Every little bit helps… to do even better!

Every little bit helps… to do even better!

A few months ago, Martine Constant’s mystery shoppers toured the streets of Hannut. Their goal: carrying out audits of reception and service quality in 61 shops in the city centre.

A great initiative from the city centre association to give a boost to local activity!

The presentation of the results of our work in front of our customers is always a special moment… On 13 October 2020, it happened in front of the municipal authorities and the retailers of Hannut. After 15 days of mystery shopping, we have drawn up a state of affairs of a large part of the city centre’s shops.

Hairdressers, clothing and accessory shops, beauty centres, restaurants, toy shops, etc. The approach was intended to be constructive and positive: to identify each retailer’s strengths and areas for improvement on the basis of a grid of around 40 criteria. And, of course, to propose concrete ways forward to those who wish to do so.

Retailers to be reinvented

The project was initiated by Martine Noël, Hannut City Centre Manager. “I contacted Martine Constant because I am sure thatthe retailers are at a turning point in their development.  They must adapt to what we have chosen to call connected commerce. I don’t want to talk about e-commerce in the way of the big behemoths, but about using the internet to attract new customers and retain existing ones. “

Martine Noël believes very strongly in web-to-store. “My ultimate goal is always to get people into the physical shop.  But if a customer decides to leave home and go to a shop, the experience has to be positive and the service has to be there.”

Re-boosting the city centres

This was a first audit for the city of Hannut. “I am convinced that we have a role to play in helping and supporting the retailers. City centres without shops are not very attractive. It is therefore our duty to create the most professional and attractive shops possible. This is perhaps even more necessary in these times when Covid-19 is constantly reshuffling the deck! “

And to carry out this work, Martine Noël could count on the experience of our team. “Martine Constant is a real asset in the reflection. She knows the trade and its realities very well. She has mastered both theory and practice. I think she can still offer many useful things to our traders.”

And some nice surprises…

In the end, the discovery of the audit results was a nice surprise for Hannut’s elected officials and retailers. “In the majority of cases, the results were quite good.  And it’s very encouraging to think that it wouldn’t take much to do even better!

Let’s keep it up!

To combat the prevailing gloom, the town of Hannut is taking action to keep the city centre alive as much as possible.  A Christmas market and a magnificent parade, competitions, presentations of its retailers…  All in compliance with COVID-19 measures, of course!

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