Employing strategic research and service design to improve customer service for concrete and aggregates delivery.
Heidelberg Materials (formerly Hanson Australia), a leading supplier of building and construction materials, was facing customer service challenges. Customers were frustrated with issues like job cancellations, miscommunication, scheduling problems, and concrete delivery delays. These frustrations were becoming more vocal in the market, affecting Heidelberg Materials' reputation and customer relationships.
We partnered with Heidelberg Materials to get to the root of these problems and create a clear path forward. We ran an in-depth research initiative, mapping out the entire service experience from quarry to site.
Our team worked across different areas, including:
Customer Research & Operational Analysis
Spoke to customers and staff to understand pain points and expectations.
Reviewed how orders, deliveries, and communications were managed.
Service Mapping
Identified where breakdowns were happening and how to fix them.
Experience Strategy
Designed a roadmap of actions Heidelberg Materials could take to improve customer satisfaction.
Behavioural Research
CS Strategy
Service Design
Key Project Innovation
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This holistic approach allowed us to identify pain points and develop targeted strategies for service enhancement. Key initiatives in their innovation roadmap included:
We recommended adjustments to the existing booking algorithm to better align orders with operational capacity, ensuring efficient scheduling and resource allocation.
We proposed improvements in the ways information was conveyed to customers, ensuring timely and transparent updates regarding their orders.
We established mechanisms to elevate the voice of the customer within the company, ensuring that feedback directly influenced service enhancements and strategic decisions.
These changes led to real improvements in service and customer satisfaction:
Clear scheduling decisions and aligned communication
Expectation management combined with a common message from the scheduling team mean customers know what to expect, reducing frustration.
Reducing stress for customer facing teams
Improved scheduling and communication made their jobs easier.
Amplifying the voice of the customer
Customer feedback sourced during research and the customer strategy sparked an ongoing programme to bring the voice of the customer to an executive level for perspective in decision making.
By focusing on what mattered most to customers, we worked together with the amazing team at Heidelberg Materials to improve their approach to customer service, while strengthening relationships, delivery performance and the perception of the brand.
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