terns began to emerge from aggregated customer purchase data. It tran-
spired that some items were actually ‘trigger’ purchases. An example of
this was curtains, particularly made-to-measure curtains. Analysis of the
purchase data showed that if a customer bought a pair of made-to-measure
curtains, then as likely as not they would return to buy other home fur-
nishings to match. A £300 purchase could easily become the first of a series
of transactions with a combined value of several thousands of pounds. A
study of customers’ curtain-buying decisions was quickly commissioned,
the idea being to trigger more of these valuable sequences. To the surprise
of everyone, the study revealed that many sales opportunities were lost,
the reason being that customers often came in to buy their curtains on a
busy Saturday. If they were attended to by a mature and apparently knowl-
edgeable salesperson, then they would usually place an order. If, however,
they were attended to by a young ‘Saturday girl’, they were likely to leave
without making a purchase. The problem seemed to be one of confidence.
Ordering made-to-measure curtains involved some fairly complicated cal-
culations, meaning that there was a wide margin for error.
Customers would only place an order with someone who they believed
was competent enough to check their own calculations and order the cur-
tains correctly. The curtains research demonstrated how vital it was for the
company to have well-trained employees ready to serve its customers, and
highlighted the dangers of over-reliance on casual staff. Under the super-
vision of newly appointed Global Human Resource Director, Denise
Lincoln, substantial changes were made to the way Laura Ashley recruited,
managed and trained its front-line staff. Firstly, it deliberately set out to
recruit older store managers, with care taken to match the age and experi-
ence profile of the assistants to appropriate product categories. All were to
receive extensive, on-going, product and sales training, with reward
systems designed to recognize experience and expertise.
The new human resource policies improved morale dramatically, and
the comprehensive training ensured that employees understood how their
efforts eventually impacted on the long-term success of the business.
Maxmin firmly believed that ‘In today’s world no company can realize its
potential unless its people do. Education and personal development will
become one of our competitive weapons for the future.’^12 In recognition of
this, Lincoln took up a seat on Laura Ashley’s main board, the first woman
to do so since the death of the company’s founder. Employee turnover sub-
sequently fell, and back at the company’s headquarters, corresponding
improvements in repeat purchase rates were identified. Meanwhile, a
loyalty programme was introduced through the Laura Ashley store card as
a direct incentive to customers. The scheme offered loyal shoppers a range
of benefits, including discount vouchers for customers who spent £250 or
more per year on full-price Laura Ashley products, or on its newly intro-
duced interior design services.
Creating and implementing relationship marketing strategies 447