The challenge
Competitive comparison in the acceptance business
Our client was interested in gaining better insight into the terminal and acceptance business of the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and comparing these insights with other competitors on the German market. As this analysis requires a high degree of expertise and extensive knowledge of the terminal and acceptance business as well as the German network operator market, OSTHAVEN was asked to provide support.
The solution
Mystery shopping and benchmarking
With the aim of conducting an unbiased analysis of the current situation, we decided, after consultation with our client, to use a mystery shopping approach in combination with a quantitative benchmarking analysis. First, our client’s terminal and acceptance business was outlined and analyzed with the help of interviews. The anonymous benchmarking analysis was based on a comparison of prices and conditions for payment acceptance at the POS in relation to price offers from various (commercial) network operators and service providers in the SME segment. Real retailers from various industries and of different sizes were used for the mystery shopping approach. The collected results were evaluated in detail and compared using simulation calculations. Once the analysis and preparation of the results were complete, the project was concluded.
The result
Clear positioning in the competitive environment
Almost 30 existing offers were evaluated and compared in detail. With the help of the comparability gained between its own product range and that of its direct competitors, our client received an in-depth performance comparison of products, services, and prices. The summary of the results also included a detailed evaluation comparing the savings banks’ offerings with those of their competitors. This created the conditions for rethinking and, if necessary, adjusting the product and service portfolio in order to position itself advantageously and win new customers.
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