How to Win Big with Small Data
by Robert Hackman
My data says ‘Large’
But what I see is small
Lyrics from the song ‘Phanta’
By Le Tigre
Despite the reach and influence of Big Data, the information it provides is frequently incomplete, sometimes in critical ways. Relying on it too heavily can lead companies to forget about and bypass the equally important and frequently more powerful contributions offered by small Data—personal interactions with customers and associates.
This article tells a compelling story illustrating how a sophisticated, vertically integrated company used small Data to help dominate its service markets. It noticed how its customers interacted with its entry doors.
The company is Wawa. A category-defying convenience retailer that sells gasoline, made-to-order sandwiches, prepared fresh foods, drinks, and food staples such as milk and eggs that currently operate in several States.
It does use Big Data. However, what sets Wawa apart from its competition is the close relationships the firm’s leadership maintains with its customers and associates, including the company’s direct connections to its ‘Why.’ ‘Why,’ as in Wawa’s foundational purpose in business, combined with a relentless commitment to its fundamentals.
The Story
After analyzing its competitors, Wawa decided to experiment. The company installed automatic opening doors at its first store in Florida rather than its traditional, manually operated glass doors. Most Wawa stores have a vestibule entry, which means customers must open two sets of doors to enter and exit their stores. Thus, demanding four times the effort required by automatic doors.
However, the company immediately realized ‘it was not them.’ Why not? How did they know so quickly? What was going on?
The electrically operated doors denied Wawa customers the opportunity to hold the door for one another. It is a core behavior of Wawa customers and a fundamental part of its brand and culture.
The culture is exemplified through an impromptu statement by a business executive I met, who traveled weekly from the Midwest to work in the Philadelphia area. She told me, ‘The people in Philadelphia are so nice; everyone at the Wawa holds the door for you….’ Welcome sentiments to an area native, not always associated with the City of Brotherly Love but strongly associated with Wawa.
Company leaders noticed customer interactions at the small Data store level. They learned critical information they could never have through the company headquarters’ Big Data level analysis of computer spreadsheets.
Senior management’s direct customer observation, viewed through the lens of the company’s ‘Why,’ facilitated their immediate recognition that the automatic doors were misaligned with its purpose.
Wawa’s overarching reason for being in business is to “create community and connection.” It is quite a profound purpose for a convenience retailer and a core element of its identity and market positioning. Wawa says they do this 5-minutes at a time.
WHY IT MATTERS
Even though ease of use and efficiency were company imperatives, knowing and paying attention to its ‘Why’ kept the company from mistaking them as the primary drivers of its success. Wawa firmly believes shopping at its stores is more than transactional; it is about feel-good experiences based on person-to-person interactions. To monitor this effectively, leadership commits to regularly spending time in its stores collecting small Data.
Wawa customers get a rush of endorphins (feel-good, social hormones) when they hold the door for someone, and they get a similar rush of endorphins when the door is held for them. Consequently, its store entryways are a foundational part of how the customer experience at Wawa creates community. So much so that “holding the door” is part of the PowerPoint slide presentation that Wawa leadership uses to tell its story.
The Power of Aligned Fundamentals
The company develops Wawa devotees and an almost cult-like status in each market it enters. Wawa’s relentless commitment to its fundamentals has positioned the company to sell 4% of the nation’s gas despite only operating in a handful of states. It is the dominant fresh brewed coffee retailer within its operating markets despite competing against much larger and more widely known competitors.
Wawa uses its overarching go-to-market strategy and foundational values as lenses through which to evaluate its decision-making. The company continually relies on collecting small Data at the store level to align its actions and measure its success.
Automatic doors were misaligned with its fundamental strategy and mission. Wawa knew its core strategy was to delight customers, and its primary purpose was creating community and connection; it just happens to do so by providing convenient gas and food.
Does your firm utilize small Data? Do your company leaders regularly spend time with customers and associates? Has your organization determined its ‘Why’ and used it as a pair of glasses through which to view its decision-making and align its actions? How would things be better if they did? What can you do to put these behaviors into motion in your company?
Worthy Inquiries:
- To what degree do you rely on Big Data to make decisions? Does it cause you to ignore small Data – information drawn from direct relationships with customers and associates on an ongoing basis?
- Do you pay attention to the ways your customers interact with your company? How do you respond to what you notice? What does not knowing cost you?
- Have you identified your ‘Why?’ how does it impact your decision-making? If not, what keeps you from identifying it?
- Do you treat your Core Values as nouns or verbs? How do you infuse them into your culture?
- Do you align your overarching go-to-market strategy with your culture? How do your stakeholders know?
Please reach out to me for help identifying, clarifying, and executing your purpose, core values, and strategy to help you grow your team and your company.
Robert Hackman, Principal, 4C Consulting – Courageously Curious Consulting and Coaching, helps people live and lead with fewer regrets. He grows and develops leaders through executive coaching, strategy consulting, facilitation, and training of individuals, teams, and organizations. He is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He facilitates trusting environments that promote uncommonly candid conversations. Rob is also passionate about the power of Everyday Legacies and developing Legacy Mindsets. He has conducted over 50 Legacy interviews with people to date.
He is a serious man with a dry sense of humor who loves absurdity. Rob can often be found hiking rocky elevations or making music playlists. His varied mixes, including Pandemic Playlists and Music About Men, can be found on Spotify.
Bravely bring your curiosity to a conversation with Rob, schedule via voice or text @ 484.800.2203 or rhackman@4cconsulting.net.