Q&A Blog Interview: Kim Bruce, Chief Commercial Officer
Tell us about your background and your journey with Premise.
My career in technology and sales has spanned over a quarter of a century now. I cut my teeth at MCI Telecommunications managing pivotal Silicon Valley accounts. That’s where I found my passion for fostering meaningful customer relationships and driving strategic sales initiatives.
My path took a significant turn towards cybersecurity and compliance when I joined Proofpoint. As Global Director for Digital Risk & Compliance, I led a specialist sales team that significantly grew our annual revenue. This role not only honed my skills in navigating the complex world of digital compliance but also underscored the importance of protecting digital assets in an increasingly connected world.
All that led me to my dream role at Premise. As Chief Customer Officer, I oversee our global sales and customer support initiatives, focusing on the Execution Intelligence Trackers and Rolling Retail Census. This role has been a thrilling convergence of leading a global team, driving strategic sales growth, and engaging with innovative customers.
What has truly captivated me at Premise is the collaboration with an incredibly diverse and talented team. Together, we’re at the forefront of redefining data intelligence in traditional trade, crafting solutions that offer actionable insights. This journey with Premise is more than a role; it’s a continuous exploration of potential and an exciting opportunity to shape the future of market intelligence on a global scale.
What excites you about Premise and the future of the company?
Premise was founded to improve the way decisions are made worldwide. Our mission is to empower organizations with reliable, comprehensive data to swiftly and confidently make informed, strategic decisions.
The company started by harnessing the power of data collected through a unique, innovative platform that rapidly aggregates and analyzes vast amounts of information. By leveraging innovative technology, we connect organizations that need local insight directly to the people who live there – no middleman required.
This results in lower costs and faster turnaround times. In the past few years, we also started focusing on the Consumer space and provided leading global CPG manufacturers with granular, actionable execution intelligence to maximize promotion ROIs and sales.
We have now tailored our enterprise offer to the Consumer industry. I could talk to you all day about our Execution Intelligence solutions, like Pricing and Availability Trackers, and the Rolling Retail Census, but the bottom line is that our aim is to bridge the gap between the information-rich and the information-poor, providing our customers with the tools they need to understand their consumers deeply and respond to market dynamics timely and proactively, especially in traditional trade space.
What is the most common question you hear from prospects and customers?
The most common question we encounter is, “How can Premise ensure data reliability and accuracy?” Our answer is multifaceted. We invest heavily in leveraging advanced technology, including automated quality and fraud checks powered by AI and machine learning, to verify and validate data in real time. Our global network of Contributors is rigorously trained and managed to ensure the highest quality of data collection, enabling us to confidently provide actionable insights. In addition, our industry experts and data scientists engage with our customers to design tasks that answer the core questions to solve the challenges. Through these approaches, we are able to provide reliable, accurate, and rapid insights for our customers to make decisions.
What do you see as the current White Space?
The industry is ripe with opportunities, especially in integrating rapid, up-to-date insights with the FMCG sector. We’re looking to expand into areas where granular, on-the-ground data can transform decision-making processes, particularly in emerging markets and underserved sectors, such as traditional trade. Our goal is to bring clarity to complex challenges and turn data into a strategic advantage for our customers.
How is Premise addressing needs in the industry?
The most important issue facing our industry is the need for quick and actionable data. However, conducting fieldwork is a significantly human-intensive endeavor, involving the recruitment, training, onboarding, management, and payment of data collectors. These tasks collectively contribute to quantitative and qualitative field research’s slow, costly, and inflexible nature. Being able to obtain retail insights about both yours and your competitors’ products in a scalable, affordable, and rapid manner will be crucial in staying ahead and making informed strategic decisions.
What do you believe are some market trends in the next 3-5 years?
With consumer behavior and market dynamics evolving rapidly, an agile and adaptable approach to insights and analytics is imperative. Leveraging technology to discern insights and forecast trends promptly will prove pivotal in maintaining a competitive edge.
One trend we see in both modern and traditional trades is that brands need granular information to adjust their in-store strategy. For instance, neighborhood landscapes are in constant flux, with new stores sprouting up and existing ones shuttering frequently. It’s challenging for our customers to adjust strategies without having up-to-date information.
Envision having a local force with an unparalleled field presence, furnishing you with the latest intel. This is precisely what Premise delivers to our customers. Our Contributors are the brands’ eyes and ears on the ground in major urban centers to provide insights, at both SKU- and store-level. As a result, our customers can take the guesswork out of their field sales teams and identify opportunities to grow sales and improve product visibility.