Lucia Ciranová

On one hand, we see brands like GymBeam or Alza that grew rapidly through online sales but are now opening stores to be closer to customers and build relationships through services that customers perceive as valuable.

On the other hand, there are local and established retailers like Albi, ExiSport, or Sconto, that are trying to embrace the new role for long-standing stores. Their competition is growing through digital channels like e-commerce and marketplaces, where they compete on price and breadth of assortment that is hard to achieve in physical space. Moreover, at a certain scale and number of stores, it becomes an organizational challenge to create a unique shopping experience or additional services.

In both cases, brick-and-mortar stores represent a significant investment or cost. From conversations with our clients, it's clear that many brands don't know how to holistically approach the role of stores beyond products on shelves. They simply cannot envision other ways they could be commercially meaningful.

Brands most frequently approach us with the following challenges:

 * They don't understand why customers come to brick-and-mortar stores: what quantity and selection of goods they expect there, what services and advice they need, where the store is placed at the customer's shopping journey (i.e., how they shop before and after visiting the store), and therefore cannot determine what the key conversion point is (which may also be online).
 * How to ensure quality and consistency of service in stores: what should be the roles of employees? What information and digital tools do they need for specialized service?
 * How to identify customers in stores: how to connect them with their digital purchases through email or loyalty programs. How to design an omnichannel customer journey so that digital and physical channels complement each other rather than cannibalize?
 * How to gain additional margin through services: what services would customers consider valuable and be willing to pay for?

Stores are still a key point of customer experience; physical space and personal contact offer value that digital channels will never be able to fully replace. However, many brands don't know how to use this potential in a way that reflects customer needs.

Therefore, we at Lighting Beetle* decided to explore this topic thoroughly. We drew from experiences from retail projects (Martinus, NAY, Optika ZITA, Dr.Max), from internal qualitative studies on the development of customer behavior and mapping global retail trends.


Store as a space for product discovery

A place where customers can get to know products discovered online and navigate themselves in options before making a final decision.

The first way is to use the store as a space where customers can gain inspiration, discover new products beyond their online algorithm, or physically verify a product that appealed to them online. The store is perceived as one of several touchpoints on the shopping journey; it's therefore important to connect it with digital behavior before visiting the store (e.g. pre-selection, what the customer has already seen and is looking for again, their preferences) as well as after visiting the store (e.g. conversion on the desired online channel). This is possible, for example, through a mobile app or loyalty program.

A store as a space for product discovery responds to the customer need "I want to find out what my options are" or "I want to find out if the product really suits me.” The goal is to help the customer orient themselves in the breadth of the offer and help them find what they're looking for or what might interest them.

In addition to the mentioned possibilities, digital kiosks in the store can also be a solution, allowing customers to better understand the parameters of a selected product and options for its configuration or customization.


Where to start?

 * Conduct customer research to better understand how customers think about your product category and what services and assortment they would appreciate in the store.
 * Understand what loyalty program and app content customers would consider valuable for onboarding as well as long-term use beyond one-time discounts.
 * Strategically, effectively, and ethically analyze data from loyalty programs.
 * Design new customer journeys and service models that motivate customers and sales assistants to actively use digital tools in the store.
 * Adapt customer service to their shopping mode.


How successful brands make it work

 * IKEA: supports product discovery through life themes (better sleep, sustainable living) and the IKEA Family loyalty program connects online/offline behavior through personalized services like special prices, connected shopping lists, or digital receipt archives.
 * MODIVO: introduced a store built on digital kiosks, that replace traditional product displays. Customers select products digitally, enabling faster service, wider selection, and more efficient use of space.
 * Sephora: provides sales assistants with mobile devices with access to customer data for personalized service.
 * Nay: electronics retailer, we helped design a platform, for sales assistants that increases seller efficiency and helps the entire sales team improve conversions and earn fair compensation, thereby also increasing customer satisfaction.


Store as center for expert help

A place of personal contact with an expert who helps narrow down options and select the right solution for a specific customer.

