Review
Reconsider
React
Reimagine
Reidentify
Reconnect
Realign
Reinvent
Repurpose
Reward
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Action Step 6
Reconnect with industry partners, solution providers & more.
Gaining clarity on vendor terms, service provider contracts, partner integration opportunities and more can help retailers both streamline and ease their operations, overhead and overall spend.The challenge to this, however, is taking the time to get these connections made. Allocating time,however, is what will make a difference.
To help identify the time and actions you need to reconnect with industry partners, identify the following:
- Who are your current partners for inventory management? Shipping? CRM? Packaging? E-commerce? Parcel auditing? Vendors?
- Who are your contacts at each?
- When was the last time your contracts were reviewed?
- What updated features do your partners now offer in response to COVID-19?
- How may these updates benefit you?
Reach out to your partners, then proactively identify ways you can reduce your overhead with each of them without eliminating their value or services. For vendors, this may mean adjusting ship dates or canceling items. For solution providers, it may mean welcoming new integrations into your strategies to help ease expenses and introduce selling opportunities. The key is taking the time to identify how each partner can bring you added benefits to your business. Ask them –point blank – the following to get the opportunities rolling
- What updated features or services does your company offer in response to COVID-19?
- How can I reduce my spend with your business without compromising your services /inventory?
- Are there opportunities to enhance my business I may not be familiar with?
- What new integrations have you introduced to your company that I should be familiar with?
- What other ways can you support me?
Running a retail business requires countless partners, providers and resources in order to operate at its best. Technology providers should make these integrations available to merchants, allowing them to enhance their operations through marketing, loyalty, CRM, analytics, scheduling, payments, invoicing and more. When seeking technology partners, be sure to review the integrations they currently offer, as well.
-Peter Dougherty, Senior Director of Global Partnerships for Lightspeed
Action Step
Reach out to the technologies in which you are currently using – such as your POS provider,parcel auditing companies, email marketing solutions, CRM companies, e-commerce solutions and more – than identify what they have done to enhance retailers amidst and post COVID-19. You may be surprised to learn they have introduced new partnerships that align with your updated goals, or they have provided alternative payment options due to COVID-19. Being proactive in reaching out to these partners can help your company be more active in your immediate retail journey.
