Region Halland
Region Halland asked for inUse’s help to find out what the region’s business owners and entrepreneurs knew about the publicly funded support available to them, and what their perceptions of this support were. “This confirmed our impressions and clarified what the target group wanted in a good, pedagogical manner,” explains Bea Lindell, Development Manager at Region Halland.
The aim was to obtain a clearer picture of the customer journey for those who were seen as customers or potential customers of business support in Halland. This involved a number of challenges, the most obvious of which related to how the region and its partners should reach out with the available business support packages. Many business owners were unaware that they could apply for support and advice. Another challenge was reaching out to the prioritised target groups:
“Entrepreneurs who are young, foreign-born or female have been highlighted as target groups that we do not reach to a sufficient extent,” says Bea Lindell, Development Manager at Region Halland’s Business Division. “We want to change that, and finding out about the customer journey is a good start.”
A pedagogical structure
In order to get a clear picture of the current situation, inUse used customer journey mapping. This shows the experiences of customers – in this case, entrepreneurs – over time. It is a particularly useful method for identifying the weak links in the service delivery chain.
A total of 16 business owners and a number of key stakeholders were interviewed. inUse also carried shorter interviews with entrepreneurs “on the street”. All the material was then compiled to give a combined experience and customer journey map.
“The work confirmed our impressions and clarified the target group’s perceptions in a good, pedagogical manner,” continues Bea.
“This clarity and the way in which the information is presented are extremely important. We’ll be able to show the customer journey and provide a better understanding for case managers or those who encounter businesses in their day-to-day work. They’ll know which thresholds exist and how they can help the customer – in other words, the business owner or the entrepreneur – there and then.”
An important piece of the puzzle
The combined experience and customer journey map is part of wider efforts. Region Halland believes that an important piece of the puzzle has fallen into place for the journey that lies ahead.
“In the short term, we now have the data we need to achieve things on our home turf: simplifying applications forms, and improving satisfaction by making an extra effort where we know the customer journey is particularly sensitive or difficult.
“Although none of the findings came as a bolt out of the blue, it’s good to know more about the situation. It confirms what we already thought.”