Prior to working with Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), ASK had noticed a decline in sales through the stores. Working in partnership the project team was able to establish the shift in consumer purchasing from in-store to online. The original aims of the KTP were to establish the ASK brand as a multichannel retailer and grow sales online and in-store, using the website to drive sales into the store. It was identified that the key to this was to retain customers.
Through the market research the project team has been able to use the findings to generate many customer leads online, in-store and through exhibitions such as the Ideal Home Show. One successful marketing initiative was a Twitter campaign, involving a competition prize, which increased the following significantly by 300%.
The CRM system has opened up another channel of generating sales through the capture of customer information. ASK were previously capturing customer information but this was not being fully utilised as it was not easy available. We can now easily identify our most loyal customers and target special offers. In one particular week following an email campaign, 20% of sales were made from returning customers.
The integration of Navision & Amazon has also reduced the efforts required to gather information as this is now pulled together into one database, the CRM system. It is now more manageable to review and make informed decisions.
Finally the CRM generated report which shows competitor pricing of a particular product has allowed ASK to remain competitive. It has also proved to be a valuable tool when purchasing products through suppliers.
Outcomes
- growth in online sales
- greater interaction with the customer base
- increased customer loyalty
- better understanding of customer purchasing habits from the CRM
- increased awareness of the ASK brand
- the ability to monitor competitor pricing and react promptly to changes
- an off-shoot company 'Ask Outlets' has been opened
- company has been recogniesd by Amazon for growth
Without doubt, if London Met had not contacted ASK in regard to the KTP, the company would have taken longer to achieve the strategies put in place. We fully appreciate the help provided by this partnership and help of London Met's resources.
Kaushik C. Patel, Company Director
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