Mobile Data Collection in Retail and Its Surprising Real-Time Benefit

Mobile data collection apps have revolutionized the way retailers, CPG manufacturers, and sales and marketing companies perform merchandising and other activities at the point-of-sale.

Not that long ago, in order to perform and report in-store activities, field reps relied on the almost-anecdotal process comprised of paper and digital camera and then had to transcribe everything onto computers, sometimes long after completing the actual activity.

With a mobile data collection app, field reps can capture and synchronize answers, pictures and signatures on the spot, translating into more accurate information reaching management, faster.

Surprisingly, the real-time characteristic of mobile data collection apps has led to one additional benefit: Because the focus is no longer in the data collection itself, since it becomes second-nature on a mobile device, field reps can now shift their attention to customers and store managers.

This focus-shifting by-product of mobile data collection apps translates into better relationships with target audiences and decision-makers, with more meaningful information-gathering and, therefore, potentially increased sales and market share.

VisitBasis Mobile Data Collection App allows creating custom task templates for every in-store activity, from planogram checks to customer surveys, and helps you streamline your data collection so your field reps can increase their customer-facing time and be more productive. VisitBasis Mobile Data Collection App is available for both Android and Apple mobile devices, so field reps can keep their own devices and shorten the learning curve.

Sign-up today for a free trial of VisitBasis Mobile Data Collection App!

 

Data Collection Software to Streamline Data Workflow

 

 

Small businesses and international companies implement data collection software to improve the efficiency of data capture process and streamline data workflow. If your company does not use data collection software yet, consider the opportunity to start. Below you’ll find the reasons why companies implement data collection software.

Make planning easier. Scheduling of retail visits is time-consuming when relying on paper-forms and phone calls. Data collection software allows you to quickly organize the schedule of visits for any period of time for any numbers of reps and, at the same time, increase your field team’s efficiency. Field reps can also optimize their day route at the click of a button to make sure they have the shortest path between locations and add an extra visit or a new customer from mobile devices.

Enhance interaction between the office and the field. With data collection solution you can automate notification of the scheduled appointments and reporting. Field reps can also view all the information about every point-of-sale, including location, contacts, history of visits. Data collection software provides instant data exchange between field reps and the managers due to automatic synchronization, so field reps do not have to visit the office to get tasks and report back.

Eliminate fraudulent reports. With data collection software solution field reps are being monitored on the map in real time. Field team managers can see their routes, the arrival time, and time spent at each point-of-sale and for each task. All the data collected at retail locations, including photos, is time-stamped and GPS-confirmed, so a manager can always see where each task was performed.

Minimize data entry mistakes. Data collection software provides automated data entry by virtue of mobile data collection forms for tablets and smartphones. All the data collected at retail locations is automatically transferred to corporate database and is available for integration with company’s back-end system, export or analysis. Mobile forms allow to collect data very quickly and accurate eliminating paperwork and minimizing mistakes.

Simplify reporting. No more need to compile the information across paper forms or Excel spreadsheets, manually entering data to corporate database. When using data collection software, all the data, collected at points-of-sale, is instantly available for analysis. The up-to-date data collection solutions allow customers to get custom reports and dashboards in seconds, filter data to get the exact information they need at the moment, display information in different formats (graphics, charts, tables) and safely share the reports with third parties.

To start automating your data collection activities today, register at www.visitbasis.com for a free trial or book a free online demo to see how it works.

Mobile Data Collection Software

Retail data collection is one of the most important business units in CPG and FMCGcompanies, since its main objective is to generate insights for marketing strategies.

Data collection automation refers to the use of technology to collect retail data in real time using wireless devices, tablets and smartphones, to capture data. All the data, collected at retail locations, is transferred immediately to back end systems through Wi-Fi, 3G or GPRS).

Retail data collection automation avoids manual double entry data errors, reduces time delays, and enhances field reps’ productivity. Availability of retail data in real time allows planning delivery schedules and reducing inventory levels, improving customer service, and a company’s bottom line.

An effective data collection solution needs to empower field reps with real-time access to corporate data (customer database, product catalog, retail locations info and history of previous retail visits), and mobile tools to quickly capture various types of data (photo reports, automated data entry, bas code scanner, electronic signature and task templates).

VisitBasis is a mobile data collection and field representative management software for businesses with field merchandising, field sales and store audits operations. VisitBasis is a complete data collection solution: It improves communication between the office and the field so outside reps can have everything they need to succeed, at their fingertips. VisitBasis mobile data collection software allows field operations managers to oversee all stages of the store audit, field merchandising and field sales processes, from assigning territories and scheduling visits/tasks to immediately retrieving results through VisitBasis online dashboard and reports. And there is no need to invest in new hardware since the VisitBasis data collection app works on most smartphones and tablets.

Create a free account today at www.visitbasis.com to learn more about mobile store data collection! Start your own data collection automation campaign just after the registration! You can also schedule a free online demo here to see for yourself how it works.

How To Use Retail Execution Software For Generating KPI Reports

Key performance indicators (KPIs) serve as a roadmap to business growth, allowing managers to assess the achievement of company’s goals and adjust marketing strategy, when necessary. Tracking industry trends is particularly important to retailers due to the high volatility of the business. In a changing retail environment it’s critical that data is effectively managed for real-time KPI reports.

At first sight, lots of data is available for field team managers to assess sales reps performance. On the other hand, data gathering, visualization and analysis can be really challenging while managing KPI framework. Field team managers might feel like they have too many balls in the air when it comes to gathering various data for several KPIs. Reporting delays and data inaccuracies due to human errors, big time gaps between data aggregation and getting insights for making decisions determine the complexity of KPIs implementation.

In order for a KPI report to provide a current view of retail conditions, it needs real-time data. Retail execution software can help companies to improve KPIs implementation by allowing managers to get real-time GPS-confirmed data, blend different types of data for more robust analysis, and get the exact data they need at the moment. Lets consider the main ways a retail execution software solution can help companies to aggregate, track and manage data, used for KPI reporting.

Real-Time Data Workflow

Retail execution software not only allows your field reps to automate retail visits and tasks performance, but also provides real-time data workflow to generate KPI reports. Field team managers instantly get the following information:

• Progress in carrying out the tasks
• Work hours
• Field reps/customers timesheets
• Photos, taken in the field
• Actions performed
• Visits and tasks data
• Orders and returns
• GPS-locations.

Moreover, as you implement retail execution software, you’ll be able to generate new opportunities to collect data for KPIs, such as questionnaires, surveys, retail audits, inspections and etc.

Data Management, Made Easy

Retail execution software allows managers to simplify KPIs analysis, making it easy to present data in ratios and percentages and identify trends in the development of markets and sales territories. Real-time reporting empowers field team managers to identify situations that require their attention and take urgent measures to resolve them.

Although retail execution software has the ability to aggregate huge amounts of data, it’s also able to present data in a format that is suitable for particular needs. An effective software solution for retail execution is able to sort out important data and display it on the interactive dashboards. Role-based reporting is one of the most useful features for a field team manager as he can get the precise data he needs at the moment. All the reports can be customized to provide necessary information and empower field team manages to make smart decisions.

See firsthand how retail execution software can change the way of gathering data while managing KPI framework. To learn more about KPI implementation visit www.visitbasis.com, or sign up today to completely automate your retail data collection.