Case study

Client

US-owned multi-national office supplies company

Sector

B2B Direct Delivery Office Supplies

Project

To build and run an on-line customer panel that could be used to: better understand customer needs; create a database of attitudinal, behavioural and circumstantial measures for understanding customer motivations and increasing the effectiveness of marketing activities; and establish a customer dialogue for generating ‘humanised’ (and hence empathetic) examples of customer experience.

Analyses and Answers

The combined database of attitudinal, circumstantial and behavioural measures was created for over 8000 customers and their preferences scored using the RedRoute 5 driver model of Effective Net Preference. These ENP scores were then related to the client’s share of wallet at customer level and a model of SoW developed that could be projected across the full c. 2 million customers in the database using data fusion.

A monthly Tracking Study was established to track preference levels on going and continue to enhance and extend the original group of 8000 respondents at a rate of about 150 per month. Other surveys are also run which create additional responses that can also be added to the database leading to a net increment of c.300/month.

Customer segmentations and profiling were undertaken to understand how to manage and communicate better with the customer base; and also to understand current and underlying sales and customer trends.

Actions

The results of the analyses and the modelling of both ENP and Share of Wallet have led to significant decisions being taken by the business, culminating in the current re-launch of the brand across Europe with a refreshed market positioning.

Changes to the services offered, such as choice of delivery time, the use of differing, more contemporary, incentives, and the pricing of ink & toner products were also introduced following use of the panel to evaluate what the customer and revenue consequences of using various alternative marketing strategies would be.

Since starting the panel in the UK it has been extended to several other territories within Europe and also extended to cover both contract and non-contract customers.