beyond transactions: building a compelling retail experience
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience An Economist Intelligence Unit white paperSponsored by SAP
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20091
Preface
Beyond transactions: Building a compelling retail experience is an Economist Intelligence Unit report sponsored by SAP. The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole responsibility for this report. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s editorial team conducted the interviews and wrote the report. The fi ndings and views expressed in this report do not necessarily refl ect the views of the sponsor. Dan Armstrong was the editor of the report and Sylvia Helm as the author. Mike Kenny was responsible for layout and design. Our thanks are due to all of the executives who responded to the survey.
October 2009
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
2
Contents
Introduction 3
Key fi ndings 4
Conclusion 7
Appendix 1: Overall survey results 8
Appendix 2: Americas survey results 13
Appendix 3: Asia-Pacifi c survey results 18
Appendix 4: Europe Middle East and Africa survey results 23
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20093
Introduction
Global recession, the accompanying fall in demand and the proliferation of shopping choices have combined in the last year to make retailing a tough business in which to succeed. Shoppers can buy the same goods from any number of interchangeable sources, including competing chains and multiple web commerce sites. They can use their mobile phones to scan bar codes and instantly obtain a list of stores and website where the product is available and how much it costs at each. They can reject a retailer for any number of reasons: a price that may be only pennies higher than competitors, the level of convenience, the friendliness of the sales staff, even the store’s décor. When products are delivered to the door at a low price with a click of the mouse, there is no reason to even leave the house.
To differentiate in this environment, retailers need to provide something special—something informed by the qualities that the customer values. If it is not price, the key is customer experience. Regardless of channel, the retailer needs to provide a consistently enjoyable and convenient shopping experience, ensuring that everything—from the feel of the store or website to the return and exchange policy and the promotions extended to the customer—is carefully matched with the traits that the customer values.
In this diffi cult economy, retailers would be well-advised to focus on the elements within their control, especially building customer loyalty among the most valuable customers who account for the bulk of the revenues and profi ts. Getting these customers to keep coming back requires gathering information from customer transactions, sharing that information across customer-facing units, and ultimately measuring and taking actions based on the value of each customer.
About the survey
In September 2009, the Economist Intelligence Unit surveyed 89 executives of retail organisations on the challenges of getting customer-facing departments to work together more consistently and effectively.
Survey respondents spanned the globe, with 34% from the Asia-Pacifi c region, 32% from the Americas and 34% from EMEA. Respondents’ annual revenue ranged from less than US$500m to more than US$10bn. The level of seniority of respondents was high: 31% were C-level or board members and another 17% were VPs or heads of business units.
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
4
Estimating customer lifetime value Most retail organisations in the survey consider customer loyalty their strong suit. Despite the recession, 65% say they have greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months. What they have not done is fi gure out a way to measure the lifetime value of their customers and use that information to prioritise their sales and marketing efforts. Regardless of industry or region, very few executives can honestly say that their companies can quantify the value of their best customers—or any customers, for that matter.
Targeting the customersAs to which customer-related areas need to be improved the most, the number-one response is targeting the right customer to meet sales goals. Retailers point to segmenting and profi ling shoppers, reducing the cost of sales and cross-selling or upselling shoppers as areas in need of improvement. They also mention enhancing their ability to drill down to the individual sales level to understand what each customer is likely to buy, estimate how much revenue will be produced, and what to promote or cross sell each
Key fi ndings
Measuring the value of customers(% of respondents who agree minus % who disagree)
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, September 2009.
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer
relationships over the past 12 months
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
Disagree Agree
-30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20095
customer. To do this, retailers have moved beyond traditional demographic criteria to frequency and size of purchases, lifestyle information and the last product bought.
For instance, the US women’s clothing retailer Coldwater Creek—which sells through retail stores, a web site and direct-mail catalogs—recently announced the launch of the “Onecreek” loyalty program aimed at the top 5% of the company’s active customers. It offers early peeks at new merchandise, a personal shopper, free shipping on returns and a gift on the customer’s birthday. Eligible customers are those who purchase three times as frequently and spend four times as much as an average customer. “The program is designed to improve retention and overall spend within this very important and profi table segment of our customer base,” said Dennis Pence, the company’s CEO, in a press release.
