Stores Magazine - December 2007 - (Page 56)

NUTS AND BOLTS / SOFTWARE Road Testing Ideas MVT helps Bridgestone/Firestone find programs with real traction BY FIONA SOLTES t seemed like a no-brainer: Tire racks in front of Firestone Complete Auto Care stores would help rack up greater sales. It turns out, however, that those displays were representative of something else: The fact that no matter how good an idea seems, a gut reaction about its potential for success holds virtually no value at all. I “I no longer trust my own opinions,” says Dave Cochran, vice president of operations for QualPro. And he’s far from alone. A QualPro strategy called Multivariable Testing (MVT) uses highlevel statistics to show which ideas — and combinations of ideas — can actually make a difference in a company’s bottom line. More often than not, however, MVT demonstrates that the things that “should” work, don’t. Not only can expensive programs have minimal impact; some can even cause more damage than good. “It doesn’t matter who it is,” Cochran says. “The greatest expert can’t separate the good ideas from the bad. We’re 56 STORES / DECEMBER 2007 learning that the world is a really complicated place.” Bill Perdew, COO of Bridgestone subsidiary BFRC, addressed the annual QualPro Leadership Symposium in October. The audience was all ears, especially since Perdew shared that the MVT process had resulted in 8.1 percent growth across its more than 2,300 com- pany-owned stores. It also saved the company more than $600,000 that was to have been spent implementing a post-service “thank you” hangtag strategy many thought would be a sure-fire hit. When you ask Bridgestone/Firestone customers what they’re looking for, “trust and convenience are the two keys,” Perdew told the group. “One thing that I’d like everybody to remember is we’re not the place [people] want to go.” When polled about having their car serviced, customers said “they’d rather do their taxes, renew their driver’s license, go to traffic court or — the one I really love — they’d rather go to the dentist,” he said. “When they drive into our facilities, it is an expense. It’s probably not budgeted. It’s probably going to have a negative impact on their grocery budget, so it’s not a pleasant experience. Our challenge in our industry is trying to make it as painless as possible.” It should come as no surprise, then, that Perdew found himself “intrigued” by the possibilities that Knoxville, Tenn.-based QualPro offered. The idea was to take the guesswork out of the equation and replace it with good, hard facts. In the fall of 2006, Perdew and his WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Stores Magazine - December 2007

STORES - December 2007 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Holiday Shopping Extravagance What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Niche Marketing Eight Predictions for 2008 Concept2Watch Merchandising Strategy Sourcing E-Commerce Supply Chain Warehouse Management Software Contactless Payments Marketing Marketing Online Loeb Retail Letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

Stores Magazine - December 2007

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