Dated: July 19, 2023
Welcome to The Dirty Martini Digest, Issue #5. This newsletter is built for our technology friends to enable you to do your job more effectively. Summer is in full force - If you’re not baking in the heat or worried about a flood/landslide, consider yourself lucky! Grab a cold drink and take a gander at this month’s issue of the Dirty Martini Digest!
The Dirty Details
Not unlike EVERYONE else in the industry, we are looking at the impact AI will be having on every operational element of retail and restaurant. Two weeks ago over on our Grocery Doppio Brand, we released a report on AI in Grocery in addition to producing a unique AI in Grocery digital event. Let’s dig into some of those details.
Some of us (more specifically, me…) are getting up there in age and have been through several technological cycles in the consumer industries. The Internet/eCommerce revolution, the mobile revolution, the cloud revolution - None have moved as fast as AI (specifically, generative AI) is moving right now. The ramifications and opportunities are just being figured out. So it’s not surprising to see grocers in a ‘wait and see’ mode on how to best use and leverage AI. In addition, there is a high degree of concern over having the right talent resources in-house to be able to properly leverage AI resources.
According to the study:
- 82% of grocers say that adopting AI will be a necessity to compete in the future.
- Only 13% of grocers are using AI in more than one business area.
- 74% of grocery technology executives expect AI capabilities to be embedded in most or all of their technology software by 2025.
- Only 9% of grocers have adequate analytic talent to meet their future needs.
Dive deeper into our cross-industry research and content
- 2023 Omnichannel Personalization Benchmark Index - Published in partnership with Coveo as part of our ongoing Digital Maturity Benchmarking series, this report details the personalization maturity for 100 Retailers across 80+ attributes. Interestingly enough, the Sporting Goods segment ranks the best….Check out which companies ranked highest…
- Increasing Online Profitability Through Strategic Fulfillment: Published in partnership with FMI and RELEX, this study explores how grocers can improve their strategic fulfillment capabilities to boost profitability and drive customer satisfaction.
- What Does Generative AI Mean for Retail/CPG - Our own Head of Strategy Giri Agarwal moderated a Web Session on June 27th with executives from Wayfair, Avanade, Microsoft and Zebra. They discussed the most realistic use cases and opportunities to drive business value in the short term from generative AI.
Straight from the Shaker
Get practical insights and best practices straight from our industry experts as we shake up and serve up our knowledge to help you improve your go-to-market strategies. Each month, we'll share tips to help you stay ahead of the game.
In this month's "Straight from the Shaker," we're exploring how to best leverage surround events at the major industry conferences. As we approach Groceryshop and yes, The Big Show, getting the most out of these massive investments can make or break a year. Producing customer/prospect events or partnering with a third-party event adds much-needed 1:1 time with important clients during the craziest of large events but if not managed properly, they can be an expensive mistake.
Consider these 4 tips:
- Start Early: 2023 has been the ‘year of events’, with a seemingly never-ending stream of offerings. So it will be easy for the major events to creep up on you. For surround events, starting early is critical to (a) ensure you get the best venue possible and (b) in order to socialize internally to build excitement and buy-in.
- Treat it as your own: If you’re partnering with a third-party that offers turnkey sponsorships, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t approach the event with the same discipline as if it were your own. Work with your salespeople and leadership to come up with target invite lists, utilize the tools provided like email templates and social promotions to promote the event, and most importantly, ensure the team follows up with key conversations had at the event.
- Invite the right team members: Not all salespeople or leadership have the gift of being able to network and drive the conversation in small event environments. We’ve seen representatives at some of the events we produce just talk amongst themselves and not interact. These events are not cheap to produce to be sure to work with leadership to select the right people for attendance - it can have a huge impact on the ROI of the event.
- Set the right KPIs: KPI’s will vary depending on the type of event. If a customer event, they can be about securing a certain percentage of your customers to attend, building relationships with other executives in the company, or advancing discussions on upgrades or new solutions. For prospecting events, think about the number of net new conversations, the number of follow-up meetings set, and whether the companies and titles are right for your solution.
Surround events can be a powerful marketing and sales enablement tool for your arsenal. However, they can easily get away from you and not deliver the ROI if not managed closely. Be diligent in your efforts, whether producing yourself or partnering with a third-party company - it will pay off!
On the House
Sip on our team's latest research, analysis, and industry news, with a quick scan of our recently published work and key takeaways.
- Winning with Private Label - Recent reports have shown a significant market share bump (2%+) for private label brands amidst the inflationary bubble. Check out this article highlighting the benefits of doubling down on this trend.
- Margarita or Wine? With the heat of summer in full swing, Incisiv wants to know, which summer cocktail do you prefer? The first three people to email a response (and prove you’ve gotten this deep into the newsletter) will win some sweet Swag. Click here to reply.
- What’s Happening With Smart Carts? We know the Smart Cart segment has been around for more than a decade with little traction. However, with advancements in capabilities and lower costs, 2024 could be the year for greater traction.
- AI to Drive $113B in Value by 2025: If you want a quick analysis on the report referenced above, check out this article from our Grocery Doppio editor, Tim Denman.
Art on the Rocks
Experience the intersection of technology and creativity each month as we use artificial intelligence to generate a unique art piece that explores a key industry topic.
Our Grocery Doppio brand will be launching its’ next ‘In-Focus’ series this fall around Sustainability in Grocery. This image will be profiled to denote the importance and opportunity that sustainable initiatives can provide.
For more details on the program, contact me at dave@incisiv.com
Second Round
Expand your industry knowledge with our recommended reading, featuring insightful articles and resources that caught our attention this month.
- The Economic Outlook, According to NRF - Our friends at RetailWire ran a discussion on the latest economic outlook from NRF economist Jack Kleinhenz. It’s an engaging series of comments and opinions.
- Last week was Amazon Prime Day - and by all accounts, they killed it with $13B in sales. Check out the details from Chain Store Age.
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We're here to help you navigate through your biggest challenges and win in this highly competitive market. Anytime you want to talk, book a meeting.
