Summary:
If your company’s policy is offline-only in terms of direct sales, how
would you effectively use the Web site to drive prospects to the call
center and retail outlets?
Just in time for all those New Year’s resolutions, see how one
dieting program marketer is using a Web-to-phone system to not only
dramatically improve conversions but also better track customers and
prospects ... not to ment
CHALLENGEJenny Craig Inc. doesn’t
conduct transactions online primarily because they don’t want to abandon
the in-person and over-the-phone relationships between clients and
consultants that built the brand.
But getting people who click on
banners or search ads to take the next step in the purchasing process
(i.e., to call or to go to a store location) is never easy. And it’s
especially true when dealing with consumers who are contemplating the idea
of entering a potentially lifestyle-changing dieting program -- New Year’s
resolution or not.
“Our Web marketing department has to be able to
not only get customers and prospects the information that they need, but
also give them the call to action to our [stores] or phone reps,” says Ted
Sindzinski, Internet Marketing Manager for Jenny Craig.
CAMPAIGNWhile the Web site already had a store
locator box and a toll-free number, Sindzinski and his team set out to
make the signing-up process more convenient for consumers and more
profitable for their outlets.
They put together an onsite
click-to-call program that also incorporated email marketing and surveys
to maximize the data they could attain.
Step #1. Tighten the
Web-store loop
After a period of careful marketing analysis on how
to improve sales conversions, Sindzinski implemented a system just over a
year ago that allowed viewers to request an immediate call from a service
rep in their area. The old system made consumers go through a series of
prompts before getting to the local store.
An ad button asking,
“Have You Called Jenny Yet? To have a consultant call you, Click Here,”
was placed in the center of the home page. A smaller ad appeared at the
top of the page. Viewers who clicked were taken to a page where they
needed to give their name, telephone number and email address in order to
request the call. A drill-down menu gave consumers the option of getting a
call from a local “centre” (spelling is indicative of Jenny Craig's
Australian roots) or Jenny Direct.
Seconds after saying yes, their
phone rang with a short recorded message from brand spokeswoman Kirstie
Alley about how the program helped her. Viewers then were sent through to
a local centre or to the national call facility.
In the case of
the former, the staffer acknowledged that the caller was coming from the
Web before inquiring about specifics, such as the prospect’s weight-loss
goals and budget constraints.
But before all of this, Jenny
Craig’s 465 centres had to get hooked up with the program -- in short,
their telephone system was reconfigured so they could signal that the call
was an online lead.
Step #2. Immediate follow-up
Throughout the call, a pop-up window stayed open on the prospect’s
computer screen. After users finished their conversation with the
consultant, the window offered them a chance to fill out a six-question
survey about their experience with the technology. The questions were
designed to find out simple answers, such as whether they made a purchase
and what they liked/disliked about click to call.
The popup also
offered them an opportunity to schedule another call right away or within
one, five or 10 minutes.
Because initial customer support was so
important, new Jenny Craig members received a welcome email immediately to
remind them about some of the steps they had to take to use the program
appropriately.
Since customers either picked up or received their
food supplies on a weekly/biweekly basis, the company also sent them
notifications about their dieting schedule and meal plan during the
crucial first few weeks. Regular email notifications about where the
customers were in their plans were sent out from then on.
“In a
lot of these cases, this is an emotional beginning to a weight-loss
challenge,” Sindzinski says. “So, the emails really try to walk them
through the early stages of the program to help them get
started.”
Oftentimes, the emails included the local centre to make
it easier for the customer to contact the store, further intertwining the
online/offline components.
Step #3. Get the word out
To
jumpstart the click-to-call feature, Sindzinki’s team promoted it with ads
on portals such as Yahoo, Hotmail, MSN and AOL’s Health Fitness channel.
Banners went up on dieting/health sites, such as WebMD, and dating sites,
such as Match.com.
Click to call also was included in a variety of
email campaigns to the firm’s database, which is segmented into dozens of
lists (as one example, the male quotient of their audience often get
separate messaging).
The campaigns normally reached out to
inactive customers, as well as to prospects who had shown interest but not
yet joined.
RESULTSIt's now a year later, and the
results have Jenny Craig and their customers raving.
“Our
conversions are about twice as high using this system,” Sindzinski says.
“We’ve bridged the gap between the online and offline world. Our customers
love the fact that it’s easy for them to get in touch with the local
centre. People love the speed of the service, and they think the
technology is cool.”
Indeed, in the customer questionnaires, more
than 75% rate the service as good or very good and 90% are satisfied with
how fast the process works.
“Most of the people who said they
didn’t enjoy it were using a dial-up connection,” Sindzinski says.
“Another interesting thing we’ve seen with the surveys is that about half
who tap the click to call button are looking for information and half are
looking to make an appointment.”
Although the email campaigns
supporting the feature have been successful, Sindzinski couldn’t go into
details besides mentioning that their open rates are typically favorable
compared to the rest of the industry because of the strength of the brand.
Sindzinski says they'll definitely continue to push their
click-to-call application. “This breaks the ice, and it’s a little softer
[sell],” he describes. “It’s a little easier than getting somebody to take
action by picking up the phone and dialing the number
themselves.”
Useful links related to this
articleCreative samples from Jenny Craig’s click to call
program:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/cs/jennycraig/study.htmleStara
- the marketing services firm that provided the “Click to Call” service:
http://www.estara.com Jenny
Craig:
http://www.jennycraig.com
