Møbelringen knows that “home is best”. But how do customers actually experience the journey to the perfect sofa? To go behind the numbers and understand the emotional drivers, the furniture chain entered into a deep dive collaboration with Innsikteriet.
Since 1985, Møbelringen has built up to become one of Norway’s most inspiring specialist retailers, with 70 stores across the country. As a member chain owned by local drivers, professional expertise and customer service are the foundation. But in a digital world dominated by quantitative data, CEO Øyvind Krohn wanted to get closer to the people behind the statistics.
– We collect a lot of data through purchasing behavior and online activity, but it often becomes very quantitative facts. We wanted a qualitative study where we could go in depth. We wanted to understand how customers perceive Møbelringen compared to our competitors, and get honest answers about where we are good and where we can improve,” explains Krohn.
Focus groups: A journey through the store
Together with Innsikteriet, a comprehensive survey was set up to map the customer journey in detail. The design consisted of:
– 4 focus groups in Slependen and Hokksund.
– 2.5 hour sessions combining store visits and the actual group discussions.
– Existing and potential customers, including those who had recently chosen competing chains.
– Home assignments to “prime” the participants, so that the more emotional assessments of the brands were also captured.
By allowing participants to conduct an actual store visit before the actual group discussion, immediate impressions were captured that might otherwise have been lost in a regular interview.
Translated words to strategy
For Øyvind Krohn, the collaboration with Innsikteriet was characterized by professionalism and good dialogue, but it was the delivery after the completed groups that really added value. – The videos, where we got to see and hear the customers themselves, have given us insights that are impossible to read from other types of surveys,” says Krohn.
He highlights the ability to distill large amounts of information as a key factor: “It was summarized in a very good way. Customers say a lot in two and a half hours, and Insights helped us boil it down to what this actually means for us. They helped us translate the words into concrete actions we can include in our strategic work.
The insight helped us boil it down to what this actually means for us. They helped us translate the words into concrete actions we can include in our strategic work
The way forward: Small steps, big impact
The insights from the project are already making an impact in the 70 stores. Møbelringen uses the findings for both overall strategic priorities and very specific improvements in store design and customer service.
– We address everything from the small details customers notice during store visits to the bigger picture of the customer journey. This has already been communicated to our member stores. Although our stores have different conditions, this feedback gives us a common direction on how to become the customer’s first choice – every time,” concludes Krohn.