Case Study

Sweetening the Customer Experience and Revenue at Häagen-Dazs

Häagen-Dazs is one of the most recognized and respected ice cream brands in the world, a brand associated with quality and luxury.  In 2003, Häagen-Dazs Shops International wanted to increase revenue at its 600+ stores, which are located in 54 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. 

Through customer research, the company found that store customers' experience did not match the status of the brand - and that service was the biggest driver of increasing customer loyalty and spending. 

The company, a unit of General Mills, decided that meeting its goals required changing the way shop personnel dealt with customers.  Häagen-Dazs brought in a research firm to determine how customers perceived the Häagen-Dazs brand.  The results found that the ice cream company needed to clarify its brand and position, recommending the firm address a specific customer need: "recognition".  That meant making customers feel like they were rewarding themselves and indulging in something special.

This repositioning helped Häagen-Dazs focus on the emotional appeal of its offering and define how it would differentiate itself.  It also meant the firm had to deliver a new service experience in its stores.

The senior management team turned to Forum to design the new service experience and train store personnel on how to deliver it - what we call a "branded customer experience".  A pilot phase in 31 shops was set up to establish "proof of concept".  Their results would be measured against a control group over a six-month period.  The goal of the pilot was to boost revenue by at least 10%.

The first part of the program was to explicitly identify the buying behaviors of store customers and what drove their loyalty.  The research data was used as the basis of this work, which included running meetings of executives and store management to develop and agree on the new behaviors required of store workers to create the desired customer experience.  The new behaviors included welcoming customers warmly on their arrival, establishing their needs, smiling and making eye contact throughout, acknowledging their loyalty, and inspiring their choice to indulge their mood.

Forum and Häagen-Dazs training managers then designed a training program to instil the appropriate skills, knowledge and behaviors in its store employees - one that would truly engage the store staff and, ultimately, the customer.  The most important part of the training program was ensuring that staff members were absolutely clear on how to deliver the firm's branded customer experience.  Three highly interactive training programs were developed to equip employees with the necessary knowledge and skills.

The pilot was completed by July 2006 and the results were stunning:

• Revenue in the pilot stores increased 13% (in comparison to a control group of non-pilot stores).  This beat the 10% growth target.
• Customer loyalty rose significantly.  It was defined as the percentage of customers who rated four out of four elements of overall satisfaction, as well as maximum ratings for repurchasing and recommendation.  The firm had set a target of 30%; the stores piloting the training achieved 43%.

Clive Chesser, who managed the pilot on behalf of Häagen-Dazs, reports that the introduction of the new branded customer experience has enabled the business to step up to the next level, both in terms of financial results and in delivering a unique customer experience. The partnership with Forum has been a great success, with the Häagen-Dazs teams benefiting from the insights and expertise of the Forum consultants and trainers around the world.

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