Peer Review Assignment: Utilization of the Learning launch tool of Design Thinking to improvise the  stagnant sales of AHC

Challenge:  I was hired as a Marketing Research Analyst in a firm Good2Consult Good2Consult is a company that deals in  plywood, flush doors, laminates, adhesives, door/window fittings- the one-stop solution to all your  housing needs.  My first stint with the organization was when I was handed over the company’s past five  year data and was asked to analyse the same. On analysing the data deeply, it was evident that the  company had stagnant growth rate for the last 3 years out of the five. On going deep into the customer  base, we understood that the company had acquired only 10% new customers in relation to the past  year, and despite its current marketing strategies. Our current challenge was to figure a way to acquire  new customers and understand what issues the current customers are facing inorder to improve our  services better.    Selection:  Since the learning launch tool is a fast and a cheap way to experiment an idea and a prototype, it was an  ideal design thinking activity for our company.     Insights:   We started off with questioning our customers and taking their feedback about their experience in the  company.  It didn’t take much to realize that the customers found it tough to navigate in the store and  also view options with great ease. They also thought that few stocks of door/window fittings like aldrop,  handles, tower bolts were out-dated and not updated as per the current trends.     Application & Approach:   We did a pilot project with a vendor-management company, a marketing agency and a interior designer  to make the placement of our products better. In the initial bit, the process was about continual  feedback & improvisation from the customers. We came to understand what are the important products  and placed them in a more visible space of the store. We also removed some of our redundant stock and  bought in the hardware fittings which are more trendy. We made social media pages- facebook, Google+

MyBusiness page, etc and made our online presence felt with monthly post boosts. By starting small and  going back to the customers to co-create we were able to acquire novel customers & improve the  shopping experience of the existing customers. The results were astonishing in the pilot phase and  hence the company decided to replicate this approach in all the other experience stores.

