RBG Helps Retailer With $2B In Annual Sales Increase Ticket Sales by 20%

Cabela’s, a specialty products retailer with over $2B in annual sales experiencing stagnating growth from new customers, asked Reality Based Group to design a solution to increase average ticket price. RBG provided them with an integrated suite of customer experience and merchandising solutions—including video mystery shopping and consumer survey tools to determine areas in the sales process that could be improved.

+20% Increase in Average Ticket Sales

Finding a Breakdown

Using proprietary GameFilm^® technology and consumer survey tools, RBG’s mystery shoppers made visited all company stores within a six-month span, targeting different employees and rating their customer service interactions. Within that six-month data collection and research period, RBG learned employees were asking customers to purchase additional items only 20% of the time—well below the national average of 33% and when employees did suggest additional items, they were pitches were not very effective.

The Management Action Plan

RBG implemented a manager action plan with the retailer to improve customer service from the top leadership all the way down to the field level. The goal of the program was to provide a uniform way for leadership to communicate their intent with their employees, give them the necessary skills, and hold them accountable for their new behaviors.

The action plan involved a detailed report and video highlights of sales interactions so all managers could see firsthand when opportunities were being missed. The video also showed positive interactions that were used to develop company-wide training videos.

Over the next six-month period, all store managers were required to continuously meet and train employees using coaching programs designed by RBG. They constantly talked about up-selling, reviewed evaluation videos, and reported on progress. At the same time, RBG continuously sent mystery shoppers into each location to gauge the success of the action plan and to measure any levels of improvement.

The effects of the manager action were substantial and highly successful. Within six months, the retailer was able to gauge a 20% jump in the average ticket price. The research validated the increase as the employees were now asking for add-on sales over 54% of the time. With even more opportunity to increase average sales, the retailer became firmly positioned to grow revenues within the realm of current customers.