Harnessing Customer Power to Increase Retail Growth
The report goes on to say that B&Q is planning to blend some of the "tens of thousands of comments about its products and services" already gathered with analysis from their joint venture partners, London-based consultancy Beyond Analysis, with the information now gleaned from smartphones, social networking and online buying. Their intention is to "strengthen its understanding of the sales information coming from its stores."
An advisory "youth board" of 16- to 20-year-olds is also being established "to provide it with insights into the ideas of future DIY shoppers, and to encourage its managers to remain receptive to input from customers."
Mr. Cheshire is reported as aiming to "hardwire" information into the organisation.
"Making that transition from being a seller of products to someone who can read what customers are doing is a big cultural shift. ... The key thing is to realise that you don't have control. ... But I'd much rather hear what the forums and chat rooms are saying about B&Q, rather than say we can't let that in, we have to control it," he said.
Best Buy is another example of good practice to which B&Q is paying homage as they are known to be working "to change the way they do business in response to the emergence of new online customers," according to the Financial Times.
"The venture will really create a much, much sharper data-mining capability, and we'll have all the information coming together in one place, with a customer officer whose job is to make sure that we are absolutely listening to the customer," said Mr. Cheshire.