How Dot's ice cream shop is working now

“Tell me how Dot Scoops is going right now,” asks Clara.

“Well, like I said, not that well” says Dot. “People are buying the ice creams, but the revenue is not covering costs. And it’s still only me working in the shop.”

“Let’s look at your P&L,” says Clara.

Together, Clara and Dot map the costs associated with the premises, payments on plant and ingredients. They map the mean price of the ice creams, and the number of ice creams sold. They can see that revenue is not covering costs.

“And I am already working so hard,” says Dot. “It’s all the regulations I have to comply with.”

“Let’s show the regulations in a Public area,” says Clara, “they are outside the ice cream shop, and beyond your control. Notice that profit – or in your case, loss – sits outside the shop, but in a Private area.”

Current State Business Model

Costs exceed revenue and customer behaviour information is missing.

“What do you notice is missing from the map?” asks Clara.

“Well, we talked about this in our first session,” says Dot. “I don’t really know why people buy the ice creams.”

“Exactly,” says Clara. “We can see customers are buying ice creams. But we can’t see what they are getting that makes them come back – or why they might not. You need to find out if they are first time or repeat customers. And who they are – tourists, or families? What triggers them to buy ice creams, and what alternatives do they consider?”

“Right now, the map shows a few levers you could pull – reduce costs, change price, or improve the ice creams. But without understanding customer behaviour, you’d be guessing.”

“If you’re going to find out what is holding your business back, Dot,” says Clara, “only your customers can tell you”.

Dot realises she is operating blind.

She starts collecting customer data at the point of sale.