Qbase Direct helps organisations to maximise profits and minimise costs, through developing a data-driven strategy. We work with our charity clients to develop Supporter Journeys. We work with our commercial clients to develop Customer Journeys. Each Journey is based an individual’s lifecycle stage and their previous activity with you. The optimal Journey will develop and grow their relationship and value with you, through an effective offline and digital data strategy.
Click the + buttons for more information
At each stage of their lifecycle, you need to employ different programs and channels which are relevant to each customer or prospect – acquisition; cross-sell; up-sell; rebuy; retention; reactivation; value builders and many more. Qbase Direct will help you to determine the optimal time to deploy these tactics, through the use of data analytics.
We provide long-term partnerships and project-based solutions that will help you to plan and develop your Journey – to create a data-driven strategy. We can also train your team to bring those skillsets in-house.
Acquisition
The success of your business starts with recruiting new customers/supporters. Crucially, you need to recruit the right kind of customer/supporter – the kind who will generate a positive ROI and healthy Lifetime Value over their buying lifecycle.
The objective of the Acquisition phase of your data strategy should be to identify and recruit prospects who most closely match the “perfect profile” of your best customers/supporters (identified through profiling, RFM [Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value] and segmentation). But at the same time you should be identifying those prospects who do match the perfect profile and removing them from your Acquisition plans. This simple process ensures that you focus your effort and budget where it will generate the greatest return on investment.
Qbase Direct will structure a robust testing regime for your Acquisition strategies. This tried and tested methodology ensures that prospects sources are rigorously tested and re-validated before being rolled out. Through the measurement of key performance indicators such as response rates, average value, cost per acquisition, return on investment and lifetime value, we will help you to undertake prospecting that performs at above average levels. This ensures that your acquisition results are improving over time.
Common Elements for a Successful Acquisition data strategy:
- Response audit & analysis, (key metrics including cost per recruit, response rate, income value, costs, ROI, etc)
- List Broking & Data Sourcing
- Lead Generation Programs (online and/or offline)
- 3rd party prospect data usage - one-off, multiple use, lease, purchase?
- Multi-channel coordination
- Prospect data management - campaign-by-campaign basis or prospect database?
- Use of incentives
- Decision Making Unit Marketing
- Profiling
- Propensity Modelling
- Data Enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
Retention
As your prospects convert into customers and supporters, your focus needs to change. The objective at this lifestage is to retain the converted prospect – typically upto 80% of lapsing behaviour (churn) occurs after the first transaction with a company. We often call them Trial Buyers as they’ve tried you out but they are not loyal to you (yet!) The objective of your data strategy should be to encourage participation, engagement and generally building the relationship.
As with the Acquisition phase, you still need to be segmenting your customers & supporters and treating them accordingly. By apportioning your marketing budget wisely, you can invest more in those who will generate a larger return, (identified through profiling, RFM [Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value] and segmentation).
Qbase Direct will work with you to develop successful Retention strategies. With a combination of data analysis, business insight and commercial experience, we will tailor the journey to maximise the value of each segment and individual. Through the measurement of key performance indicators such as rebuy rates, retention, average customer value, return on investment and lifetime value, we will help you to improve your Retention. Just a small percentage increase in year-on-year Retention rates can mean an exponential increase in income and profitability.
Common Elements for a Successful Retention data strategy:
- Reporting & Analysis, (key metrics including order frequency, income value, media & channels used, etc)
- Product rebuy rates
- Increasing breadth of product purchases
- Multi-channel coordination
- Use of incentives
- Soft communications versus selling communications
- Profiling
- Propensity modelling
- Segmentation
- Data enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
Expansion
The Expansion phase of the Journey requires a strategy that promotes new services, products and methods of interaction to your customers and supporters. Often called “share of wallet”, the objective is to increase an individual’s overall spend with your organisation. By increasing the number of products, services and interactions that a customer/supporter has with you, their level of engagement and affinity will also increase.
Segmentation is key. Promoting irrelevant products, services and communications will reduce their engagement, so once again, a rigorous testing methodology must be employed. Simply sending offer after offer, promotion after promotion is the surest way of turning off a customer/supporter. Sending timely and pertinent information will increase affinity, even if they don’t respond immediately!
Qbase Direct will work with you to develop successful Expansion strategies. With a combination of data analysis, business insight and commercial experience, we will tailor the journey to maximise the number of products, services, channels and interactions for each customer/supporter.
