MarTech Edge Interview with Chris Cupero, President & Chief Operating Officer, LiveRetail

You have vast experience as Bank of America SVP & LiveTechnology’s Chief Client Officer. How has your transition to the current post of COO at LiveRetail been?

During my 28-year tenure at Bank of America, I primarily worked in Corporate Marketing and Marketing Technology. I found great satisfaction in creating innovative MarTech solutions that addressed complex issues within the marketing organization. Many of these solutions focused on improving processes and workflow, ensuring compliance, and supporting localized marketing efforts across approximately 4,000 banking center locations. As part of the development process, I was involved in every step, from ideation to implementation.

Transitioning from the “client-side” to a “service provider” at LiveTechnology was an exciting but natural progression, as Bank of America’s customer-centric approach has always been ingrained in me. What I enjoyed most about the transition was the opportunity to serve multiple clients rather than just one corporate marketing department. I take great pleasure in providing support to our clients and feel a sense of pride when actively engaging with each and every one of them.

My experience managing Marketing Technology at Bank of America played a significant role in shaping LiveRetail’s direction. Supporting localized marketing for large brands with multiple locations was one of our core features, similar to Bank of America. However, LiveRetail also extends its support to franchise brands, retail brands, manufacturers with multiple retail locations, as well as small businesses, thus broadening our reach.

In this fast-paced era where the approach to administrative and operational functions keeps changing, which technologies do you rely on?

Businesses can benefit from leveraging technology to streamline administrative and operational functions, improve efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced business environment. At LiveRetail, we’re in a unique position because our parent company, LiveTechnology, is a SaaS development company, which means we’ve created most of our tools in-house.

Our proprietary project management system supports our agile development process, team collaboration, client onboarding, and routine tasks and deliverables. One of the most powerful features of our tool is that it allows me to track our deliverables and monitor our progress in real-time, at the project level, team level, and even down to the individual responsible for each task. I can view our deliverables for any time period—deliverables for today, this week, the month, the upcoming week, etc. This gives my management team the ability to make sure we have the resources needed to hit all of our deadlines.

Although we have developed most of our tools in-house, we do rely heavily on Zoom, which has been a game-changer for our fully virtual company since 2022. Zoom allows our internal teams to collaborate seamlessly, even allowing us to whiteboard just as if we were in a conference room. We have also found Zoom to be an efficient way to communicate with clients, with video calls replacing traditional conference calls, giving us more face time with our clients around the globe than ever before.

What, according to you, is more critical: cost-reduction in budgets or time savings in tasks?

It depends on the specific situation and priorities of the organization or individual involved. Both cost-reduction in budgets and time savings in tasks can be important factors to consider, but which one takes priority may depend on several different factors.

In some cases, cost reduction in budgets may be more critical. For example, if an organization is facing financial difficulties or working with limited resources, reducing costs may be necessary to keep the organization afloat or to ensure that critical programs or services can continue to operate. In this case, reducing expenses may take priority over time savings in tasks.

On the other hand, if an organization is under pressure to increase productivity or to meet tight deadlines, time savings in tasks may be more critical. For example, if a team is working on a project with a tight deadline, finding ways to complete tasks more quickly and efficiently may be necessary to ensure that the project is completed on time. In this case, time savings may take priority over cost reduction.

Both cost reduction and time savings can be important factors to consider, and the best approach may involve finding a balance between the two.

Tell us how the LiveRetail platform helps drive engagement & sales with lower CPMs for brands.

Based on our experience at LiveRetail, we have identified three critical factors—targeting, response, and spend—that help drive lower CPM rates.

First, it’s essential to ensure that all social media ads are hyper-targeted, including both location and audience targeting. Ads using broad targeting criteria tend to compete with many other ads, increasing CPM costs. Hyper-targeted ads, on the other hand, don’t compete against national ads, resulting in lower CPM and CPC costs.

Secondly, localized content is crucial in driving engagement, given the “buy local, support local” consumer movement that’s gaining momentum globally. In-market consumers respond 2-5 times more to ads showing their dealer, city, town, or neighborhood. However, creating localized content can be a challenge for businesses, as agencies charge exorbitant fees for custom ads. For instance, creating customized ads globally for all of Dunkin Donuts’ 11,300 locations would require a team of one hundred designers and cost a fortune.

Lastly, it’s been our experience that one hundred ads at $50 each perform significantly better than spending $5,000 on one ad.

What, according to you, is the essential aspect of managing a corporate budget?