Targeting resourcesSurvey respondents say big benefi ts can be gained from integrating marketing, sales and service activities. If all customer-facing service units share the results of every customer interaction, they should receive a detailed picture of shopper behavior from all angles. Then resources could be prioritised based on total value of each customer over the life of the relationship. Many companies, including Sony Ericsson, Bell Canada, Samsung, Apple and Amazon have distinct customer service numbers for so-called “executive” customers—those whose spending surpasses a certain level, whether for their companies or on their own behalf. These customer service agents have information on each customer at the touch of a button, and are empowered to offer discounts and provide extras on depending on the value of the relationship.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit survey, September 2009.
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of shopper behavior and preferences
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given shopper
Prioritising resources directed towards shoppers by total value over the life of the relationship
Top three benefits from integrating marketing, sales and service activities? (% respondents)
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
6
How the three regions differThe three regions surveyed—the Americas, Asia-Pacifi c and EMEA –all give themselves top marks for excellent customer service. All pride themselves on the loyalty of their customers. And all admit that their organisations cannot accurately measure the value of—or even identify, in many cases—their most profi table customers. The challenges faced in each region include the following.
Americas Reducing the cost of sales—necessary to keep margins low and prices competitive—is a top priority for Americas retail organisations. In the Americas, customer feedback tends to be fi ltered through the less expensive e-commerce channels, rather than from direct response feedback (as is the case in the two other regions).
Asia-Pacifi c Asia-Pacifi c retail organisations get most of their customer feedback in stores, through retail sales staff, and at the point of sale. They are the lowest users of e-commerce, and call centers are used by only 17% of respondents.
EMEA Of all regions surveyed, EMEA retail organisations are the least able to gauge the lifetime value of customers. Most in need of improvement: profi ling, targeting, and cross selling or up selling existing customers. EMEA retailers use call centers the least and direct response (direct mail, e-mail) the most.
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
© Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 20097
Few survey respondents say they can accurately measure the value of customers. Faced with challenges they cannot control—global economic trends, rapid shifts in product demand, commoditization of the retail channel—they have to focus on what they can control, working to understand the customer and provide a pleasant and convenient retail experience. Retailer organisations should consider how to:
l Do a better job of analysing the customer base and measuring the value of individual customers.
l Share and act on customer information in all customer-facing units, making sure to improve the weak links.
l Differentiate customers by products purchased, services used and revenues generated.
l Provide distinct service to high-value customers, building their trust, increasing their loyalty, and generating more revenues.
Conclusion
8 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Appendix: Overall survey results
65
15
12
8
Customer service: Providing superior service to customers
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Planning promotions/campaigns
Executing promotions/campaigns
Measuring effectiveness of promotions/campaigns
Developing and launching new products
Analysing and segmenting shoppers
Gauging shopper satisfaction
Responding to shopper demands or complaints
Incorporating shopper feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the shopper via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
6 8 26 30 27 3
5 9 19 36 27 3
6 16 20 40 16 2
2 16 21 34 21 6
5 23 26 33 8 6
3 22 25 33 16 1
1 9 28 40 20 1
7 11 30 39 11 1
9 9 3 13 66
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
9 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Targeting the right shoppers to achieve sales volume and revenue objectives
Segmenting and profiling shoppers
Reducing the cost of sales
Cross-selling or upselling shoppers
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Maximising repeat purchases and building loyalty among shoppers
Gathering shopper intelligence in the course of providing service
Measuring the satisfaction of shoppers
Generating promotions/campaigns
Involving shoppers in product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Building long-term relationships with store management
Ensuring that shopper complaints are resolved quickly
Creating effective collateral
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
43
34
34
33
28
28
27
26
18
18
13
10
8
0
0
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of shopper behavior and preferences
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given shopper
Prioritising resources directed towards shoppers by total value over the life of the relationship
Measuring the probability that shoppers will turn into buyers, and using these scores to guide sales
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Integrating tracking of shoppers from initial contact through to post-sales service
Presenting shoppers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
40
31
30
27
26
25
22
20
4
0
4
