NEWS SPONSORED BY rAge EXPO:

By Peter Ludi, Business Development Director at redPanda Software

For a retailer, improving time to value (TTV) - the length of time it takes a new customer to realise and extract value from a product or service – is a strategic priority. It can enable the retailer to rapidly scale, be everywhere for customers, offer convenience, and deliver a frictionless experience. But why the sudden interest?

In the past, achieving optimal TTV was not critical as retailers purchased perpetual licenses resulting in massive sunk costs. As more advanced technology has become available, and customer churn is at an all-time high, realising value from a product or service is something that has to happen quickly.

Shortening the TTV can result in improved customer retention as well as the acquisition of new ones. One of the ways this can be done is by aligning the retailer’s value to that of its customers. This is where a specialist service provider can provide expert guidance on how the retailer can make the solution or service relevant, and intimate to the people using it, while efficiently delivering and maintaining it.

Other advantages of gaining a proper understanding of TTV can include creating real metrics to benefit from while breaking down the traditional siloes between digital and brick-and-mortar operations. In doing so, the retailer will ensure all its teams can be aligned to deliver value.

Customer returns

Retail customers want to feel that a product or service has immediate returns. They want to have their decision to make the purchase validated as quickly as possible. For instance, a shopping app has many tangible benefits such as the customer not having to spend time and petrol to go to the store while battling queues in the checkout line.

For retailers, the TTV is more challenging to realise. Providing value to a customer in the shortest amount of time means increased customer satisfaction and therefore increased customer lifetime value. The lower the TTV is, the faster the customers experience the benefits. Winning loyalty, increasing productivity, and understanding market position are all key components of reducing TTV.

Many retailers will spend a fortune looking after an already loyal customer base. But considering that disposable income has fallen by up to 30% in South Africa, this is not the best strategy. Retailers must therefore not invest in what they have, but rather in winning more business in different use case segments. They must focus on initiatives that target the right customer set. This means going after projects that will fill the gap created by the fall in spending by the loyal customer base.

TTV can also help retailers experience some relief during these challenging economic times. One example, and a way of supporting the supply chain efficiency, is by having visibility and predictability of results. This is where the entire lifecycle from manufacturing to the wholesaler or micro-trader selling to the consumer becomes an integrated environment.

Given the global volatility, retailers who are able to introduce more predictability into the supply chain can gain a vital competitive advantage. Subscription services are a great example of protection for the cash-strapped consumer who can now plan and pre-allocate funds to weekly shopping delivery. The security of knowing that this is already there can deliver faster TTV.

Local benefits

Some of the key steps to consider is keeping products local. In this way, TTV can be realised quicker. Retailers should also work with trusted partners or service providers to increase their visibility and improve collaboration. It is therefore not about stop-start short engagements, but rather about how to jointly become profitable through more targeted efforts.

Retailers need to stop trying to be everything to everyone. Looking at the local market, retailers should innovate quickly and have partners on hand to take the right steps with them on the path to realising a shortened TTV. It is all about creating an intimate, frictionless experience to benefit retailers as well as their customers.

An agile and trusted technology partner can play an instrumental role in helping the retailer achieve this. Such a partner will take the time to get to know the business and identify its unique needs in this regard. However, it is not about going with the most affordable option. A technology partner is not the place to look for reducing the opex of the retailer. This will create issues in the long term with the retailer having to reallocate valuable resources.

In short, reducing TTV is not a quick process. It requires focused investment and the willingness to adapt to a rapidly evolving marketplace. Yet the benefits can be transformative and can put retailers on the fast track to growth.