The second way to use stores is connected with expertise, customized solutions, and specialized services that make the decision-making phase easier. This can involve advice, parameter explanation and category orientation, breaking down complex purchases, help with size or material selection, or curatorial selection.

This opportunity responds to the customer's need "I want to make sure I'm making the right decision." It involves more complex and specialized products where the customer is mostly a layperson and has trouble evaluating the correctness of a solution without additional expert information. The goal is to narrow down the customer's options, help them choose what's right for them, make a decision, and retrospectively assure them they made the right choice (this can be addressed by services related to product returns).

Customers come to stores for personal contact. Digital tools that provide sales assistants with quick access to all necessary information about products as well as the customer and their preferences can serve to ensure advisory quality.


Where to start?

 * Offer services optimized for both customer experience quality and seller needs.
 * Identify what advice, information, and forms of service the customer needs in the store.
 * Ensure a stable level of expertise and service quality from salespeople.
 * Try to keep the customer in the ecosystem after consultation and/or convert them to purchase again.
 * Don't underestimate the quality of tools for salespeople - slow, complicated, and unintuitive interfaces require training and adaptation, demotivate salespeople from using them, and ultimately worsen the customer experience.


How successful brands make it work

 * IKEA: offers comprehensive kitchen planning services with personalized consultations and custom designs, strengthening its role as an expert for customers.
 * Optika ZITA: sells exclusively through pre-booked personal meetings, where trained opticians ensure precise eyewear selection based on diagnostics and customer personality.
 * Martinus: booksellers provide expert advice through thematic tables with curatorial selection that allow customers to find suitable books.


Store as complex service center

A place where customers solve all "problems"related to the product - from installation to recycling.

The third opportunity is connected with providing services that customers can use just before or after purchase. This can involve services like variable delivery or pickup options, installation or personalization, as well as post-purchase services like easy product returns, repairs, or recycling. The scope and ease of using these services is usually an important selection factor when deciding on a purchase, despite the fact that many services are used only after buying the product.

This opportunity responds to the customer need "I want to start using the product." Its role is to facilitate all tasks, newly arising problems, and obligations connected with purchasing, setting up, launching, and properly using the product, as well as disposing of the product when the customer finishes using it.

Services or their parts can be digitized, for example, selecting bicycles online and subsequent testing and calibration in the store as offered by MTBiker, or pricing surplus books online and subsequently buying them back and collecting them at the store as offered by the Knihovrátok service from Martinus.


Where to start?

 * Try to understand obstacles, needs, and obligations of customers related to purchase, logistics, and proper product use.
 * Offer services that respond to these needs at the right point in the shopping journey and are simultaneously valuable to the customer, whether from the perspective of willingness to pay for them or perceiving these services as a competitive advantage.
 * Create services that suit different customer segments with different preferences while being cost-efficient.
 * Implement reliable digital tools and infrastructure that support ordering, tracking, and service management in real-time.


How successful brands make it work

 * IKEA: offers comprehensive services including financial loans for furniture purchases, assembly, a circular hub for returning or recycling products.
 * Decathlon: besides selling sports equipment, provides services like sports equipment rental, bicycle service, and product testing directly in stores.
 * Hornbach: provides project planning services, tool rental, and the possibility of cutting or processing materials, available as both self-service and paid services for customers.


Store as community space

A meeting place for sharing interests where customers gain new experiences and connect with the local community.

The fourth opportunity focuses on strengthening customer relationships through experiences that go beyond the purchase itself. The store functions as a "third place" - a semi-public space where customers have the opportunity to spend time, gain new experiences, and connect with other people in their vicinity with similar interests.

This opportunity responds to the customer need "I want to experience something new and connect with my surroundings." The store thus becomes a place for courses, community workshops, shared hobby activities, cultural and artistic collaborations driving emotional connection with the brand.