Common Elements for a Successful Expansion data strategy:
- Response audit & analysis, (key metrics including order frequency, income value, media, channels & product groups used, etc)
- Loyalty Programs
- Cross-sell programs
- Up-sell programs
- Building order values
- Increasing breadth of product purchases
- Multi-channel coordination
- Use of incentives
- Profiling
- Propensity Modelling
- Segmentation
- Data enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
Maintenance
The Maintenance phase of the Journey is all about ensuring that you get the repeat business rather than your competitors. By this stage of the Journey, you will have already built a relationship and engaged the customer/supporter – you now need to maintain that affinity and this requires a new set of tactics and strategies.
Segmentation is vital in order to deliver the most suitable Maintenance strategy. You need to “ring-fence” your very best customers/supporters as they typically represent 20% of your database but 80% of profits. They should be rewarded with outstanding service, rather than sales-led promotions. Your marketing budget is more wisely invested in the mid-level segments, with the objective of moving them up to the top segments. You will also have unprofitable segments – reduce the marketing investment in order to increase your ROI. (The segments can be identified through profiling, RFM [Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value] and segmentation.
Qbase Direct will work with you to develop successful Maintenance strategies. With a combination of data analysis, business insight and commercial experience, we will tailor the journey to maximise the longevity of your customers and supporters lifecycle.
Common Elements for a Successful Maintenance data strategy
- Response audit & analysis, (key metrics including order frequency, income value, media, channels & product groups used, etc)
- Churn Analysis
- Anti-churn programs
- Loyalty Programs
- Maintaining breadth of product purchases
- Multi-channel coordination
- Profiling
- Segmentation
- Propensity Modelling
- Data Enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
Discard
The Discard phase of the Journey is often the most contentious! At this stage, the customer/supporter activity is reducing and you have to make a decision – to invest more budget and try to bring them back to their previous value levels; or reduce investment and risk them reducing their value further.
Their activity over the lifecycle to date should help to determine whether to discard or invest. Those segments and individuals who have been unprofitable throughout their lifecycle can be discarded. Border-line and low profit segments are harder – you need to look at their potential LTV if you re-invest, compared to the potential LTV of recruiting a new customer/supporter. Mid to top level segments and individuals should be re-invested in, but monitoring of their LTV is crucial because at some point in time, their LTV will drop to such a level that further investment becomes uneconomic.
Qbase Direct will work with you to develop successful Discard? strategies. With a combination of data analysis, business insight and commercial experience, we will tailor the journey to ensure your marketing budget is apportioned in such a way that profits are maximised.
Common Elements for a Successful "Discard?" data strategy
- Response audit & analysis, (key metrics including order frequency, income value, media, channels & product groups used, etc)
- Churn Analysis
- Lapsing Reasons
- Customer reactivation vs. acquisition cost comparison
- Multi-channel coordination
- Profiling
- Segmentation
- Propensity Modelling
- Data Enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
Reactivation
Unfortunately, lapsing behaviour (or Churn) is a fact of life. By implementing the strategies outlined for earlier stages in a customer/supporter lifecycle, you will have reduced the lapse rates but it will still occur for a multitude of reasons. So now you need to decide which of your lapsed customers/supporters should be reactivated...and which shouldn’t be. Once again, their previous behaviour and LTV combined with the cost of acquisition versus cost of reactivation should help to determine the most suitable strategy.
Why have they lapsed and how do you reactivate them? One thing is for sure – they wanted your products or services in the past so something has changed. By understanding what has changed, you may be able to tailor your offering and bring them back again. Offering discounts will not work if they left because of poor service. You need to try and engage the individual throughout their lifecycle so that they provide you with feedback – then you may start to understand the reasons for churn.
Qbase Direct will work with you to test and develop different Reactivation strategies. We will combine all your strategies for different stages in the lifecycle into a cohesive, flexible Customer/Supporter Journey. This holistic approach to customer/supporter management will be the biggest weapon in your armoury and will reduce churn and increase profits.
- Response audit & analysis, (key metrics including order frequency, income value, media, channels & product groups used, etc)
- Churn Analysis
- Lapsing Reasons
- Customer reactivation vs. acquisition cost comparison
- Use of incentives
- Soft communication versus selling communications
- Product mix analysis
- Multi-channel coordination
- Profiling
- Segmentation
- Propensity Modelling
- Data Enhancement
- Optimal campaign frequency and saturation point
