In the last 12 months we have carried out almost 20 of these Audits and in 70% of cases we have found businesses which are losing new revenue simply because they are, unwittingly, putting up barriers which prospects have to negotiate before they can engage….
Examples… The business where consumers who called to ask a question were often met by someone on the other end of the phone who didn’t know the answer, didn’t know who did, who promised to ‘get someone to call you’ (who didn’t…) and who managed to reduce consumer interest to consumer indifference in the space of minutes. The business in question not only had no idea how badly they presented themselves but thought that they were very good at showing a consumer friendly face….. Or the company whose proposition focussed on attention to detail but who demonstrated the exact opposite when it came to moving prospects along the sales funnel and losing many before they committed.
Are you guilty of this? Would you know even if you were? A fresh pair of eyes will tell you….
The Perception and Reality Audit
Some time ago the international consultancy Bain & Company undertook some research amongst a number of companies and their customers. When asked what percentage of their customers the companies believed were happy with the service or product that they supplied, the companies reported a figure of 92%.
However, when those same customers were asked how happy they were with the companies they reported a figure of just 8%.....
This discrepancy is what we refer to as the Perception and Reality Gap. It represents not just a Threat to the business should those customers finally give up any residual loyalty but much more importantly an Opportunity to address the shortcomings and not just consolidate the position but significantly improve and strengthen it.
Most businesses spend far more recruiting new customers than they do retaining them and the inevitable result is churn. If you know the Lifetime Value of a current customer then you can easily work out the ROI of a P&R Audit.
Marketing and Competitor Audit
When you have commissioned or developed your marketing materials it is very difficult to look at them objectively. Whether you like them or not there will inevitably be some emotional investment.
As a starting point this Audit looks for clarity of proposition, continuity of look, tone and feel at every point that the business comes into contact with a consumer (from the way that the phone is answered to your website) and across every piece of collateral.
Then we compare and contrast this with the competitive set. (In the same way that it is difficult to be objective about your own material it can be as difficult to review the competition.)
One of the most illuminating elements of this Audit is the side by side report when we mystery shop the competition and your business.
The Franchise Feasibility Audit
Probably the most overlooked and undervalued growth strategy in the UK it’s worth noting that the world wouldn’t look as it does without…Franchising. Companies like McDonald’s, Hertz, Hilton Hotels would be much smaller and probably only known in their home territories.
There are a number of definitions of Franchising but the one that SmartGrowth favour is:
‘packaging’ the principles, processes and practices that underpin a successful operation and then selling this turn key solution to third parties in order that they can replicate the operation outside of the current trading area.’
This Audit is an in-depth look at a business and puts it in a position to make a decision on whether it could or should franchise.
Franchising has a less than positive profile in the UK but it is worth noting that that it is a growth strategy employed buy a number of high profile companies that you may not be aware of. These include some of the largest and most respected brands in the UK and include O2, Bang & Olufsson, Easy Hotels and Yoh! Sushi to name a few.