A key element is hyperlocality - the brand's ability to adapt to the specifics of a particular market, neighborhood, or customer group and function in cooperation with local culture, artists, influencers, or organizations.


Where to start?

 * Conduct customer research to better understand local needs and interests of customers so the store can offer relevant activities and programs that truly appeal to the local community.
 * Make the brand a facilitator and connector of authentic experiences that don't come across as marketing events or advertising.
 * Collect and use data to strengthen CRM and keep customers in the brand ecosystem.
 * Work with customers' positive emotions after experiences with the brand to support their long-term loyalty and engagement.


How successful brands make it work

 * IKEA: Westbahnhof in Vienna is an urban store concept without parking and warehouse, designed with local residents with emphasis on community and sustainability, functioning as a showroom and public space with a green roof and panoramic view of Vienna.
 * Isadore: a cycling brand connects hobby cyclist communities at various levels through the Black Wednesday event - evening bike rides combined with informal meetings in the brand's premises.
 * Mile: has special experience centers that serve as product showrooms while offering cooking courses with local chefs, creating experiences beyond shopping.


How to evaluate what makes sense for your brand?

We don't perceive these opportunities as 4 different stores, but as functions and services that a store can offer. While for some brands it will make sense to cover all 4 opportunities in one store given their broad customer base (like IKEA), others will win by choosing one opportunity into whose design and development they strategically invest as a competitive advantage.


3 Steps to a better brick-and-mortar

 * Start by understanding your customers (beyond demographics): how they think about the product category you sell; what their shopping attitudes and habits are; where the store is placed on their omnichannel shopping journey; why they visit brick-and-mortar stores and what they expect from them.
 * Identify untapped opportunities: what are the named customer expectations you're not meeting? What are obstacles, obligations, and customer needs that could be solved by services? Which solutions would give the greatest commercial meaningfulness for your brand?
 * Don't invest from the desk, test: test new ideas for solutions and services through store interventions and measure and evaluate the impact.

The goal is not to offer as many services as possible from the desk. On the contrary, through research and understanding your customers, focus only on those services that give customers a reason to visit the physical store again.


Not sure where to start?

Download our Experience Identities framework, a report that uncovers the new consumer funnel, and learn how to redefine your brand's position in the market.

































The Future of Brick-and-Mortar: 4 strategies for success in the digital age

Viktor Šmidák

Dr. Max has the largest network of stores in Slovakia, but it is also known for bringing innovations. How do they manage the satisfaction of 1.5 million customers, how do they use data and what are their plans for the future?

Today's guest on the Minimum Viable Podcast is Jana Kutlíková, who is in charge of marketing and customer experience at Dr. Max.


Do you know your organization's CX maturity level? Find out in few seconds by answering these 6 questions.




Minimum Viable Podcast is brought to you by the CX design studio Lighting Beetle*. It's usually recorded in the Slovak language, however, you can read an English transcription of this episode below. For more English content, including case studies and handouts, visit our Journal.

To start, a little bit broadly, how big is Dr. Max and how many customers does it serve?

So overall Dr. Max consists of online and offline. Within offline, it's our pharmacies. Currently we have 421 and we can say that we are in every district, which we are very proud of. Then within online we have of course coverage within the whole of Slovakia in terms of delivery. In terms of the number of pharmacies, we are the largest in Slovakia.

How many customers do you serve?

We can measure this by the number of receipts. And then of course we measure how many customers we have in our loyalty program. An active customer for us is a customer who buys within twenty-four months and currently we are above the number of one and a half million. Customer care is a motto for us, we try to be number one in care and always bring something more to our patients and customers.

I hear a little bit in that that one of your goals is to cover the whole country, to have dominance in the market.

Yes, it is a long-term goal. Of course, the competition is still there and is big, but for us it's still like bringing something extra. For us it's availability, of course price and always bringing something extra in care. Currently, the pharmacy is the most accessible place of healthcare.

So when I'm sick and I have a runny nose, where do I go, I go to the pharmacy, only then do I visit the doctor. So this is how we approach it, that we are like the first entry point in case of illness.