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most shoppers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s shoppers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Shoppers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
If there is no difference in price, my organisation can win the sale based on service, convenience, brand reputation or other intangibles
Agree Disagree Don’t know
27 70 3
64 20 16
34 49 17
34 52 14
36 41 23
60 31 9
65 25 10
52 40 8
51 30 19
40 46 13
76 17 7
10 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Global economic downturn
Changing needs of shoppers
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Emergence of new competitors
Finding access to credit/capital
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Disruptive technology developments
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Changing needs of store management
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
71
40
28
27
17
15
13
10
9
9
0
0
Improving online or self-service support tools for store managers
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability by store management
Improving usability, search and navigation of store-facing websites
Investing in self-service tools for store employees across multiple channels (web, mobile devices, e-mail)
Building or supporting online communities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower store management? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
31
28
27
27
20
3
26
Offering additional value along with products (eg, in-store service, merchandising improvements, sustainable packaging)
Improving usability, search and navigation of shopper-facing websites
Creating educational forums for shoppers (eg, online content, in-store content, communities of interest, direct-to-consumer outreach)
Building or supporting online communities of shoppers
Other
Don't know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower shoppers? Select all that apply. (% respondents)
52
44
38
27
2
9
Point of sale feedback
In-store sales staff
Our own e-commerce site(s)
Third-party e-commerce sites
Phone order interaction
Direct response feedback
Call center customer service interactions
Targeted focus groups
Online social media efforts
Other
Don’t know
What avenues of customer feedback is your organisation best and worst at collecting and using to improve the experience of shoppers? Select up to three from each column.(% respondents)
We are best at collecting and usingWe are worst at collecting and using
49 20
47 17
27 29
10 30
24 15
34 4
21 19
22 21
2 35
11
6 11
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
11 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Putting recommendations into action
Persuading shoppers to share experiences, both positive and negative
Persuading store employees to share feedback from shoppers, both positive and negative
Synthesising information from retail outlets into coherent recommendations
Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant shopper information
Monitoring the results of actions in terms of shopper behaviour and marketing metrics
Synthesising information from customer service into coherent recommendations
Dealing systematically with extremely high volumes of information from stores
Demonstrating to shoppers that their comments are being addressed
Synthesising information from online channels into coherent recommendations
Other
Don’t know
My organisation’s greatest challenges in using information from store management employees and shoppers to improve the customer experience are: Select up to three. (% respondents)
45
33
27
26
25
25
22
18
17
3
0
6
Asia-Pacific
Western Europe
North America
Latin America
Middle East and Africa
Eastern Europe
In which region are you personally based? (% respondents)
34
27
26
6
4
3
64
15
21
Individuals (eg, retail)
Businesses or other organisations (eg, business-to-business)
An equal mix of both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
1 Consistently and systematically 2 3 4 5 Not at all Don’t know
Empower salespeople
Empower customer service
Create effective marketing campaigns
Refine product development process
Forecast demand
Improve service to shoppers
Improve retail offerings and selections
Adjust pricing
How well is information from all sources used to accomplish the following goals?(% respondents)
11 40 26 16 6 1
22 36 27 11 2 1
17 31 34 12 2 3
13 33 31 12 3 8
16 27 33 18 3 3
19 40 24 16 1
19 38 21 16 3 2
26 33 22 14 5 1
12 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 1Overall survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
46
9
17
8
20
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Sales
Customer service
Finance
Marketing
IT
Operations and production
Information and research
Human resources
Supply-chain management
Procurement
Risk
R&D
Legal
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
50
22
22
20
18
17
13
10
9
9
7
5
2
2
0
1
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
2
15
5
5
5
9
8
16
31
6
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
13 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix: Americas survey results
64
18
11
7
Customer service: Providing superior service to customers
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Planning promotions/campaigns
Executing promotions/campaigns
Measuring effectiveness of promotions/campaigns
Developing and launching new products
Analysing and segmenting shoppers
Gauging shopper satisfaction
Responding to shopper demands or complaints
Incorporating shopper feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the shopper via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
7 4 25 29 29 7
4 7 15 26 37 11
7 18 18 39 14 4
7 11 21 21 29 11
4 30 19 37 11
7 25 21 25 21 0
11 33 30 22 4
7 11 29 43 11 0
7 13 13 67
