In May 2008 FMCG giant McCain Foods hired digital agency and eCRM specialist Underwired to devise its eCRM programme. Two years later the results are in - and they're spectacular.
Underwired took over the existing email marketing programme, optimised the segmentation, and created a comms strategy. It was all designed to engage brand resistors (people who perhaps didn't feel McCain was right for them, or didn't like that kind of food at all) and deepen the relationship with brand engagers (people who already love McCain). Underwired's team devised creative for a monthly, segmented email campaign. Finally, a regular survey was created to compare against the TV audience brand tracking being done by brand research specialists Hall & Partners.
In the first year, engagement with brand resistors increased by 49%, which gave everyone confidence that they were heading in the right direction.
In the latest half year results brand consideration has increased by 11% compared with the Hall & Partners benchmark. In six months, average purchase frequency went up 3% and the core "engagers" segment grew 29% in volume. And within this core segment, sales revenue went up by a spectacular 38%.
Underwired's Felix Velarde sums up the feeling, "ECRM requires time and some investment, and for online retail it's fairly straightforward to see that if you increase engagement by half a percent here or there it can translate directly into a million or two in online sales. With FMCG or food and drinks brands it requires a more integrated approach. That said, it clearly produces spectacular results, and a sales increase within the main segment of 38% shows everyone what can be done with a properly structured approach using digital channels."
The agency uses email, SMS, websites and social media in its eCRM programmes. Its most recent win is Laithwaites WIne, which has more than 800,000 customers, but Velarde isn't concerned about numbers. "Some of our clients come to us with very little customer data at all. We help them build up an engagement strategy based on testing and learning, sometimes using third party data. It means we can swiftly move towards bringing the right people into contact with the brand, and then rapidly increase their commercial value to the point where it starts to help refine acquisition strategy."