- +£30mlike-for-like sales from a coupon-at-till programme
- +£10mincremental sales from launching home delivery
- +34% → 48%customer satisfaction
- +£3mmargin from new pricing and promotions
The situation
McColl's was a leading convenience retailer with 1,500 stores under the McColl's and Martin's names. I joined the board as Customer & Marketing Director in 2018 and stayed until 2021.
My role was to be the customer champion: to hold every part of the business to account for growing sales and customer satisfaction. I ran all marketing channels, in store and online, all insight and research, and the P&L for home delivery. I also chaired the senior leadership team.
What I did
- A customer experience programme to find the pain points and the sales opportunities behind them, tracked through a new customer satisfaction survey.
- A coupon-at-till programme that rewarded the next visit, lifting both basket size and visit frequency.
- A new pricing architecture and promotions programme, and an overhaul of promotions and event planning.
- A new store format with a higher basket value and more fresh food.
- The launch of home delivery as a new channel.
- A new brand identity across stores, packaging, digital and head office.
- A Great Place to Work programme for colleagues, on the principle that happy colleagues create happy customers.
The results
The coupon programme added £30m of like-for-like sales. Home delivery generated £10m of incremental sales and £1m of operating profit. The new pricing and promotions structure added £3m of margin, and the overhaul of promotions planning delivered a further 5% like-for-like increase.
The new store format grew sales by 8%. Customer satisfaction rose from +34% to 48%. Colleague retention improved by 15%, and colleague satisfaction reached 92%.
What other retailers can take from it
- Customer satisfaction is a commercial lever. Fixing pain points showed up directly in sales.
- Rewarding the next visit is one of the most effective ways to grow both frequency and basket.
- Marketing has most impact when it has a say in price, range, format and service, not only communications.
During Tim's time at McColl's he has led great change in driving a customer-led culture. Tim is highly skilled in commercial and customer insight and combines this with being approachable, collaborative and down to earth.
