Norfolkline - using PureResponse & Faststats to segment email campaigns

Norfolkline are part of the A.P. Møller – Maersk Group. They operate a freight, transport and logistics business along with their passenger ferry services across 3 main routes. During 2008 the highly competitive Cross-Channel market saw overall passenger volumes drop by 2.67%. Norfolkline’s main objective with this campaign was to increase their market share through new customer acquisition, customer retention and increased frequency of travel.

Campaign Strategy

The key objective was to increase passenger numbers travelling on Norfolkline ferries through repeat bookings and new customer acquisitions. If Norfolkline were to achieve this objective, the first step was to better understand the dynamics and characteristics behind their existing customer base. They looked at a previous direct mail campaign that had targeted a combination of existing customers through various communication channels in the South East geographical area.  

The results of this campaign were used to build a bespoke segmentation system which would enable Norfolkline to refine subsequent campaigns, with differing offers and marketing channels dependent upon customer type, thus improving campaign targeting and appeal to consumers.

From this a direct marketing campaign was carried out via email, flyer/insert and direct mail with a financial incentive to ‘book now’ to increase passenger flow for the summer period. The campaign prioritised mailings for segments driven by 1-4 week breaks, particularly those travelling in the summer months.

Using Faststats

Prior to the segmentation build, Norfolkline (through Callcredit Marketing Solutions) used FastStats Discoverer to provide an easy to use front-end tool to gain insight into historical customer interactions. The first stage of analysis focused on defining the key behavioural and demographic characteristics of individuals who have travelled with Norfolkline, such as how duration differs by season, what influenced lead times the most, consistency between bookings etc.  

The findings highlighted that individuals who interact with Norfolkline in similar ways, have similar wants and needs, and therefore are likely to be responsive to similar promotions and offers, allowing Norfolkline to focus and prioritise marketing activity.

Segmentation

The first stage of the segmentation was a top-line macro segmentation, identifying the natural splits within the data. These were ‘Multi-Bookers’ vs ‘Single-Bookers’ and within these categories the two key routes: Dover-Dunkirk and The Irish Sea.  

A micro-segmentation was then developed within each macro segment to identify the key behavioural differentiators. Consistent principles were employed across all solutions, which allowed marketing strategies to be followed from single to multi booker. The key dimensions employed were:

•    Behavioural Dimension  
•    Attitudinal Dimension     
•    Loyalty Dimension     
•    Profitability Dimension

Dashboards were developed to provide an overview of the key demographics and behavioural characteristics of each of the segments, including suitable marketing strategies, such as cross-sell, up-sell or reactivation, as well as timing of communications.
 

Project metrics

The customer segmentation was appended to the Norfolkline customer database using the FastStats Discoverer virtual variables. The segmentation has been utilised as a targeting solution to make selections in Faststats Cascade, creating multi-channel campaigns (direct mail, flyer/insert and email) using the multi-celled campaign functionality.

The success of the solution was to be determined by a series of project metrics. Firstly, Norfolkline decided to use previous direct mail and insert response activity as a benchmark to measure against and analyse the effectiveness of the new campaigns. A comparison study would indicate any significant improvements in response rates. Norfolkline also analysed the revenues that were generated from the successive campaigns to measure return on investment.

Norfolkline made use of PureResponse to provide real time reporting to understand open-rates and understand which subject lines were most effective – quickly demonstrating how small changes such as changing ‘Dover to Dunkirk’ to ‘Dover to France’ can impact on response rates. 

Project results

Increased Response by Segment

Response analysis from the summer multi-channel direct campaign examined how effective it was in terms of who responded, focusing particularly within each segment. Response was highest within the segments travelling in the summer months typically as families:

•    The ‘Cruising Along’ segment saw an uplift of 2.5 times the average response
•    The ‘Ferried Families’ segment saw an uplift of 150% time the average response

As well as behavioural characteristics, demographics were also seen to be driving the response rates. The results of this data analysis allow Norfolkline to tailor campaigns towards different segments with specific offers, such as segments likely to book a short break.

Increased Response through Multi-channel Targeting

Additional analysis was undertaken on the campaign to understand the most responsive communication channel for Norfolkline. A variety of channel combinations were tested but overall the results showed a response uplift of 50% when email communication was used in combination with another direct media.

Campaign Cost Savings

The results analysis has enabled Norfolkline to identify and match key segments to specific offers, reducing waste and ultimately increasing response. They have been able to prioritise their use of email marketing in an overall campaign. With email marketing currently accounting for 45% of a campaign & Direct Mail 55%, the switch from DM to email has resulted in a19% reduction in campaign costs.

The results speak for themselves:
 
•    Response uplifts of up to 2.5 times
•    A 5% increase in market share
•    Response rates averaging at 7.9%
•    A peak in response of 26.6%

Integrating PureResponse and Fastats has allowed Norfolkline to gain increased customer insight through advanced behavioural and demographic analysis, enabling them to create more effective campaigns, increasing revenues and market share.