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BOC needed to move away from the traditional builders' merchant arrangements in the original Gas & Gear stores. The previous branding was very much designed to appeal to tradespeople and neglected wider potential groups such as the general public or female customers.
The new retail outlets now focus on customer service and are much more appealing to a wider range of customers. This has been achieved by undertaking a variety of actions.
Stores were remodelled as part of the process of improvement to the shopping environment.
Through their extensive market research process, BOC understood that each store needed to be:
- Compelling in design
- Reinforcing strong brand messages
- Designed around customer efficiency (time is money for customers)
- Designed for longevity, flexibility and expansion
- Designed for staff efficiency, ease of maintenance, access and exit
- A standardised, consistent design and layout
- Designed around unique customer profile and requirements
- Finally, but absolutely critically, the stores were designed to optimise safety standards for staff and customers.
Branding is not just the appearance of a company or its representation through logo and promotional material - a brand needs to be delivered across all levels of business and through service to consumers. BOC staff needed to become more 'retail savvy' and provide a quality shopping experience for visitors to the store, in addition to delivering the important aspect of technical knowledge of BOC's products.
BOC understood the importance of brand awareness and brand consistency: customers and potential customers need to recognise and trust the brand. BOC maintained consistency through centralised staff training processes such as the RDP, and having 'mystery shoppers' visit their store to ensure that customer service was delivered in the same way, each time and at every store. Qualifications in retail management were offered to staff with outstanding technical knowledge to enhance their customer service skills.
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BOC Case Studies