14 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Targeting the right shoppers to achieve sales volume and revenue objectives
Reducing the cost of sales
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Gathering shopper intelligence in the course of providing service
Segmenting and profiling shoppers
Maximising repeat purchases and building loyalty among shoppers
Cross-selling or upselling shoppers
Measuring the satisfaction of shoppers
Involving shoppers in product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Generating promotions/campaigns
Creating effective collateral
Ensuring that shopper complaints are resolved quickly
Building long-term relationships with store management
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
46
43
39
29
25
25
18
18
14
11
11
11
7
0
0
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of shopper behavior and preferences
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Prioritising resources directed towards shoppers by total value over the life of the relationship
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given shopper
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Integrating tracking of shoppers from initial contact through to post-sales service
Measuring the probability that shoppers will turn into buyers, and using these scores to guide sales
Presenting shoppers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
39
32
32
29
25
25
25
21
4
0
4
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most shoppers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s shoppers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Shoppers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
If there is no difference in price, my organisation can win the sale based on service, convenience, brand reputation or other intangibles
Agree Disagree Don’t know
36 61 4
63 15 22
41 37 22
26 56 19
44 30 26
61 21 18
59 30 11
50 43 7
44 30 26
43 46 11
74 19 7
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
15 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Global economic downturn
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Emergence of new competitors
Changing needs of shoppers
Finding access to credit/capital
Disruptive technology developments
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Changing needs of store management
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
71
36
32
29
14
14
11
11
11
4
0
0
Improving online or self-service support tools for store managers
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability by store management
Improving usability, search and navigation of store-facing websites
Investing in self-service tools for store employees across multiple channels (web, mobile devices, e-mail)
Building or supporting online communities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower store management? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
43
32
29
21
14
7
14
Offering additional value along with products (eg, in-store service, merchandising improvements, sustainable packaging)
Creating educational forums for shoppers (eg, online content, in-store content, communities of interest, direct-to-consumer outreach)
Improving usability, search and navigation of shopper-facing websites
Building or supporting online communities of shoppers
Other
Don't know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower shoppers? Select all that apply. (% respondents)
50
50
43
25
0
7
Point of sale feedback
In-store sales staff
Our own e-commerce site(s)
Third-party e-commerce sites
Phone order interaction
Direct response feedback
Call center customer service interactions
Targeted focus groups
Online social media efforts
Other
Don’t know
What avenues of customer feedback is your organisation best and worst at collecting and using to improve the experience of shoppers? Select up to three from each column.(% respondents)
We are best at collecting and usingWe are worst at collecting and using
50 21
39 21
36 29
18 32
18 21
14 11
36 25
21 25
4 46
40
7 11
16 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Persuading store employees to share feedback from shoppers, both positive and negative
Putting recommendations into action
Synthesising information from retail outlets into coherent recommendations
Persuading shoppers to share experiences, both positive and negative
Synthesising information from customer service into coherent recommendations
Monitoring the results of actions in terms of shopper behaviour and marketing metrics
Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant shopper information
Dealing systematically with extremely high volumes of information from stores
Demonstrating to shoppers that their comments are being addressed
Synthesising information from online channels into coherent recommendations
Other
Don’t know
My organisation’s greatest challenges in using information from store management employees and shoppers to improve the customer experience are: Select up to three. (% respondents)
46
36
32
29
29
25
21
21
14
7
0
4
North America
Latin America
Asia-Pacific
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Middle East and Africa
In which region are you personally based? (% respondents)
82
18
0
0
0
0
64
18
18
Individuals (eg, retail)
Businesses or other organisations (eg, business-to-business)
An equal mix of both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
1 Consistently and systematically 2 3 4 5 Not at all Don’t know
Empower salespeople
Empower customer service
Create effective marketing campaigns
Refine product development process
Forecast demand
Improve service to shoppers
Improve retail offerings and selections
Adjust pricing
How well is information from all sources used to accomplish the following goals?(% respondents)
11 37 26 11 15
26 30 26 11 7
18 25 39 14 4
12 19 38 15 15
11 29 36 18 4 4
14 29 32 25