The essential aspect of managing a corporate budget is to have a clear understanding of the financial resources available and to plan and allocate those resources effectively. This involves identifying the company’s financial goals and objectives, forecasting revenue and expenses, and creating a budget that outlines the expected income and expenses for a specific period.

To effectively manage a corporate budget, it’s important to regularly monitor and track the actual performance of the company against the budget, making adjustments as necessary to ensure that the company stays on track to achieve its financial objectives.

Additionally, effective communication and collaboration between departments and stakeholders is critical in managing a corporate budget. This ensures that everyone understands the financial goals and constraints and can work together to make decisions that align with the overall financial strategy of the company.

How do you effectively organize all the teams to be coherent and ensure the operations between them run smoothly?

Assembling highly effective cross-functional teams is no easy feat. It requires clear communication, a clear definition of roles and responsibilities, proper delegation of tasks, and effective collaboration. Here are a few things that I have found to be useful in fostering coherent operations:

Define goals and responsibilities: Clearly define the goals and responsibilities of each team and how they fit into the overall project or organization. Make sure each team understands their role and what is expected of them.

Communicate clearly: Ensure that communication is clear, concise, and consistent. Make sure that each team understands the objectives, timelines, and expectations. Encourage open communication and foster an environment where team members can voice their concerns and ideas.

Establish internal processes: Set up clear workflows and processes for each team to follow. This helps ensure everyone is on the same page and knows what is expected of them.

Delegate tasks effectively: Delegate tasks based on team member strengths and expertise. This helps to ensure that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

Foster collaboration: Encourage collaboration between teams. This helps to build relationships and trust between team members and ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal.

Monitor progress: Regularly monitor progress and provide feedback to each team. This helps to ensure that teams stay on track and can adjust their processes if needed.

Remember that effective communication and collaboration are key to success!

Can you explain an instance when implementing new or upcoming technology helped the company?

The implementation of additional AI tools, such as ChatGPT, into LiveRetail’s internal processes and client-facing tools represents a significant shift towards increased efficiency and productivity. AI tools have the ability to perform repetitive tasks quickly and accurately, reducing the time and effort required by employees. This not only saves time but also drives consistency and reduces errors while freeing up employees to focus on more complex tasks.

In addition to improving internal workflows, AI tools can also have a significant impact on client-facing tools. Automating certain parts of our content curation process, such as copy recommendations, will reduce the need of the clients or their agencies significantly. This can lead to increased scalability, speed to market, and reduced production costs, ultimately driving higher revenue growth/margins.

Overall, the implementation of additional AI tools represents a major step forward for LiveRetail. By leveraging these technologies, the company can work more efficiently, scale more quickly, and provide a better experience for both its employees and customers. 

What tips would you give the other COOs or VPs struggling in the current economic downturn?

In today’s economic climate, businesses, both big and small, are facing unprecedented challenges. As a startup, LiveRetail is no exception to these difficulties. To navigate this environment, we recommend several key strategies.

First, it’s important to re-evaluate and prioritize frequently. Focus on the essential aspects of your business and consider cutting back on non-essential expenses. Building a rainy-day fund can also provide a safety net in uncertain times.

Secondly, be adaptable and open to change. It may be necessary to pivot to new markets or implement new strategies to respond to changing circumstances.

Thirdly, communication is crucial. Keep your team informed of any changes that may impact them, and provide clear and transparent communication to avoid confusion and uncertainty.

Fourthly, maintaining a positive company culture is essential. Recognizing and rewarding achievements, providing opportunities for personal and professional development, and showing appreciation for your team’s efforts can help keep morale high.

Lastly, seeking expert advice from consultants and influencers can be valuable in identifying new market opportunities and accelerating growth. Remember, while the current economic climate presents challenges, it also presents opportunities for innovation and growth. Through adapting, innovating, and investing in our team, we aim not only to withstand the challenges of these difficult times but also to enhance our ability to make a positive impact on the communities, clients, and customers we serve.

Looking at the current market scenario, what do you think lies in the future of the marketplace & what is LiveRetail planning?

In order to remain competitive, it’s essential for marketing strategies to include a localized marketing component. However, this can be challenging due to the high production costs associated with traditional agency models. It’s important to remember that localized content leads to more relevant content, which in turn drives higher response and engagement rates and ultimately results in increased sales.

LiveRetail is well-positioned to support companies and brands with their localized marketing strategy by providing innovative solutions that utilize AI and other technologies to simplify localized marketing and advertising processes with localized ad production, enhanced targeting, and personalization. LiveRetail is committed to investing in these areas and expanding its offerings to meet the evolving demands of the market.