Since opening its Customer Relationship Centre in August 2013, Imperial Tobacco has had a plan to build and maintain relationships with more retailers. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of in-store calls being made, but despite this, has the service been a success?
Many retailers selling Imperial Tobacco products may have noticed that they no longer receive a regular visit from a field sales rep. While the company continues to have an on-the-ground salesforce in Scotland, a decision was made in August 2013 to open a Customer Relationship Centre (CRC) in Bristol to allow the company to build relationships with more retailers than it ever could with feet on the ground. Many stores – particularly those linked to symbol groups – continue to get regular visits, but for many more the addition of the CRC has allowed them to learn more about the tobacco sector and the legislation that dictates how retailers can sell tobacco products.
A matter of logistics
“Logistically we can’t cover every store that we’d like to, and fostering and maintaining relationships with retailers that we can’t reach is the rationale behind the centre,” says Stuart Mead, Customer Relationship Centre Manager. “We can obviously deal with more of our customers than we can with on foot calls, so those we don’t visit, we call every six weeks. No one drops off the table.”
This isn’t a huge contact centre pressing the next button on their call list. A dedicated team covers each area of the UK, and that means there are three people who cover Scotland: Jack Peacock, Kendal McDonald and Charlotte Fletcher.
Charlotte has been working with retailer Alisha Bhatti and her store in Aberdeen over the past twelve months. Alisha was understandably a bit apprehensive about no longer being visited by a rep and instead taking a phone call from Bristol. “Imperial Tobacco assured me that the level of service I would receive would be just as professional and they were absolutely right” says Alisha. “Running a small store is very time consuming and it wasn’t always convenient for me to speak to the rep when they came to the shop, particularly if they visited at peak times. This level of service is much more suited to the needs of my business as I can always request a call back if it’s not a convenient time.”
So there are certainly benefits. No retailer likes it when a sales rep drops by at the worst possible time, and it’s a lot easier to ask someone on the other end of a call to phone back than to ask someone who’s driven an hour to get to your store to come back the next day.
Service, not sales
Mead insists that the service is not a sales tool for Imperial products either. “There’s no selling. Yes, we discuss new products so that when retailers see them in wholesale they know what they’re looking at. Independents don’t have the backing of key accounts and we want to make sure we can use our expertise. We can make sure they have the information they need.”
Before the display ban was enforced, Mead says many of the discussions focused on imparting advice to retailers on how to comply and what their options are.
“The display ban is obviously the big message at the moment,” he says. “We will do a quick SKU audit with them but it’s about communicating the restrictions and ensuring that they understand.”
There remain retailers who believe they won’t be affected by the display ban. Getting the message across to them is crucial, says Mead, but it’s not made easy by retailers who are signing up to the Telephone Preference Service. “Retailers have to realise it’s more than a cover over their gantry – there are lots of smaller details, such as how they cover stock when bringing it from the stockroom to the shop floor.”
Alisha says: “Imperial Tobacco have been really supportive in the lead up to the implementation and have given me ideas around things like creating a price list, what font and size it needs to be, as well as information about transporting stock to and from my unit.
“On the whole I felt pretty prepared ahead of the April 6th deadline. The frequent legislative updates from Charlotte have been vital in the lead up and I feel reassured that there is someone at the end of the phone who is able to assist me should I have any questions.”
The focus will now switch to compliance, as well as looking towards the EUTPD2 and plain packaging. “We’re keen to build more relationships,” says Mead. “We don’t sit still. We want to make lives better for our customers and so we’re focussing on improving our support.”
Alisha attributes her heightened awareness of the category to her good relationship with her agent, “Charlotte is fantastic; she calls me every four to six weeks with all the latest product information and legislative updates and is always happy to answer any questions I might have. In the beginning I was concerned that a rep at the end of the phone wouldn’t have the same level of local knowledge that my old rep had however this has certainly not been the case as Charlotte is able to advise me on which brands I should stock in accordance with local trends.”
“For a lot of retailers they are now getting more communications from us than they were before,” says Mead. “I know there are some real in-depth conversations taking place. We don’t want to leave the call until the retailer is happy.”
Seeking guidance
For those retailers who no longer have a meeting face to face with a rep, Alisha has this advice: “In an ever changing environment retailers should seek guidance wherever possible from industry experts. If you have an Imperial telemarketing agent – make the most of the knowledge they have. Keep an eye on local trends and ensure that you are never out of stock of the most popular brands in your area; poor availability will mean customers could walk out of your store and potentially not come back, which will result in lost sales.”
Charlotte herself believes that other retailers should take note and learn from Alisha’s experiences. She says: “Alisha has completely embraced this new level of service and as a result has been able to maximise the value of her tobacco range whilst ensuring that she is fully prepared once full display restrictions come into force.”
Retailers don’t have the option to call the centre as it is outbound only, but any retailer at all wishing to receive regular calls can register by calling 0117 332 2250.