14 32 39 11 4
30 22 30 19
Appendix 2Americas survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
17 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
0
4
7
4
11
14
7
18
32
4
39
4
25
14
18
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Finance
Customer service
Operations and production
Marketing
Sales
IT
Risk
Procurement
Supply-chain management
Human resources
Information and research
R&D
Legal
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
46
21
18
18
14
14
14
11
7
7
7
7
4
4
0
0
18 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Appendix: Asia-Pacifi c survey results
70
13
10
7
Customer service: Providing superior service to customers
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Planning promotions/campaigns
Executing promotions/campaigns
Measuring effectiveness of promotions/campaigns
Developing and launching new products
Analysing and segmenting shoppers
Gauging shopper satisfaction
Responding to shopper demands or complaints
Incorporating shopper feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the shopper via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
3 3 40 27 27 0
3 13 20 37 27 0
7 13 13 47 20 0
13 20 43 17 7
3 17 27 33 13 7
20 23 37 17 3
23 57 20 0
3 10 27 43 13 3
10 10 20 60
19 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Targeting the right shoppers to achieve sales volume and revenue objectives
Cross-selling or upselling shoppers
Measuring the satisfaction of shoppers
Generating promotions/campaigns
Segmenting and profiling shoppers
Maximising repeat purchases and building loyalty among shoppers
Gathering shopper intelligence in the course of providing service
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Building long-term relationships with store management
Reducing the cost of sales
Involving shoppers in product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Ensuring that shopper complaints are resolved quickly
Creating effective collateral
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
37
37
37
27
27
27
27
20
20
20
20
13
7
0
0
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of shopper behavior and preferences
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given shopper
Measuring the probability that shoppers will turn into buyers, and using these scores to guide sales
Prioritising resources directed towards shoppers by total value over the life of the relationship
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Integrating tracking of shoppers from initial contact through to post-sales service
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Presenting shoppers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
50
30
30
30
20
20
17
13
3
0
7
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most shoppers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s shoppers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Shoppers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
If there is no difference in price, my organisation can win the sale based on service, convenience, brand reputation or other intangibles
Agree Disagree Don’t know
23 73 3
67 17 17
30 47 23
37 43 20
40 43 17
63 33 3
77 17 7
60 30 10
47 30 23
40 43 17
73 20 7
20 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Global economic downturn
Changing needs of shoppers
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Emergence of new competitors
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Finding access to credit/capital
Disruptive technology developments
Changing needs of store management
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
60
53
23
23
20
17
10
7
7
3
0
0
Improving usability, search and navigation of store-facing websites
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability by store management
Improving online or self-service support tools for store managers
Building or supporting online communities
Investing in self-service tools for store employees across multiple channels (web, mobile devices, e-mail)
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower store management? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
33
27
23
20
20
3
37
Offering additional value along with products (eg, in-store service, merchandising improvements, sustainable packaging)
Improving usability, search and navigation of shopper-facing websites
Building or supporting online communities of shoppers
Creating educational forums for shoppers (eg, online content, in-store content, communities of interest, direct-to-consumer outreach)
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower shoppers? Select all that apply. (% respondents)
60
37
33
33
7
13
Point of sale feedback
In-store sales staff
Our own e-commerce site(s)
Third-party e-commerce sites
Phone order interaction
Direct response feedback
Call center customer service interactions
Targeted focus groups
Online social media efforts
Other
Don’t know
What avenues of customer feedback is your organisation best and worst at collecting and using to improve the experience of shoppers? Select up to three from each column.(% respondents)
We are best at collecting and usingWe are worst at collecting and using
50 10
60 7
20 33
3 23
30 7
40 3
17 17
27 20
3 33
0 3
3 17
21 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Putting recommendations into action
Persuading shoppers to share experiences, both positive and negative
Monitoring the results of actions in terms of shopper behaviour and marketing metrics
Synthesising information from retail outlets into coherent recommendations
Dealing systematically with extremely high volumes of information from stores
Demonstrating to shoppers that their comments are being addressed
Persuading store employees to share feedback from shoppers, both positive and negative
Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant shopper information
