Black Tech Week recap: Building customer centric experiences

Brooke Chambers, director of digital marketplaces at Kroger, joined 84.51° Data Scientist Tay Morton in a fireside chat on day one of Black Tech Week to discuss building customer centric experiences that intersect grocery and technology innovation. Chambers kicked off her conversation with Morton noting that while she has been in the ecommerce space since 2012, she has been on a “journey” starting with a finance career before shifting to the retail industry where she held corporate leadership roles at Sears and Walmart before moving to Kroger. “I spend a lot of time thinking about how people shop and what transforming that would look like,” she said.

“Everything should always begin and end with your customer. How you do that starts with listening to your customers. What are your customers saying to you?”

Chambers went on to explain the importance of having a customer mindset to drive innovation and solve customer challenges. “Everything should always begin and end with your customer,” she said. “How you do that starts with listening to your customers. What are your customers saying to you?”

Morton noted a perennial question in retail technology and innovation is build or buy? In response to the question, how do you approach the decision-making process of building or buying a solution, Chambers outlined a number of factors: “It really depends on what you’re solving for, what’s achievable within the timeline and what you’re looking to do.” For tech providers looking to pitch a solution, her advice was, “make sure you see the vision that we see and really understand what it is we’re trying to accomplish.” As for how do you foster an environment that encourages collaboration and the integration of multiple perspectives, Chambers emphasized the importance of “communication and emotional intelligence.” When working with different groups of peoplewho are “passionate about what they do and believe in,” communication and collaboration are critical, Chambers said. “Maybe you really want something but you can’t get it exactly as you want it, that’s where you think of option A, B, or C—and that’s how you get to a solution that works.” As an example, Chambers described the collaboration that takes place between Kroger Technology & Digital (KTD) and 84.51°. The two teams work closely together and it enables Kroger to explore different ideas and insights which in turn enriches the customer experience.

For instance, there was much discussion on where to position digital coupons on Kroger’s site. Based on customer feedback and other insights that the teams explored together, the coupons were placed on product pages and “customers are highly engaged with it” Chambers said. Finally, when asked what advice helped her be successful at her career, Chambers noted that a mentor’s tip to “focus on the work, everything else is noise” has stayed with her, but self-reflection is also essential.

“Every part of your career comes with a lot of determination and being intent on what it is you want to do.”

“Are you where you want to be at this current time? You can be passionate about a variety of things but is it what you want? Every part of your career comes with a lot of determination and being intent on what it is you want to do. That’s what got me to a place where I’m happy professionally. And every time I reach a goal, what’s the next challenge to solve in my business?”