Empathica: Why Getting Feedback from Real Customers is a “No-Brainer” for Brains

SA Brain and Co Ltd, a drinks and hospitality company operating more than 250 pubs, bars and hotels throughout the UK, has increased their company focus on driving operational excellence based on insights gained from real customer feedback.

The company – recently highly commended at the Publican Awards in the Managed Pub Company of the Year category, is one of the many leading brands in the UK, including Mitchells & Butlers, Zizzi, and Caffè Nero, to have implemented a Customer Experience Management programme with Empathica, the UK’s leading CEM provider.

Natalie O’Rourke, Marketing Manager at Brains, explains why the decision was made over a year ago to employ Empathica’s solutions: “We wanted to understand views of multiple customers rather than get just an occasional snapshot of our performance. To date, we have received feedback from thousands of Brains pub customers and over the past year alone improved top box satisfaction by 6%. This is a tremendous achievement for our business and evidence that the focus enabled by the Empathica solution has really helped our locations deliver an excellent experience to our guests”.

Brains observed that with the recession hindering trade, ensuring that customers are delighted is of paramount importance. “People are generally going out less than they used to, and thus it’s vital to make a good impact to ensure they would want to come back”, O’Rourke continues.

“Empathica has proven hospitality expertise and a highly experienced team who have made the project very easy to deploy across the business, pro-actively offering advice and best practice. Their analytical capabilities are immense, providing us with exactly the robust insights into our operations we were after”.

Brains’ staff provide customers with bill folds inviting them to complete an online satisfaction survey and share their thoughts on a wide range of aspects relating to their visit. Best of all, the questions and data collected, as well as reports, are tailored to each specific location, ensuring that they receive information relevant to the particular operation, based on feedback from their local customers.

As well as being able to reward team members singled out for their performance – more than 40% of Brains customers providing feedback have said that the staff went above and beyond their expectations – the marketing department has seen great benefits. O’Rourke explains: “Almost 60% of customers opt in for future communications. We’ve also launched Empathica’s GoRecommend application, which to date has enabled our customers to share personal recommendations with over 27,000 friends and followers via Facebook, Twitter and email. We can also monitor the operations and success of new pubs as soon as they’ve opened, identifying any potential problems immediately. And finally, tracking our performance also means that we can benchmark ourselves against the competition, keeping us one step ahead.”

“In today’s environment, the customer experience is the key area for most organisations to differentiate on, and one that can heavily influence a customer’s intent to return and to recommend the brand to their social networks”, said Empathica’s Managing Director for EMEA, Gary Topiol.

"Brains recognises the importance of delivering an excellent experience to their customers, and Empathica are thrilled to be partnering with them on this journey”.

- ENDS –

Notes to Editors

About Empathica

Empathica provides Customer Experience Management programmes to more than 200 of the world's leading brands, ranging from multi-unit retailers, to banks and restaurants. Its rich analysis of survey data using state-of-the-art surveying and dashboard reporting software allows for performance-improvement solutions, evidence-based marketing insights, and customer experience management consulting. Annually, Empathica's 30 million customer surveys in 25 languages reach more than 70,000 locations. A privately-held organisation, Empathica is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, has an office in Birmingham, England, and U.S. executive consultants in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Bozeman, Mont. For more information about deriving actionable insights that enhance a brand's operational excellence, visit Empathica at www.empathica.com.

About Brains

Founded in 1882, Brains is now a drinks and hospitality company, still owned by the descendants of the founders that took over a fledgling brewery in a small stone building behind a Cardiff pub, the Brains name can now be found above the door of more than 250 pubs, bars and hotels across Wales and the West of England.

Brewed at The Cardiff Brewery, Brains' award-winning beers are now widely available across Wales and can increasingly be found throughout the rest of Britain in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons, as well as in pubs all over the country as guest ales.

The pub estate has expanded rapidly over the past 10 years and nearly every pub now offers a good range of quality food. Brains also pubs now offer bedrooms and function rooms. Visit www.sabrain.com for more information.