUOTES:
“We really try to engage all the senses in our restaurant.”
“So much was in the founders’ heads, of how this worked and what made it work.”
“We try to really be engaged with what’s going on in our social media platforms and respond right away and engage with them.”

Navigating Multi-Channel Conversations: Mariam Reza on the Power and Demand of Conversational AI

How can brands continue having a conversation with their consumers through multiple channels? Today’s guest is Mariam Reza, and she explains the value and details of conversational AI. Listen to her interview to hear what Mariam has to say about the company she works for, LivePerson, how they enable brands to better reach out to their customers, and what the demand is for a conversational AI experience.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Mariam’s career path✔ How Mariam started out with LivePerson✔ What LivePerson is all about✔ How LivePerson enables its customers to reach out to their customers✔ Having one customer conversation across different mediums✔ The state of the demand for AI-powered experience✔ Challenges in the conversational AI space✔ Tactical steps for putting together a conversational AI plan✔ What brands need to know
Resources:
Mariam Reza
QUOTES:
“I love that our vision as a company is really to make life easy for consumers and brands.”
“If I take store as one channel, you’ve got all the others, really, living on your device.”
“In building very good AI, you need very very very good experts.”

Bridging Retail Dimensions: Hemant Chavan on Fusing Online Convenience with Brick-and-Mortar Authenticity

How can you build an online shopping type of experience in a brick and mortar retail space? That’s one of the things that today’s guest will be talking about. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Hemant Chavan of Brik and Clik, an idea that’s meant to unite the online and offline shopping worlds. Listen in to hear what Hemant has to say about how his clients use the product he offers, what today’s top value drivers are, and what technologies Hemant is excited about.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Hemant’s background✔ Brik and Clik✔ How clients use Hemant’s product✔ Why customers work with Hemant instead of creating their own stores✔ Top value drivers today✔ How long customers will work with Hemant✔ Hemant’s favorite technologies✔ Advice for smaller store owners regarding checkout and the post-selling experience✔ How Hemant’s VR model is different✔ Hemant’s vision of the future for brick-and-mortar retail stores✔ Why you should support small businesses
Resources:
Hemant Chavan
Brik and Clik
 
QUOTES:
“We’re kind of recreating that online experience in-store by getting these essential products out to the customers where the customers are.”
“We’re big proponents of using the technology to empower our salespeople and our staff instead of replace them.”
“The best part of it is, when your lease is over, you can have that store with you forever.”
 

Redefining Retail with Virtual Realities: A Dive into Immersive Experiences with Neha Singh of Obsess

Things are possible in a virtual experience that may not be possible in a physical store. To talk more about what’s happening virtually and what’s possible, Neha Singh of Obsess joins the podcast to talk about the technology her company offers and how the brands who use her technology create experiences for customers. Listen in to learn about use cases for Obsess’s software, how brands think about creating immersive experiences, and what separates virtual experiences from online stores.
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Neha’s background✔ What got Neha excited about starting Obsess✔ Use cases for Obsess’s software✔ How brands measure the effects of the technology✔ Why these retail segments are the first movers in the VR storefront✔ How brands consider creating immersive shopping experiences✔ How virtual experiences compare with online stores✔ Differences between younger shoppers and other demographics when it comes to technology✔ Advice for integrating physical and online retail experiences✔ How an immersive experience helps brick-and-mortar brands tell their story better
Resources:
Neha Singh
Obsess
QUOTES:
“Our mission is to reinvent online shopping interface.”
“Basically, there’s like a huge almost disconnect between the experience of buying this product like if you were in the store versus the experience of buying it online.”
“To integrate it into online it’s actually fairly easy and it gives you a much higher user base.”

Harnessing the Power of Real-Time Data: A Conversation with Nick Delyani of Xovis

Retailers know that things can change fast, so getting real-time data can make a big difference in allowing them to make the decisions they need to make to provide customers with a great experience. That’s what Nick Delyani’s business, Xovis, provides to retail clients – real-time information that can help ensure they make informed decisions. Listen to today’s conversation to learn more about what Xovis does, what Nick has seen change in retail over the last 18 months, and the benefits of real-time data over historical data.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ What Nick does✔ What Nick’s company, Xovis, does✔ The types of companies that use Xovis’s services✔ Biggest changes that Nick has seen with consumer behavior✔ Nick’s favorite experiences in retail✔ Advice Nick would give to retailers about building a great experience✔ Benefits of real-time data vs. historical data✔ The insights that retailers are getting from COVID✔ What clients learn from using Nick’s business✔ Important in-store movement patterns✔ Elements that provide great in-store locations✔ Technology that’s going to have a big impact on brick-and-mortar retail
 
Resources:
Nick Delyani
 
QUOTES:
“We’ve seen the customers come in and spend maybe less time in space than they have in the past.”
“It’s important to make decisions quickly to react to the customer’s experience.”
“I think really what we’ve figured out so far is that people like painless checkout.”

Go Big or Go Small: The Shopflix Journey with Matt Matros - Innovations in Food Retail and Product Launches

Why do you have to either go big or go small when launching a food product? What’s the most important thing you can do when you’re looking for a new retail location to expand to? Today’s guest will explain his thoughts on these topics and more. Listen to today’s episode of Matt Matros with Shopflix. You’ll learn what Shopflix does, what goes into a product launch, and how to know when it’s time to expand.
 
Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:
✔ Matt’s background✔ What goes into getting a product launched✔ What Shopflix does✔ How Shopflix charges its customers✔ The typical Shopflix customer✔ How Matt knows when it’s time to expand✔ Advice for entrepreneurs who want to go big✔ Keys to a great in-location customer experience✔ How to attract the best talent✔ Technology that’s important for restaurants now and in a few years✔ What’s important to customers walking into a brick and mortar location✔ What got Matt started with Shopflix✔ Audiences that work best for Matt’s technology✔ What Shopflix has in the pipeline for this year✔ Advice for small retailers and restaurants✔ Where to find Shoplix shows
 
Resources:
Matt Matros
 
QUOTES:
“I’m a brick and mortarer through and through.”
“We like to say we’re content with a click-to-buy.”
“The Beatles became famous, but they didn’t go on the road until they became famous at home.”