Other services

Here at Retail Insight in addition to Mystery Shopping and Sales Improvement Consultancy, we also offer a wide range of ancillary services, all designed to improve our clients' sales performance and hence increase their profits.

• customer satisfaction surveys
• independent staff surveys and interviews
• area manager and shop supervisor coaching
• exit interviews
• competitor visits & assessments
• business unit manager recruitment
• business planning for field managers

Click on a link in the list above.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys

Frequently customer satisfaction surveys are undertaken in response to a perceived problem or opportunity, perhaps falling sales, reduced footfall or checking the standards being achieved in a new branch.

Our research team will uncover exactly what the problems are in your business or organisation and where the key issues lie.

We will report on key criteria such as the:

• attitude of your staff
• appearance of your premises
• satisfaction of your existing customers
• likelihood they will return
• potential improvements
• value for money
• level of personal service

Independent staff surveys and interviews

Independent surveys amongst your staff will reveal their true attitude to their work and to your business.

Interviews by an impartial but experienced interviewer will often elicit the key issues that are affecting sales and highlight what is really happening inside your business.

Frequently such interviews will identify critical issues of which you were not aware.

These surveys and interviews are very useful for:

• addressing motivation issues
• discovering potential managers
• future staff planning
• integrating new teams
• understanding 'undercurrent' issues
• recognising real issues affecting performance
• generating ideas
• identifying poor performing managers
• eliciting training needs
• highlighting unseen security concerns

Often such surveys reveal a skills gap amongst staff and the requirement for training and coaching.

Area Manager and Shop Supervisor Coaching

At Retail Insight we know that coaching key staff members makes a direct and positive improvement to sales performance, particularly in a small and medium sized business where no formal mentoring scheme is in place.

We will support you and your business to breakthrough the barriers that are preventing growth.

Our individual and group coaching programmes will instil a 'can do' attitude amongst your team, eliminating any 'blame culture'.

Retail Insight coaching will ensure that your key staff are:

• reaching their full potential
• communicating with each other
• generating and implementing fresh ideas
• enjoying their roles
• happy to stay with your business
• seeing a long-term future and path to promotion

To discuss how our coaching can help you achieve sustainable growth, maximising the talent, skills and energy of your team please contact us.

Exit interviews

Exit interviews are interviews conducted with departing employees, just before they leave for a new position.

The primary objective of the exit interview is to learn the real reasons behind the person's departure on the basis that criticism, frustration or unhappiness can be a useful catalyst for change within the business.

Exit interviews are also an opportunity for the company to ensure the smooth transfer of knowledge and experience from the departing employee to a successor or replacement.

Good exit interviews reveal much useful information about the business, including issues such as:

• the prevailing culture
• poor pay scales compared with competitors
• perceived 'glass ceilings'
• management 'bullying'
• attitudes to customers
• relationships with third party suppliers
• poor performing managers
• illegal activities such as racism or theft

For the departing employee, an exit interview is the chance to give constructive feedback, to leave on a positive note, with good relations and mutual respect.

Many retailers ignore the opportunity that exit interviews offer, perhaps due to potentially subjective nature of the results, the work involved and the unspoken desire to avoid criticism.

At Retail Insight we are experienced in exit interviews and will ensure that your departing employees provide a rich source of useful, objective feedback, not mindless criticism.

Competitor visits and assessments

Competitor visits and assessments are individually designed around a client's requirements and objectives.

Knowledge of competitor activities is critical and using exactly the same Mystery Shopping scenarios and benchmarks as have been applied to your own business, instantly highlights areas of concern.

Competitor visits allow a direct comparison of your customer service levels with that of your competition.

Competitor visits and assessments allow a business to:

• directly compare customer service levels
• identify areas where competitors are out-performing them
• highlight new ideas to adapt or emulate
• focus on issues to avoid
• keep abreast of industry changes

Such analysis can be made of your physical presence (shop or restaurant) and/or your on-line presence (website or TV shopping channel). We can also undertake competitor analysis of telephone and postal shopping.

Business unit manager recruitment

As experienced managers ourselves, at Retail Insight we know what makes a good Manager. So we can help you recruit the best and then we will coach them to deliver optimum performance.

From establishing the specification for each role and developing the ideal candidate profile to pre-selection screening and short-listing, our experienced consultants have in-depth market knowledge and will work closely with your team at every stage of the recruitment process to ensure the success of the assignment.

We source candidates through a number of methods, using a combination of:

• off-line advertising (branded or unbranded)
• on-line advertising (branded or unbranded)
• database search
• executive search

We operate a thorough, confidential and professional search service that selects candidates who have the necessary skills, background and knowledge based on the agreed specification of the role.

Through our work in the retail, leisure and catering sectors we often learn of a manager who is looking for a new position or identify an exceptional individual ready for new responsibility.

As part of the service we will provide you with market intelligence and salary information while we carry out the search.

Throughout the recruitment process we manage candidate feedback and ensure that all administration is efficiently processed.

We add value to the process by professionally representing your organisation at every stage of the recruitment process.

Business planning for field managers

Business planning is an essential component of any successful business but it is often overlooked due to pressures of day to day work.

Field managers have added challenges in that they are not (head) office based and are often absent from decision making or isolated from current issues in the business.

Business planning is therefore critical for them yet is sometimes difficult to achieve. At Retail Insight we understand these particular challenges and can help your field managers to thrive and perform.

A well considered and constructed business plan will help your field managers to:

• set clear targets and objectives for themselves and their business
• focus their efforts
• provide a yardstick against which to measure their progress
• make a case for added investment or staff
• ensure that they are in tune with corporate objectives
• understand the benefits of sound planning

Good business planning involves a wide range of issues such as staffing, promotions, product launches, pricing and territory management. We understand these areas and will help your field managers to create achievable, measurable business plans that will accelerate the growth of your organisation.

All the above services will be tailor made to your requirements yet will provide the answer to increased profits and customer retention.