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Retail Financial Services is a very competitive market place and will continue to be so. With margins being squeezed every aspect of the business has to add value to the bottom line and return on investment. Many Retail Banks and Building Societies understand point of sale technologies but few understand the drivers of retail financial performance before the customer commits to the sale, purchase or contract. By combining digital technologies with unique research methods Younique can help clients understand the hidden truths about their retail model and its relationship to the financial performance of an outlet. In many cases our Insight programmes release the financial potential every outlet has whilst minimising investment or the need for relocation.
To fully exploit the knowledge created on an Insight Programme clients are supported through a five stage process - Strategic Alignment, Performance Planning, Research and Investigation, and Focus and Realization.
With many businesses pursuing multi-channel strategies it's easy for the newest channels, internet and phone to have priority development due to their lower cost to administer. However today's consumers require integrated multi channel delivery, they expect their experience to be the same through all channels. From our experience the retail network is often the last to be aligned with any new multi channel strategy, purely because of the expense involved with reconfiguring or relocating units and redesigning service offerings. Due to the cost, retail refurbishment and change programmes must deliver the current and future business requirement. To ensure this focus is given the first stage of any Insight programme™ is to understand the business strategy, and how that integrates with the retail and brand strategy. From these we help clients create their service strategy which gives context to the definition for the service concepts that are to be supported within the retail design.
Service concepts involve defining the service intent within the retail space provided by zone and are unique to each retailer given their strategy. These can however be generic to types of retailer, for example financial services, stationers, restaurants, supermarkets and department stores have optimal formulas that work. Whether the client's current configuration is the best to deliver financial performance is what needs to be studied and understood. Clear service concepts are critical to the tactical review of design facilities provided and set a context for the full facilities concept design review.
Each concept within the unit must have purpose and intent, the intent as a context will be defined in the service strategy. Given the service strategy each designed facility/zone within the retail space must have aligned function, process, behaviour and image intent to be effective.
Fully documenting the design concept intent completes the 'strategic alignment phase' of the Insight review and crystallises the service vision with the design concepts ready for performance planning.
This phase of review involves focusing intent by creating a measurement framework within which to define high performance and involves identifying the financial value drivers for the outlet(s), structuring objectives, defining measures and setting performance targets.
To maximise the financial performance of any outlet the business needs to first analyse the financial value drivers of their retail outlet. What functions, concepts and processes deliver which benefits in which ratio and how they interrelate to contribute to financial performance must be understood. Younique help clients define and document a model for understanding and improving retail financial performance.
To fully align design with the retail financial value drivers the service strategy is broken down into four key objective areas - Financial, Customer, Outlet and Enabling.
Financial Objectives - the financial objectives for the outlet/types of outlets if more than one model exists.
Customer Objectives - how the customers should perceive and exploit the service strategy and concepts and how customer behaviour should be influenced to support the financial goals.
Outlet Objectives - how the retail space, design concepts, delivery processes and employees should function to deliver the customer goals.
Enabling/Development Objectives - how centralised support will continue to be improved over the longer term by scoping out the key drivers of ongoing improved performance.
With a performance model built core metrics are defined to inform the review. Normally ten to fifteen core metrics are agreed and set the framework for the research and investigation phase.
Having set the measures agreement has to be reached on how results will be interpreted. Two options exist during target setting.
Research a number of units and create a norm for performance and set stretch targets for improvement. Clients using this approach tend to build a database of projects to populate the model statistically.
Study excellence (the high performing outlets) and set targets to aspire to for other outlets researched. Clients normally target lower performing outlets as part of the deployment strategy.
With a performance framework in place the research and investigation phase has a strategic brief and suitable focus, without this the research will become bogged down in too much data and information but little knowledge.
With the service strategy and retail performance model defined, the research and investigation phase of the review can begin. Here the key to design and performance knowledge rests with the formula Utility + Behaviour = Insight. These also form the stages of the research to be completed culminating with Insights flowing from performance reports and knowledge sharing workshops.
Retail utility is concerned with the study of footfall, hot and cold spots, queue times, dwell times, customer journey and contact points, as these form the core research areas that inform the statistical and measurement parts of the Insight review. The latest digital technologies are exploited to create understanding of customer utility making the research efficient and effective from the clients viewpoint.
Designs are a stimulus for the user, the way the design stimulates the user will dictate how the user responds to that design, the formula here is Design + Feeling = Response. If the responses aren't the ones expected your company could be getting designs wrong and loosing revenues.
Having completed on site research, core utility and behavioural study reports are prepared outlining utility results with variances from any agreed targets. Summary reports for the behavioural research are listed concept by concept together with findings. Comparative studies, where commissioned together with utility and behavioural reviews form the basis for action planning and performance improvement in the Focus and Realization stages of the review.
Our approaches here focus on a blend of individual analysis from the research and team collaboration where members from across the business are brought together to consider the research output and challenge existing wisdom and conventions to create new core business knowledge and insights.
Consideration here is given to identifying gaps between the design intent and the research completed at a number of outlets. Each concept is reviewed together with the interrelationships between concepts. Where the behavioural research indicates gaps they are identified for further development/alignment work. Where utility gaps exist these are targeted for performance improvement ready for the knowledge synthesis workshops.
The performance gaps reports are distributed to the key design operating groups within the company, usually retail, financial management, property, operations and technology in readiness for the design review knowledge workshops. Here teams create a common understanding of the performance issues, create further views about improving performance and start prioritising issues.
Younique then help clients document their performance improvement plan incorporating revised design manual and planning principles for the retail outlet(s).
When concepts are deemed to be operating incorrectly the design groups within the company will create what they see as being the solution. In this instance they are in fact hypothesising that their solution will work. Younique during this phase provide ongoing rapid concept testing support in a live environment to prove concepts. Only when a new solution is proven to produce the desired performance outcomes will the concept be rolled out as part of a programme.
financial services
facilities management
Brilliant, phenomenal review! - Future Retailing Consultancy
Fantastic, excellent, just what we need to drive our retail strategy - Location Planning Team
Gives me insights into the space and provides the parameters for a concept to be determined - Corporate Concept Consultant
We've now found the problem, when we design the solution it will be better! - Retail Designer
They behave in the opposite way to the way you think they will! - Change Consultant
This tells you stuff you didn't know you didn't know - Retail Strategist
Why wouldn't we have this in every outlet for capacity management - Executive Director, Operations
We can model the outlets that excel to improve the lesser performing outlets - Retail Director
I have always found Younique to be very creative and resourceful in terms of their approach to generating ideas that we can turn into action to drive improved results and customer experiences for our members. Their support is 1st class and working with Younique has been a very enjoyable and productive experience. - National Sales manager - Retail Financial Services Business
contact: enquiries@youniqueltd.com or +44 (0) 770 252 8565
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