RS Components are the world’s largest supplier of electronics and maintenance products.
The Challenge
RS Components wanted to understand the early stages of their sales process, particularly in regards to their engineering audience. The combination of transactional messages and tactical campaigns were not effective in forming a relationship with this group. RS Components wanted to market themselves as ‘the’ brand for engineers so they partnered with Freestyle to help boost their engagement with them.
Freestyle identified the need to map the typical customer journey of an electronics design engineer. This would help them gain a better knowledge of their customer touchpoints.
Another key area that RC Components wanted to focus on was the journey of adopting software packages.
The Strategy
Freestyle identified five main research projects that would be key in helping to pinpoint the engineers that RS Components were trying to reach. Research was also conducted into the vital stages required in software adoption.
The research consisted of user surveys, customer interviews, data insights and a two-day disruption workshop.
It resulted in both high level strategic and practical, actionable outcomes. Multiple detailed and varied persona sheets were created, with experience maps illustrating the end-to-end lifecycle of a typical engineering project. This ensured that customers were put back at the centre of RS Components’ operations.
The Results
RS Components felt that the gap between them and the customer had narrowed. Therefore, they felt better equipped to deal with their pain points and developed several new strategies. The 200 plus suggestions they received led them to devise a new email strategy, several series of training videos, an end-to-end parts manager app and an overhaul of customer data.
The visual maps that were produced became a starting point for RS Components’ journey to enable customers to “realise their big ideas and shape the future.”
The information that Freestyle helped them gather will be indispensable for use in future engagement campaigns.