Wilson & Ellis Consulting Multichannel Magic
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Wilson & Ellis Consulting Multichannel Magic
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Is Fear of Benchmarking Costing You Money? Do you wish you could sell more while mailing less? Or, improve service while reducing costs? Or, reduce risk when making decisions? Benchmarking will help you do all that and more. So why are you not benchmarking today? It’s simple. Implementing a benchmarking program is overwhelming. Why Bother? It starts with volumes of data, tons of theories, and the nagging thought that you need expert intervention. Next comes hours of filtering through the statistics before “why bother?” aborts the program. In a few months or years, someone will ask, “do you have a benchmarking program?’ and you will respond with “we tried it, but it didn’t work.” Do You Know Which Customers are Rising Stars and Which Ones Are Trying to Rest in Peace? Let’s start with the “why bother?” question. Would you bother with a program that helped profile customers so you could mail more effectively? There are six types of customers: Newbies, Rising Stars, Platinum, Falling Stars, Bargain Hunters, and Rest in Peace. Each type responds differently and mailing by profile increases response. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were magic rules that universally identify a customer’s profile? Like, customers who haven’t ordered in 12 months are Falling Stars. Or, customers who ordered within the last 30 days are Platinum. But what if that order, the one placed yesterday was that customer’s last? Wouldn’t it be nice to know before you mailed them six more catalogs? There are basic rules that apply universally, but to maximize your return, you need to know the rules that apply to your specific customers. How does a customer move from Newbie to Platinum? If you knew, then you could start the conversion process with the first order. How many Newbies go directly to Rest in Peace? Would a shift in marketing and service change their pattern? Without measuring and monitoring buying patterns, you’ll never know. My Marketing Program is Great! Why Would I Benchmark? But, what if maximizing marketing is your specialty? Don’t worry; benchmarking can help your operations, too. Would you bother with a program that measures your service levels and improves customer satisfaction? We all know that satisfaction is important, but quantifying it seems impossible. Not only is it possible, unlike activities that require a stunt double, you can try this at home! In fact, it is better if you do. You can skip the consultant (GASP! Did I just say that?), the high end software, and the statistician. You are the one that lives with the results and you should understand every aspect of your business. The beauty of benchmarking is hidden treasures that appear in odd places. Outsiders may not recognize the significance, but you will. When you have results, you may decide to hire a call center, outsource your fulfillment, or bring it all in-house. You will be able to make these decisions because you will know the costs associated with these services and their effect on customer loyalty. If you decide to outsource, you will also be able to monitor performance and insure quality service. Nothing to Fear… Now, why are you not benchmarking? In Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address he said “…let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts…” Don’t let the fear of benchmarking paralyze the process. Choose one area that you want to improve and start measuring and monitoring. Except… If you function best under pressure, here is something that might make you quiver in your boots: According to BizRate Research’s Online Holiday Mood Study, almost 60 percent of ecommerce merchants are planning catalog mailings to drive online sales. The world just got a little smaller…you might want to start your benchmarking program ASAP! WARNING: Benchmarking is highly addictive for results oriented executives. Use with caution. If you haven't done so already...
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