Synthesising information from customer service into coherent recommendations
Synthesising information from online channels intocoherent recommendations
Other
Don’t know
My organisation’s greatest challenges in using information from store management employees and shoppers to improve the customer experience are: Select up to three. (% respondents)
47
40
30
23
20
20
17
17
17
3
0
3
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
North America
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Middle East and Africa
In which region are you personally based? (% respondents)
100
0
0
0
0
0
64
14
21
Individuals (eg, retail)
Businesses or other organisations (eg, business-to-business)
An equal mix of both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
1 Consistently and systematically 2 3 4 5 Not at all Don’t know
Empower salespeople
Empower customer service
Create effective marketing campaigns
Refine product development process
Forecast demand
Improve service to shoppers
Improve retail offerings and selections
Adjust pricing
How well is information from all sources used to accomplish the following goals?(% respondents)
13 40 37 10
27 37 33 3
17 30 37 10 3 3
14 45 24 3 7 7
17 37 23 20 3 0
27 43 17 13
23 40 13 23
20 37 17 17 10 0
22 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 3Asia-Pacifi c survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
50
14
25
4
7
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Customer service
Marketing
Sales
Finance
IT
Strategy and business development
Operations and production
Human resources
Information and research
Supply-chain management
Risk
R&D
Procurement
Legal
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
52
28
24
24
17
17
14
14
14
7
7
0
0
0
0
0
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
3
17
3
10
3
7
3
10
31
10
23 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Appendix: Europe Middle East and Africa survey results
61
16
13
10
Customer service: Providing superior service to customers
Product innovation: First to market with groundbreaking new products or services
Operational excellence: Creating highly efficient processes
Other
In your view, which of the following best represents the core strength of your overall business? Select only one.(% respondents)
1. No coordination; 2. Ad hoc coordination; 3. Some procedures 4. Procedures 5. Broad, systematic and Don’t knowunits are completely not systematic established, but not established, regular consistent integration of separate or consistent consistently followed interaction information and strategies
Planning promotions/campaigns
Executing promotions/campaigns
Measuring effectiveness of promotions/campaigns
Developing and launching new products
Analysing and segmenting shoppers
Gauging shopper satisfaction
Responding to shopper demands or complaints
Incorporating shopper feedback into products/services
Other
Each of the organisation’s customer-facing departments influences the shopper via different channels. For each of the processes below, how closely do your marketing, sales and customer service units work together? Please rate on a scale of 1 to 5.(% respondents)
6 16 13 35 26 3
6 6 23 45 19 0
3 16 29 35 13 3
23 23 35 19 0
6 23 32 29 10 0
3 23 29 35 10 0
3 16 29 32 19 0
10 13 35 32 10 0
14 14 71
24 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Segmenting and profiling shoppers
Targeting the right shoppers to achieve sales volume and revenue objectives
Cross-selling or upselling shoppers
Reducing the cost of sales
Maximising repeat purchases and building loyalty among shoppers
Measuring/optimising effectiveness of marketing and promotional campaigns
Gathering shopper intelligence in the course of providing service
Measuring the satisfaction of shoppers
Involving shoppers in product/service development (eg, co-creation)
Generating promotions/campaigns
Building long-term relationships with store management
Creating effective collateral
Ensuring that shopper complaints are resolved quickly
Other
Don’t know
In your view, which of your organisation’s activities are most in need of improvement? Select up to four. (% respondents)
48
45
42
39
32
26
26
23
19
16
13
6
6
0
0
Making each unit aware of how the others have interacted with a given shopper
Establishing common definitions, assumptions and data
Developing and sharing a detailed picture of shopper behavior and preferences
Prioritising resources directed towards shoppers by total value over the life of the relationship
Presenting shoppers with a consistent picture of the organisation
Helping each function find and act on ways to support the others
Measuring the probability that shoppers will turn into buyers, and using these scores to guide sales
Integrating tracking of shoppers from initial contact through to post-sales service
Our company sees no need to integrate our marketing, sales and service activities
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
Which of the following would provide the biggest benefits in integrating your organisation’s marketing, sales and service activities? Select up to three. (% respondents)
35
32
32
29
26
26
26
23
6
0
3
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?(% respondents)
In chosing to do business with my organisation, price is the single most important factor most shoppers consider
Compared to our competitors, my organisation’s shoppers are more loyal
My organisation has an accurate way to estimate the lifetime value of customers
My organisation prioritises sales and marketing resources based on each customer’s lifetime value
We are currently developing a social media strategy
My organisation has more flexibility than its competitors in pricing its products
Despite the recession, my organisation has greatly strengthened customer relationships over the past 12 months