What types of customers do you perceive, how do you categorize them?

We categorize online customers on the one hand. Secondly, there are our customers, whom we divide into 2 largest segments, namely prescription customers, then there are ordinary passers-by and last but not least, those who are dealing with some non-acute problem - they need nose drops, vitamins and so on. So we also have our pharmacies divided. We have pharmacies that you see on the street, then there are shopping pharmacies and then there are pharmacies that are in hospitals or clinics, so there is also a different group of patients there.

Do you also divide these customers socio-demographically, that you have them precisely named, that this is some kind of profile of his? Or are they rather shopping modes, that these people simply move from one mode to another?

When we talk about pure age, pensioners are more sensitive to the price. So we try to adapt the offer to them. But as for over-the-counter customers, we of course sort them into customer groups based on their shopping behavior, value and basket composition.

When the NPS is below 70, we really actively work with it

How do you know how to put together the product portfolio at a specific store?

So those outpatient pharmacies are more prescribed, there their stock availability is also adapted based on what doctors are in the given hospital. But on the other hand, when our pharmacies are in the shopping mall, we try to have a wider offer there and there, for example, we also place dermocosmetics and there the portfolio is larger. So we monitor the purchases of each pharmacy and we are also enabled by such a system that you can reserve medicines online with us.

This means that the pharmacist will issue it to you within an hour. There you can see which pharmacy has it and if there is a greater interest in some medicine, we will pre-stock this pharmacy.

What data about customers do you process? How do you know they are satisfied? What are your pillars based on which you make action plans?

As part of our customers, we have the Dr. Max Club. Whoever is a member of the club, of course, receives benefits and we "interview" these members after each purchase through a satisfaction questionnaire. Based on this purchase, we ask him about the NPS, whether he was satisfied with the purchase and whether he would actually recommend this pharmacy to his friends. And then there are things like whether he was satisfied with the pharmacist's approach, whether the pharmacy had the product that she needed and so on and so forth. So we have it divided into larger sections.

I personally don't think that a pharmacy, for example, is the place where we would now place tablets. The goal is, of course, to convert as many patients as possible who are not members to become members so that we have data about them. Then we subsequently work more with the phase of those "detractors". We then communicate with those detectors through our call center.

What else can you do with the data other than calling detractors?

Each pharmacy has its own NPS and we are dedicated to improving it. When there is long-term dissatisfaction in some pharmacy, then of course we work with the regional director to continue working with that pharmacy and it is not just some kind of fluctuation. When the NPS is below 70, we really actively work with it to make it as good as possible. We talked a lot about the data and I'm interested in how important this data is for Dr. Max's top management. It's definitely the topic of the week and I can say that we have it in our annual goals.

We have a very nice example from the beginning of last year, when we were changing our loyalty club, while canceling the previous loyalty points. And by forcing those patients to apply points, it happened to us that we sent those x new customers to the pharmacy to apply those points so that they would not lose them. There, such a thing happened that those customers who shopped online were suddenly dissatisfied with the approach of that pharmacy. At that time, the NPS of pharmacies dropped and it turned out that it was because of online customers who were not used to waiting in line, they had to talk to the pharmacist...

Dr. Max Club has 1.5 million customers. What is the mechanics of how you got so many customers into the loyalty program?

Members have better prices, especially for medicines. Another benefit is our private label, where there are 2+1 promotions only with a loyalty card. They can also participate in competitions. However, the main motivator is the price of the product. Being a member brings benefits and based on the feedback data we can offer customers a tailor-made offer.

For example, if someone regularly buys vitamin C, we will send them information about the discount. The classics are birthday and name day discounts. At the end of the year, we send a summary email about the amount saved, which evokes a good feeling in people.

Is the main primary benefit for you customer data or do you track something else as well?

