Bol
How does Bol strengthen the relationship with its customers?
Information about the case study
The online retail world is in a state of flux. Borders are blurring and webshops such as Amazon and AliExpress are entering the Dutch market. Bol is the market leader in the Netherlands and is keen to maintain this position by offering its customers the best possible shopping experience.
The question
The online retailer wants to discover how it can make its customers even happier. How can Bol improve the shopping experience? Blauw investigated this through community research, in which we examined the customer journey step by step. The focus was on the path-to-purchase. This begins at the moment the customer wants to buy a product and ends at the moment the order is completed and the product is put into use or returned.
The challenge
Research method: qualitative community research
Blauw developed a dedicated online community for Bol, in which 100 customers from the Netherlands and Flanders are ready to share their opinions and experiences. The community was developed as a means to conduct research in an agile manner.
Community research is very suitable for this because respondents are always available, you obtain results quickly, and you are flexible in your questioning methods. You also gather many interesting insights with a great deal of contextual depth. For instance, customers did not just answer a question, but also regularly provided detailed explanations for their answers.
The extensive exploration of the customer journey was the starting point. After this project, the community remained available to bol.com, and several projects have since been carried out within the community. But now, more about that first exploratory project!
Solution
The customer journey research
Over a period of 1.5 weeks, Blauw presented various questions and assignments to the customers. In these assignments, we delved into various topics that play an important role in the customer journey. From how people search for a specific product to what plays a decisive role in the choice of online retailer.
To achieve the right insights, we used various methods such as forum topics, challenges, and questionnaires. To fully understand these insights, we placed the path-to-purchase in context. For example, we discussed how engaged top customers feel with various retailers. We also looked at how the nature of the purchase and the device used for shopping influence the customer journey.
Focus groups with top customers: even more insights
Occasionally, topics or questions arose that required more dialogue. To address this, Blauw organised smaller focus groups with a number of community members after the completion of the first project in the community. In four groups, each with four top customers, Blauw engaged in deeper discussions about what we had learned from the community to uncover even more insights.
Result
Bol results: optimising the customer journey
Ultimately, Blauw gathered all the research results and processed them in an effective and clear manner. Bol thus discovered how they can optimise the path-to-purchase within the customer journey and what the priorities are for the short and long term. By removing barriers, they can improve the shopping experience for the top customer.
In practice.
Want to know more?
Do you want to sharpen your brand positioning based on what consumers need and where growth opportunities lie? Get in touch with us.
Then we can look together at where your brand can make the difference.
