Julie Tyler, Customer Insight Specialist at Central England Co-Operative Limited
Winner of the Professional of the Year Award.
The creation of a new Customer Insight Specialist role in November 2013 was key to the Society’s vision to become the UK’s best consumer co-operative. This was a new role in a new team which the Society’s diverse businesses were counting on to quickly deliver high quality, relevant consumer insight which would allow the Society to engage more fully with its 500,000 plus weekly customers.
Within a year I have implemented a suite of tools and processes providing sophisticated insight into the Society’s consumers and enabling the businesses to take a consumer centric approach which is now delivering substantial benefits. Without access to the large budgets and external resources enjoyed by other larger retailers, I have developed insight solutions to deliver insight of industry leading standards which also answers Society specific business needs and offers an impressive level of flexibility. There have been considerable cost savings in developing in house solutions for receipt surveys and customer panels, which have the same quality as agency work for the customer and are extremely flexible for the business.
I have maintained a keen awareness that I have both internal and external customers and that whilst insight is my focus, it plays a small part in the lives of customers and store managers, both surveys and ‘so what’s’ have to be easy to use and deliver high reward for limited input.
Winning the award has meant a great deal to me, I felt inspired by seeing the best practice at the awards and am motivated to move the insight function on again. I work within an amazing team, for a great leader in a great organisation, and it is wonderful to share this success with the team that in so many ways made it possible.