Client: Polaris
Project: DEALER MATRIX & STORE ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL
From the Client
“Polaris is not only committed to their success as a brand, but to the retail owner’s success as well.”
►Project description
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AXIS and Polaris first met with a goal to deep dive into the operational opportunities and efficiencies within the Polaris dealer network and prioritize where improvements could be made.
Polaris, like many other brands relying on diverse dealer networks to promote their products, knew they had a great mission. They knew they had a great product, and a field rep team that established great relationships with their dealers.
However, something was amiss.
Products weren’t moving like expected. Dealers weren’t in compliance with recommendations from corporate. And the hefty investment the company recently made in new displays and fixtures (produced outside of AXIS) was falling short. Products were hidden rather than showcased. Outdated signage competed with new campaign signage for valuable merchandising real estate. Technology activations were convoluted and inconsistent store-to-store. All of this impacted the overall customer experience.
AXIS knew we could help Polaris quickly get to the bottom of their retail program breakdowns and create a new system to empower dealers and sales reps - giving them the chance to focus more attention on getting customers into their perfect off-road, on-road, snow, water, or other vehicle and accessory.
Interestingly enough, this did not come in the form of AXIS pitching a brand-new display and fixture package. Polaris already had one, and it wasn’t bad, it just needed to be better understood and utilized so all parties involved could get the most ROI out of it.
►the
process
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Through our initial conversations with Polaris and by conducting our own research on their legacy, vision, target customer, and competition, we set out to help the brand in the following four areas:
Determine what “good” retail is in the Polaris network
Provide recommendations to improve Polaris retail, transforming “good” retail into “great”
Develop an actionable plan that succinctly addresses those opportunities
Initiate, track, and maintain that plan with flexibility to update and scale in the future
To simplify, we further broke these elements out into three phases:
Phase One - Identify and address retail challenges across main dealer tiers
Phase Two - Provide tools for success to remediate challenges
Phase Three - Expand and increase the Polaris presence at retail
The decision was made to proceed in three phases due to end of the year budget considerations and a desire to strategically test before mandating full dealer adoption. The remainder of this case study highlights the process completed in Phase One.
►Phase
one
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Objectives:
Create a baseline of Polaris dealers based on pre-established dealer “tiers”
Understand common challenges Polaris has at retail within different dealer groups and why
Provide comprehensive information on findings to Polaris
Create a ready-to-use, customized tool that helps Polaris field/sales reps and dealers/retail managers implement changes in stores immediately
Services Provided:
Brand Retail Assessment Visits
Brand Retail Assessment Development
►Assessment visit
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After reviewing the Polaris retail data already available to us (either publicly or client-supplied), we conducted our own in-person assessments. We visited 21 Polaris retail locations across seven states to see what was working, what wasn’t, and what the competition was up to. For these assessments we:
Assembled a team (AXIS employees + third party) and sent them to dealers throughout the country
Provided surveying team members with a basic retail assessment checklist and trained them on what to look for
Took photos to illustrate findings in specific areas of the checklist
Interviewed location management and staff on three basic questions:
Is it easy to get what you need from your vendors to properly merchandise their products?
Which of your vendors supports their product (display, accessorizing, merchandising) the best? Can you give me an example?
What is one thing that would make it easier to sell Polaris product?
Assembled all findings into report and presentation for Polaris
►Assessment development
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Next, we moved into developing a standard assessment tool that Polaris field/sales reps could use together with dealers/retail owners to support the shared goals of (1) making the most out of Polaris branded spaces and (2) improving sales for all.
We coded the scores, photos, data, and conversations from the store assessments into Overall Results, Results by Dealer, and Raw Scores reports. These reports provided valuable insight into overall first impression, path-to-purchase behavior, and customer experience. They also informed the methodology that went into creating the Polaris Retail Index (PRI).
The PRI is a working scorecard that allows Polaris to understand where each retail location stands on three key metrics:
Competency
Commitment
Opportunity
Each metric expands into a series of specific questions in which the person completing the index can check, rate, and comment as instructed. An overall “score” for each section is recorded based on how the questions are answered and weighted. Completing the PRI scorecard takes less than an hour to do and opens up valuable communication channels between the brand, its retailers, and their store associates.
Competency items are focused on how well a retailer performs in the areas of merchandising and customer experience in a store. It includes a mixture of basic things like curb appeal and cleanliness, to more advanced concepts of adjacency, path to purchase, and spacing.
Commitment items are designed to assess two forms of commitment: how committed a retailer is to having great customer experience in the store, and how committed a retailer is to the Polaris brand.
The Opportunity score compiles information from both the competency and commitment metrics, while working to determine how much opportunity exists for the dealership and its relationship with Polaris. The opportunity score is indicative of how much potential growth with Polaris exists within a given retail location, and how hard it might be to get there.
►Conclusion
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Polaris’ initial request was for us to develop a way to help them understand and prioritize where their retail challenges reside.
The Polaris Retail Index (PRI) provides Polaris with a simple tool that, when committed to, leads to growth at individual dealerships and therefore the North American Polaris business at large. It helps Polaris understand where challenges in their retail lie and whether or not those are collective, regional, or individual issues. It’s a prioritization tool that helps with future resource allocation, and helps individual dealers understand that Polaris is not only committed to their success as a brand, but to the retail owner’s success as well.
The data collected through the initial round of completed PRIs presented five key areas Polaris could focus on right away + associated recommendations for their general retail, as well as personalized results and action items for a select group of individual dealerships:
Consistent accessory merchandising
Compelling feature displays
Current POP and signage only
B2B communication
Full Polaris Retail Index adoption
►Extras
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Beyond solving for the initial ask, we identified additional areas (Phase Two, Phase Three) where Axis Display Group and Retailwerx could continue to improve Polaris’ relationships with their dealers and expand their brand presence in a greater capacity.
Some highlights of those opportunities are below:
Create training video modules for Polaris dealerships based on Top 5 Key Areas (shown above)
3 - 5 minute training video
Corresponding quiz
Written transcripts of videos
Corresponding resources as needed
Create resource library for Retail Managers
Content to assist in the completion of tactics outlined in the PRI - best practices, examples, instructions, merchandising guidelines, etc.
Develop and deliver the Polaris Retail Index Playbook
At the end of the day our goal is always to empower our clients to be their own best resource. The elements found in these three phases, enables Polaris to do just that, while delivering unprecedented care, service, and support to their dealers - something that truly matters in this competitive landscape.