We definitely monitor commercial parameters. Then definitely also within the measurement of market share. I'm not saying completely, but we can look at it this way. You are making quite significant innovations at Dr. Max, at least that's how it seems to me. I will mention the new Super Dr. Max concept, you do sampling directly at the pharmacy, you have robotization...

Why are you actually doing these innovations?

To put it simply, these things you mentioned give us something extra for patients and secondly, time to devote to them. For example, the robotization of expedition work in our pharmacies. Our ROWA robot saves the pharmacist a trip to and from the warehouse, so he can take care of the customer. Secondly, there are examinations, again something extra.

When you go to the pharmacy, you can measure, for example, CRP and only then go to the doctor if the CRP is elevated. The service we would like to have is vaccination. It will also relieve doctors, because it is something we can do at those pharmacies. So when you go to pick up the vaccine, you can get vaccinated right away with us.

Is this more a matter of increasing revenue for you or is it more a matter of customer care?

We don't charge much for the services. It's really like offering the patient something extra.

We talked about these innovations, how do these innovations help you win in the competitive market?

In loyalty. We know how long the waiting times are for those doctors and when I decide that I'm going to solve some problem, I can solve it in one place and thus build loyalty. And on the other hand, we then have data about the customer, so we can always offer him something extra.

What are the responses to these extra services?

We managed to do the CRP, but the other tests still need time. It is a long-term journey and strategy that the pharmacy provides something extra.

I would like to go back to Super Dr. Max, because it is quite an exceptional concept. Try to tell us what it actually is.

Super Dr. Max is our pilot project of the pharmacy of the future. On an area of 715 square meters, we offer more than 6,000 products from various categories - in addition to medicines and nutritional supplements, there is dermocosmetics, children's products, healthy food, products for animals, electronics, sports aids and much, much more. It was also a test of what the customer and patient are willing to buy in that pharmacy, what wide portfolio can they go to.

We are still trying, rotating the products, looking at the customer behavior. There are consultation zones, we offer body composition analysis with the InBody device. Furthermore, what is there is an additional service of dermo-advice, where we do an analysis of the skin and hair. So it's a comprehensive care of my well-being, that you not only sell me a product, but also give me some analysis of how I'm doing.

What are the first reactions from customers? How do you evaluate Super Dr. Max internally now?

For us, it was a test of the assortment, what we learn and what we don't learn. And I can still say that we are still trying. It was quite a challenge for us to grasp and sell it in terms of marketing, that we have such a thing at all, because customers in Slovakia are not used to it at all, which is the opposite abroad. In the future, we will then open something between a classic pharmacy and Super Dr. Max.

What is the primary mode of purchase? Who is the e-shop for?

For everyone. Of course. But what works very well for us and I can say that it is growing are precisely those reservations at pharmacies, where it is a classic omni channel approach. This means I order online and have it in the pharmacy within an hour. Furthermore, we launched Marketplace in May of last year. There we are still learning what is and what is not, how to do it. We also offer reservations for prescription drugs.

Are you also thinking about expanding services within digital?

We have the Dr. Max consultation, where you can ask the pharmacist a question. It's not instant, but a real pharmacist answers you. Even our articles, which are all on the web, are written by experts. We would never let some copywriter or AI write it.

Do you plan to continue to perhaps bring the pharmacist closer, have a faster response, bring the online space closer to the offline one?

My personal goal is to have a pharmacy in the Metaverse. Today, the legislation will not let go, but definitely yes. We also try to involve pharmacists on maternity leave, and this is not possible in the offline space. So this is how we try to motivate the staff to stay with us, even when they go on maternity leave. We would definitely prefer to have it online 24/7, but currently, in terms of capacity, this is the maximum we can give to patients.

What is your biggest challenge that you would like to solve somehow? We call it a design challenge, i.e. a complex problem that stands before you and you would like to get through it.

As I mentioned, to have a pharmacy in the Metaverse. So for that you need a dose of better legislation. If the legislation wasn't so discouraging, that one could really get carried away and make some kind of pharmacy of the millennium, where everything would be grasped in a different way, that would be very nice in terms of what you nicely called design character and so that our pharmacies really offer something extra, so that patients go there for those services.

