The Strategic Importance of BRMs in Retail

A primary responsibility of many BRM functions is to help develop and converge strategy, and the retail industry in particular is benefiting from BRMs in strategic development.

Increasingly, retailers are utilizing valuable insights from their BRMs to navigate a changing environment. But what is the current state of retail, and how can BRMs add value?

The retail industry is evolving at an unprecedented speed. There are many factors driving this evolution, and BRMs should understand a few key drivers:

Competition/choice

The number of global retailers is growing, and while there is growth and consolidation in the traditional brick-and-mortar retail space, the growth of non-traditional retailers is quickly changing the industry landscape.

Consumerization of technology

Driven by the proliferation of smart devices and the IoT, the overall integration of technology into our daily lives has impacted customers’ expectations of retailers.  Beyond clean stores, convenient locations, and competitive prices, customers expect retailers to provide an exceptional shopping experience, whether online or in store.

Whether this means providing holographic product information displays, in-aisle delivered coupons, or virtual fitting rooms, a differentiated shopping experience may be the primary differentiator between retailers—and in some cases, the only true competitive advantage.

Customer engagement

Through loyalty programs, electronic tendering, omni-channel systems, social listening, and more, retailers now know more about their customers than ever before.

Customers expect retailers to use this data to deliver a personalized experience. Customers want to communicate through their preferred channels—not just email—with content customized to their shopping preferences, such as personalized offers, purchase and event reminders, product suggestions, and content related to the overall retailer’s brand.

That said, retailers must be careful when using this powerful tool. Any perceived breach of privacy can damage a customer relationship.

In this constantly changing retail environment, BRMs can add strategic value in variety of ways.

BRMs often work cross-functionally inside organizations, allowing for a distinct view of the competitive landscape and often making them the ones best suited to bring new ideas or solutions to the table to solve business problems.

In doing so, BRMs often help their organization focus on delivering business capabilities that add true value while avoiding fads or trends. Sometimes, applying resources to in-store associate productivity or reducing delivery or pick-up times may add more customer value than a new mobile app feature. By utilizing strong relationships and deep business knowledge, BRMs are in a position to steer strategy objectively and purposefully.

BRMs also move strategy forward by being active change agents.

Change management is often the difference between success and failure in delivering strategic initiatives, and by creating a compelling vision and achievable roadmaps, BRMs help drive the cultural changes needed to deliver a success strategy.

Additionally, retail BRMs bring value through restraint. Adding too many new capabilities too quickly may cause customer confusion in the marketplace, and marketing to a customer in a way that makes them feel as though a boundary was violated can damage even the best long-term customer relationship. By understanding customer needs and expectations, BRMs can focus the strategy towards true customer engagement.

Retail industry BRMs can add immense value through strategy development. Deep organizational knowledge, combined with an understanding of the key drivers of industry evolution, give BRMs a unique strategic perspective that leads to new capabilities, increased strategic focus, and successful change initiatives.