The integration of customer reviews into the omnichannel strategy of Sushi Shop
Speakers at this One-to-One Biarritz conference were Aurore Saint-Maurice and Mathilde Payebien from Sushi Shop, as well as Elodie Llanusa from Avis Vérifiés. The objective of this exchange was to address the importance of customer reviews and customer knowledge in the omni-channel strategy of brands.
Avis Vérifiés was launched in 2012. The company has specialized in UGC, the generation of content through the contribution of users, in particular through customer reviews. The product pages are thus animated by the possibility left to the visitors to ask questions, coupled with the freedom left to the customers to answer these questions themselves.
What is the strategy adopted by Sushi Shop?
Sushi Shop is a French brand created just over 20 years ago. Today, the company has expanded to 12 countries, through 170 shops and corners. It was acquired in 2018 by Amrest. The customer relations division was set up four years ago, on four main levers :
- CRM and multi-channel communication
- a loyalty programme deployed in 10 countries
- loyalty through customer experience
- classic customer service, enabling customer knowledge.
The strategy adopted was to exploit customer reviews, hence the choice of the Avis Vérifiés tool in 2014. Aurore Saint-Maurice admits: «When I arrived in early 2016, I quickly saw the potential of the tool to drive our stores via these ratings.»
However, the fame of Sushi Shop in France was well established. Over time, with the use of quantitative ratings, issues evolved, and management of stores has adapted. The collection of numerous reviews in an omni-channel strategy has also made it possible to offset the unconvincing results rendered by Google My Business.
Indeed, this voluntary notice platform puts more emphasis on spontaneous customer reviews, which often result straight aftera bad customer experience in-store. Avis Vérifiés, on the contrary, is responsible for sending each proven customer a personalised email, a Sushi Shop satisfaction survey.
First draft
This survey was not optimised because the customer was asked to write an overall score, then to detail it by answering different questions (delivery, deadline, product reviews, etc.). This generated a number of inconsistencies in customer reviews, which did not reflect the truth.
In the new version of the form, a number of things were specified, in particular the order channel, to know whether the order was placed online, on the app, in store or by phone, and whether it was take-away or delivery. The final score is calculated according to the overlap of these different criteria.
What is the customer review process?
When a notice is filed, the manager and supervisor are jointly informed, as is the manager in the case of a franchised shop. It is therefore a real motivation for teams, which makes it possible to correct a malfunction, in particular concerning the drivers.
The use of the mystery client technique allows a complementarity with Avis Vérifiés, which is more in the volume analysis (5 questions asked to thousands of customers). The mystery shopper, for his part, lists one by one the procedural points to check and note (about fifty questions are submitted to him).
When the customer opinion is requested, it is usually more positive than a deliberate opinion, which is a motivating feedback, in a difficult sector (fresh products, high rates, fast delivery). But this requires adequate processes, which require good management of the notices to be analysed. The NF Service standard (AFNOR certification) allows for the use, among other things, of a moderation service, in order to deal with (rare) unjustified opinions.
What are the virtues of reporting?
A weekly/monthly/quarterly report has been put in place. The «Customer Relationship Score» mixes the level of ratings on Avis Vérifiés and the rate of complaints over the same period, which makes it possible to classify the shops by satisfaction rate (a top flop made public). A customer review is all the more accurate as it is automatically accompanied by a verbatim, positive or negative.
Verbatim are semantically managed by the Viavoo tool, connected to both Avis Vérifiés and Zendesk. All this creates an emulation among shops, a virtuous circle. Managers are also motivated by many indicators: hygiene, profitability or customer experience. Initially, the financial aspect took precedence in this approach. Subsequently, the reporting reflex became part of the company’s strong points.
Tangible results
In 2017, following detailed reporting using verbatim, Sushi Shop decided to integrate the product into the forms, in order to generate product reviews. The result was a satisfaction rate per product, and some best-sellers, the most highlighted products. It turned out that some products that generated a high level of customer satisfaction were not, nevertheless, the best-selling, because not the best placed.
Conversely, a best-seller that will disappoint the customer may commit him to never come back again. As a result, at the beginning of 2018, the map was streamlined, and some products were removed because of the sanction of customer reviews.
Overall, in two years, the customer satisfaction rating increased from 3.6 to almost 4.2, a score obtained by combining business figures and customer satisfaction figures. All this made it possible to highlight weak signals, and to establish, through semantic analysis, a road map project. The company has chosen to entrust the right of response only to a dedicated but small customer service.
Future projects
Some items, however, still need improvement:
- consistency of audits and ratings
- the integration of the ratings on the site with a very careful chart
- Connecting customer notes and reviews with the CRM to enrich it, particularly with regard to possible complaints from people who are registered as the best customers, and who need to be answered directly by phone.
Speakers :
Aurore SAINT-MAURICE - Head of CRM & Customer Care, Sushi Shop
Mathilde Payebien - Customer Care Manager, Sushi Shop
Elodie LLANUSA - Marketing & Communication Manager, Net Reviews (avis-verifies.com)