So that we are the first choice, that I don't just go for some of my vitamins and for some of my prescriptions, but that I go there because I want advice. I want care and it's also a more pleasant environment than in the doctor's waiting room. Raise the awareness of the pharmacy to a higher level as well. It's more than just a pharmacy, but it's somewhere where that comprehensive care is provided for our patients.

Minimum Viable Podcast is brought to you every two months by the design studio Lighting Beetle*, which focuses on creating an exceptional customer experience.

In Minimum Viable Podcast, we use relatable language to dive into customer experience design. We invite unique guests to chat about how Customer Experience influences business success. A special thanks to Mojmír Procházka for his production support.

We are looking forward to every listen, follow, share, and suggestion for improvement. You can send us your tips for interesting personalities with whom we can talk about design to podcast@lbstudio.sk.

Enjoy!

Minimum Viable Podcast #29: CX in pharmacy

Dominika Babulicová

A Service Blueprint is a visual tool that captures all aspects of a service – from customer interactions to behind-the-scenes processes carried out by employees, as well as the tools and systems they use. This canvas is invaluable for planning, optimizing and implementing services, as it provides a clear overview of how the service operates, where bottlenecks occur, and how to improve both customer and employee experiences. We highly recommend printing it out as a A1 poster or pasting it into your favorite digital board as Miro, FigJam, Mural etc.


What is this tool used for?

The Service Blueprint template helps you answer key questions:

 * Where do customers interact with the service?
 * What internal processes are needed to deliver it?
 * Where do problems, errors, or inefficiencies arise?
 * What technologies and tools support the service?


Why is a Service Blueprint useful?

Most companies today focus on improving customer experience (CX), but many overlook the fact that backstage processes have a significant impact on the final outcome. To deliver high-quality services, you need to understand how all parts of the service – from employees to technology to processes – work together.

A Service Blueprint enables you to:

 * Gain a clear overview of the entire service: Map out each phase of service delivery and every interaction to identify potential issues.
 * Optimize processes: Identify inefficiencies and weak points that could cause delays, reduce quality, increase costs, and more.
 * Improve the employee experience: To deliver excellent customer experiences, employees must be equipped with the right tools and processes. Understanding the full service process helps them prepare for different scenarios.
 * Enhance customer experience: By optimizing services and processes, you can ensure a smooth and seamless customer journey.
 * Streamline cross-team communication: A Service Blueprint makes it easier for different departments to collaborate, as all processes are mapped in one place.


How to use a Service Blueprint

Creating a service diagram involves several steps that help you thoroughly examine and map the service. Here’s a recommended process to follow:

 1. Map the customer journey
    Start by mapping how the customer moves through the service from beginning to end. Record every touchpoint – from visiting the website to in-person interactions with staff.
 2. Add internal processes
    Based on the customer journey, add the internal processes required to deliver the service. These may include employee actions, technologies, systems, or tools that support the service behind the scenes.
 3. Analyze and optimize
    Once all processes and interactions are mapped, analyze the blueprint to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, or potential issues. Adjust and improve the processes where necessary to make the service more efficient and seamless.









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Customer experience
that drives your business

Our services create true business value

Service
Design

Digital
Product Design

CX Transformation

We are Lighting Beetle

Journal

The Future of Brick-and-Mortar: 4 strategies for success in the digital age

Minimum Viable Podcast #29: CX in pharmacy

Service Blueprint

Customer experiencethat drives your business

Our services create true business value

ServiceDesign

DigitalProduct Design

CX Transformation

We are Lighting Beetle﻿

Journal﻿

The Future of Brick-and-Mortar: 4 strategies for success in the digital age

Minimum Viable Podcast #29: CX in pharmacy

Service Blueprint

Customer experience
that drives your business

Service
Design

Digital
Product Design

We are Lighting Beetle

Journal