Q&A: Enhanced insights
Drug Store News spoke with Adam Holyk, Walgreens divisional VP loyalty and consumer insights, about the newly created consumer insights team focused on enhancing Walgreens’ engagement with its patients and customers, and how it will help complement Walgreens’ marketing efforts.
DSN: What is the overall vision for the insights team?
Adam Holyk: We’re building world-class capabilities around ... a team of mathematicians with statistical backgrounds, market researchers and management consultants. Ultimately what we’re focused on is helping Walgreens listen to our customers both through customer satisfaction and understanding what they actually do within our stores. Building the team is all around helping us achieve our strategy to be closest to customers.
DSN: How do you expect to deploy those insights into actionable programs?
Holyk: It will start with the data, and we will be collecting [that] data through multiple channels. Through our analytics, our goal is to discover key insights across the store to start changing customer experience and ultimately [drive] customer loyalty. [This will help us deliver] on the promise of being “My Walgreens” for everyone in America. That will involve localizing our store assortment based on who shops our stores, when they shop our stores and what they’re interested in. In addition to that, we also have opportunities on refining our promotional strategies based on how customers interact. And finally, [the insights will help] guide our product development ideas.
DSN: With Walgreens extending its health reach beyond retail pharmacy into atypical venues like workplace clinics, how does this effort support that dynamic?
Holyk: A thorough segmentation of our customers [will help us] understand gaps in current product offerings and services. Based on those insights, we’ll be able to make decisions, such as informing site locations for our Take Care Clinics to delivering better and more personalized services to each individual customer within our stores.
DSN: What role will payers and CPG partners play?
Holyk: We’re beginning a ramp-up and increase in collaboration with our vendor communities. We believe we actually further accelerate the mission to be closest to customers by partnering with vendors in order to discover, share and implement insights. I would say a lot more to come on that front and stay tuned.
To listen to the full audio Q&A, click here.