We are more engaged in developing products or services collaboratively with customers than we were 12 months ago
Shoppers view my organisation’s products and services more as commodities now than five years ago
Our margins are higher than the margins of most of our competitors
If there is no difference in price, my organisation can win the sale based on service, convenience, brand reputation or other intangibles
Agree Disagree Don’t know
23 74 3
61 29 10
32 61 6
39 58 3
26 48 26
55 39 6
58 29 13
45 48 6
61 29 10
39 48 13
81 13 6
25 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Global economic downturn
Changing needs of shoppers
Finding access to credit/capital
Emergence of new competitors
Significant demand shifts for our products/services
Accessing key components or resources through our supply chain
Changing needs of store management
Focusing on sustainability efforts
Emergence of new markets for our products and services
Disruptive technology developments
Other
Don’t know
Which of the following trends have had the greatest impact on your business over the past 12 months? Select up to three.(% respondents)
81
39
29
29
26
13
13
13
10
10
0
0
Investing in self-service tools for store employees across multiple channels (web, mobile devices, e-mail)
Improving online or self-service support tools for store managers
Building or supporting online communities
Making prices and sales terms more transparent for easy comparability by store management
Improving usability, search and navigation of store-facing websites
Other
Don’t know/Not applicable
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower store management? Select all that apply.(% respondents)
39
29
26
26
19
0
26
Improving usability, search and navigation of shopper-facing websites
Offering additional value along with products (eg, in-store service, merchandising improvements, sustainable packaging)
Creating educational forums for shoppers (eg, online content, in-store content, communities of interest, direct-to-consumer outreach)
Building or supporting online communities of shoppers
Other
Don’t know
In which of the following ways does your organisation empower shoppers? Select all that apply. (% respondents)
52
45
32
23
0
6
Point of sale feedback
In-store sales staff
Our own e-commerce site(s)
Third-party e-commerce sites
Phone order interaction
Direct response feedback
Call center customer service interactions
Targeted focus groups
Online social media efforts
Other
Don’t know
What avenues of customer feedback is your organisation best and worst at collecting and using to improve the experience of shoppers? Select up to three from each column.(% respondents)
We are best at collecting and usingWe are worst at collecting and using
48 29
42 23
26 26
10 35
23 16
450
13 16
19 19
0 26
00
6 6
26 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Putting recommendations into action
Distinguishing relevant from irrelevant shopper information
Persuading shoppers to share experiences, both positive and negative
Synthesising information from retail outlets into coherent recommendations
Synthesising information from customer service into coherent recommendations
Persuading store employees to share feedback from shoppers, both positive and negative
Monitoring the results of actions in terms of shopper behaviour and marketing metrics
Demonstrating to shoppers that their comments are being addressed
Dealing systematically with extremely high volumes of information from stores
Synthesising information from online channels into coherent recommendations
Other
Don’t know
My organisation’s greatest challenges in using information from store management employees and shoppers to improve the customer experience are: Select up to three. (% respondents)
52
35
29
23
23
19
19
16
13
0
0
10
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
North America
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Middle East and Africa
In which region are you personally based? (% respondents)
0
0
0
10
77
13
65
13
23
Individuals (eg, retail)
Businesses or other organisations (eg, business-to-business)
An equal mix of both
Who are your organisation’s primary customers?(% respondents)
1 Consistently and systematically 2 3 4 5 Not at all Don’t know
Empower salespeople
Empower customer service
Create effective marketing campaigns
Refine product development process
Forecast demand
Improve service to shoppers
Improve retail offerings and selections
Adjust pricing
How well is information from all sources used to accomplish the following goals?(% respondents)
10 42 16 26 3 3
13 42 23 19 3
16 39 26 13 3 3
13 32 32 16 3 3
19 16 39 16 3 6
16 48 23 10 3
19 42 13 13 6 6
29 39 19 6 3 3
27 Economist Intelligence Unit 2009
Appendix 4EMEA survey results
Beyond transactionsBuilding a compelling retail experience
Board member
CEO/President/Managing director
CFO/Treasurer/Comptroller
CIO/Technology director
Other C-level executive
SVP/VP/Director
Head of Business Unit
Head of Department
Manager
Other
Which of the following best describes your title?(% respondents)
3
23
3
0
0
6
13
19
29
3
48
10
3
6
32
$500m or less
$500m to $1bn
$1bn to $5bn
$5bn to $10bn
$10bn or more
What are your organisation’s global annual revenues in US dollars? (% respondents)
General management
Strategy and business development
Sales
Finance
Information and research
Customer service
Marketing
IT
Procurement
Supply-chain management
Human resources
Operations and production
R&D
Risk
Legal
Other
What are your main functional roles? Please choose no more than three functions.(% respondents)
52
29
26
19
16
16
13
10
6
6
6
3
3
0
0
3
28
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ver i
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e: S
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