Norwich and Peterborough Building Society maximises the performance of branch operations with the help of EuroDirect's consulting division GMAP

Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) has completed a project with EuroDirect's market analysis and business modelling division, GMAP Consulting, that has enabled it to maximise the performance of its UK branch network.

GMAP, a leading supplier of market intelligence and predictive modelling solutions in the financial services sector, carried out an analysis of the building society's existing branch network. As a result, N&P is able to improve the service it provides to customers at the same time as maximise revenue opportunities. It has also been able to further focus the targeting of sales and marketing programmes.

GMAP's analysis involved benchmarking branch performance using both historical sales data and external data - on competitors, customer buying behaviour and relative branch location.

"By analysing historical sales data, against the location of our existing network - including the proximity of branches to retail outlets with high 'pulling power' - and demand data, we were able to work out expected market share by location," said Jeremy Moll, Head of Retail Operations at N&P. "GMAP helped us understand the detail in the data. We can now revise sales targets at some branches, redefine what services and products we offer in particular branches and identify opportunities for new branch locations."

"Most financial organisations compare like to like - past sales data for example - however this is not an objective benchmark of performance, said Professor Martin Clarke, principal consultant at GMAP Consulting. "Financial organisations need to also take into account market data and specific details about the location of the branch and its proximity to other retail outlets. All of this can affect the performance and potential of a branch. A branch does not work in isolation".

"Planning the location of branches, or other channels to market like ATM machines, requires detailed analysis of a vast and complex amount of internal and external data sets. Mapping this information using our MICROVISION geographic marketing modelling tool, can help financial organisations like N&P maximise revenue opportunities." GMAP's analysis also showed N&P the marketing potential of the area around branch locations. Professor Martin Clarke at GMAP says that "the mere presence of a branch creates a 'network effect' with customers closest to branches likely to be the most loyal."

Mike Hounsell, Director of Sales and Marketing at N&P adds "the analysis has informed our marketing effort - ultimately improving the targeting of marketing campaigns and therefore reducing costs. In addition we are able to leverage our knowledge of the potential around specific branch locations to start local marketing initiatives."

"Our work with N&P epitomises the ability of our MICROVISION product to provide benefit across different operational areas of a business; from analysing the location of current stores and understanding their catchment areas to set appropriate sales targets and direct marketing and promotional budgets, through to reconfiguring and optimising a store network." says John Dobson, Managing Director, EuroDirect.

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About GMAP Consulting Ltd
GMAP Consulting, a subsidiary of EuroDirect, is a leading supplier of market intelligence and predictive modeling solutions. It enables businesses in the automotive, retail, financial services and forecourt industries to understand their markets, customers, competitors and channel to market. This helps them maximise channels to market, reducing risks and identifying areas of threat and opportunity. GMAP's solutions are based on a series of proprietary market modelling, analysis and planning algorithms, combined with key market information and their proprietary market-specific business modeling software solution, MICROVISION.

MICROVISION combines a desktop view for reporting, querying and mapping network and market analysis with modules from EuroDirect's award-winning direct marketing software (formerly DemGraf*) to provide the ultimate operational tool for businesses in the UK and abroad.

MICROVISION is available in four modules: Marketing Manager, for planning and analysing customer retention and acquisition activity; Market Maker, for defining markets to better understand customer spend and sales activity; Optimiser, for spatial analysis such as store location, site volume and territory definition; and Modeller, for analysing network and store performance and understanding the impact of any market changes.

GMAP and EuroDirect are part of the Skipton Information Group, one of the UK's leading providers of business intelligence solutions and wholly owned by Skipton Building Society.