Sometimes, in order to expand your business's footprint and grow your revenue, you have to walk a mile in their shoes. Or, in the case of Coates Hire, drive a mile in a hired earth mover.
Coates is already Australia’s largest equipment solutions provider, but they place a healthy emphasis on making progress and exploring emerging possibilities, which is why they came to Proto to take their business to the next level.
Proto was tasked with helping Coates Hire understand how best to serve their clients, what solutions would add value for them and where the company could grow its offering.
In other words, we had to think like a Coates Hire customer – from initial research and planning to designing and prototyping digital solutions that would solve real problems for real people.
The primary issue that was slowing Coates' expansion into new verticals was a disconnect between them and their customer's journey. From the customer's initial point of contact with Coates Hire, there were a number of touchpoints and interactions – both online and offline – that needed to be considered and addressed.
There was also a disconnect between the promises Coates were making and their ability to deliver on the brand promise. This was impacting negatively on customer satisfaction levels, as well as putting strain on the company's ability to determine how to solve it.
The key to this would be understanding the customers' pain points and needs, which is why Proto went out and spent some time with them on-site.
We talked to over 100 customers across a range of industries, from construction and mining to events and infrastructure. We asked them about their experiences with equipment hire, what they loved and what they didn’t.
This gave us some great insights that we could use to develop solutions that would make a real difference to Coates Hire's customers.
The customer is always happy to tell you how you can be better. All you need to do is listen.
We took the learnings from our customer conversations along with 4-5 other research approaches and used them to develop a range of value propositions that we knew would resonate.
Some of these were around improving the customer experience, such as making it easier to find and book the equipment they need or providing more flexible delivery options. Others were about providing better value for money, such as cheaper rates for longer hires or bulk discounts.
For example, Coates' 'one-size-fits-all' approach, modelled around their largest revenue driver, the top-tier customer, was a major roadblock to their success.
While those top-tier customers were largely entirely satisfied with the service they received, like many other businesses, scaling the servicing costs and approach of a top-tier customer to smaller mid-tier and trade customers does not often work.
A single pain point can undo all the good work that a company does in other areas.
For Coates, even though people had good intentions, there was a misalignment of promise and delivery, which was leading to a loss of customer confidence.
While their brand promise was very strong and well received by their customers, there was often a disconnect between what they expected from Coates and what they actually received.
Solving this required a deep dive into the data, as well as qualitative research in the form of interviews and customer workshops.
What they discovered was that their customers valued three things above all else: communication, flexibility, and reliability.
Armed with this knowledge, Coates set out to realign their brand promise with their delivery, making sure that their customers would always know what to expect from them.
The results have been impressive, with customer satisfaction ratings rising and complaints falling.
By working hand in hand with both Coates and their customers, Proto was able to gain a deep understanding of the unique challenges and needs of the mid-tier and trade segments.
We used this insight to develop a customer-centric service proposition that would be tailored to meet the specific needs of these customers.
The result was a service that not only addressed the pain points of these customers but also delivered real value that helped them grow their businesses.
By emphasising open communications, flexibility, and reliability, Coates was able to build trust and establish itself as a true partner for its customers.
Looking to the future, Coates is well positioned to continue meeting the needs of its customers and driving growth in their mid-tier and trade segments.
The critical factor in connecting Coates to their customers is understanding. And the key to understanding is empathy: feeling what they feel, seeing what they see and thinking what they think.
If you can put yourself in your customer's shoes, you'll be able to better serve them. You'll know what they need before they do. This connection allows you to build trust and create true value for them.
Empathy is at the heart of everything we do at Proto. We strive to understand our clients and their customers on a deep level so that we can help them grow their businesses.
If you're looking for a partner that can help you really get to know your customers and deliver real value, contact us today. We'd be happy to chat with you about your specific needs and how we can help.
“Working with Proto was a leap of faith, but they have become a major strategic partner in our CX evolution. The work they've developed and the way we've been able to embed it in the organisation has been absolutely phenomenal, and we're getting the outcomes we want.”
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