Lusso (our latest success)
Research creates a buzz and captures increased take-up
After winning a brand new Business and Industry client in the heart of the City, Lusso, part of the CH&Co group, wanted to find out what made their new potential customers tick. Here was a team that knew what they were doing but something was not right. It's time, then, to call in some extra help.
The Challenge
Lusso was keen to unleash some
creative marketing tactics to entice the 
client's staff into the restaurant. But, hold your
horses; let's not rush into anything! Before we started spending
money on any type of marketing activity, we had to find out
why people weren't choosing Lusso. So, the first thing we
recommended was to conduct a market research project to find out
not just what staff wanted from their onsite restaurant, but
also their buying patterns and behaviours.
The Action Plan
The market research campaign had to be quick and easy for the staff to complete to ensure we could attain a high response rate. And of course, we had to give them a good reason for taking part. So, we devised a two-part campaign with a gorgeous Fortnum & Mason hamper (worth £200) as an irresistible incentive. Running for just one week, the online survey was complemented by our field researchers approaching staff as they arrived in the morning for a quick, two-line questionnaire. With an eye-catching branded display and our researchers decked out in branded t-shirts, it was hard not to notice the efforts Lusso was going to in order to get the views of its customers.
The Results
- The research revealed that whilst at work, staff would buy their meals out up to five times a week and would vary their choice of outlet, such as Starbucks, Itsu or Prêt, each time. This meant Lusso's target was to capture at least one visit from every member of staff per week.
- Lusso was delighted with the 25% staff take up of the survey, which was achieved thanks to the great buzz we had stirred up around the campaign.
- By carrying out the market research, staff felt their opinions really counted for something and that our client was proactively seeking to hear what they had to say. And for Lusso, the market research provided a tangible focus for creative marketing campaign and the actual product offering.
The
Verdict
"Hats off to Lusso for listening to our recommendations," said Inga Rose. "We persuaded them to hold fire on doing something tactical and instead, encouraged them to take a more strategic approach to the problem; and it clearly paid off.
"Inga and her team at Air Marketing brought a completely different approach; they engaged with our customers and got them to talk freely and openly about what they wanted to see in their facility. Air certainly knows how to get huge amounts of detail out of a very few questions. The customers really feel that we, as a caterer, care about their opinions - Air certainly gave them a voice! Our view is that you wouldn't start a company venture without doing market research, so we adopt the same principle."
Paul Hurren, Managing Director, Lusso