Developing Continutiy Of Contact Program

Developing a Continuity of Contact Program A Step-by-Step Approach to Improving Customer (and Prospect) Communication NCDM Summer 2002 | July 22, 2002

Continuity of Contact (COC) A standard and consistent manner in which to communicate with customer and prospects across multiple channels and interaction points.

What it can do for you ! Increase sales – New customers, up-sell and cross-sell opportunities

! Improve loyalty and satisfaction ! Improve brand identity – Consistency in message across multiple channels

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How it’s different from CRM ! Doesn’t require wholesale change to corporate strategy – Let’s you take smaller steps to provide “quick wins”

! Is manageable – Narrows the focus to marketing and/or marketing/sales – No large financial commitments

! Short-term results that grow value Copyright 2002, Taylor-Harkins Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Examples of COC programs ! Calendar Driven – Good for standard contacts

! Urgency/Time Driven – Multi-channel prospecting/sales programs

! Activity Driven – Good for managing prospect programs and customer loyalty programs

! Life-Cycle Driven – When products/services have short lifecycles

! Life-Stage Driven – Good for enhancing relationships

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Calendar Driven

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Urgency/Time Driven

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Activity Driven

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Lifecycle/Value Driven

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Life-Stage Driven

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COC in Action Blue Cross Blue Shield of FL Prospect Continuity of Contact Program Under 65 Market

Under 65 TV Campaign ! COC is based on response preference – Phone Response – Web Response

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Phone Responder !

Postcard letting responder know – – – –

We received the request for information Call # now to speak to a sales rep Go to the Internet to see products and rates now Local agents are available to meet with you

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Web Responder !

Instant quotes – Allows a person to save information and register on site – Purchase product on site – Has “chatty Cathy” – Mail box – Sales agent phone number – Physician directory – Face to face agent locator

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Response Activity Based

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Next Steps ! Follow-up based on responder activity – Internet registration, no purchase • If a person registers and does not purchase 2 activities are triggered immediately. – Auto e-back thanking them for going to the site and a link in the e-mail to make it easy to back and finish the activity. – They will receive the monthly e-newsletter with health information and a link back to the site. The newsletter also has some information about products.

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Next Steps – Telemarketing conversation, no purchase • Direct mail follow up with information about the fact that BCBSF has multiple products available. – After 3 months Face to Face agents are sent the leads if not sales from sales kit to determine if they needed additional support understanding health insurance products.

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Next Steps – Face-to-face agent contact, no purchase • If the lead was originally generated by BCBSF, the name is added to the prospect file, and direct mail efforts are made against the name.

– Purchase • Contract package sent or delivered and other products and services are promoted. For example, Automatic Payment Option with a discount on rates if selected. Dental discount services offered for purchase and other discounts included and explained for BCBSF customers. Copyright 2002, Taylor-Harkins Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Some Follow-up Methods ! ! ! !

Internet e-mail with link message E-newsletters Direct Mail Telemarketing

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Future Developments ! *669 wireless lead generation (sign up service) ! Internet tracking

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How to build a COC Program

Getting Started ! Determine what kind of COC plan you’re going to develop for each segment ! What are the goals and objectives of each COC plan – Drive new sales, increase up-sell/cross-sell, create customer loyalty, etc.?

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Step 1: Define Target Groups ! Who are your targets groups? – How many do you have? Pick the top 3-4 for to start

! What are the Needs, Values and Expectations (NVEs) of each segment?

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NVE’s Defined – Needs: How well a product or service meets the basic customer needs. Obvious examples are food, clothing and shelter, but less obvious examples may include safety, security, approval, and affiliation. – Values: How well a product or service aligns, or at least does not conflict with customer values. Values may include: trust, courtesy and respect. – Expectations: How well a product or service meets customer expectations, considering needs and values. Examples may include: quality, dependability, and timeliness. Copyright 2002, Taylor-Harkins Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Step 2: Key Drivers ! Determine the key drivers for each COC plan: – Build it based on what is meaningful to the customer, not to your company • • • • •

Calendar? Urgency/Time? Actions? Product/Service Lifecycle? Life-stage?

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Step 3: Contact Frequency ! Frequency of contact should be based on customer preference first, organizational need second – Think about permission • Particularly true of e-mail • What communication permission have your customers/prospects given?

– In direct mail, it permission is less a factor

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Step 4: Channel Communication ! Considering your specific target groups: – How do they currently interact with your firm? • • • •

Which channels do they use? Why do they use these channels? How frequently do they use a specific channel? Do they use more than one channel?

– Are we using all of the communications channels effectively?

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Step 5: Messaging Strategy ! Based on the NVEs of your target group, what do they want to know about your firm/product/service? • How do you communicate the message? • Do you change this message by channel? – If you do, are the messages consistent by channel?

• Are your messages consistent across all channels? – Increasingly important when engaging in regular communications

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Step 6: Continuity of Contact Map

Step 7: Implementation ! What do you need to make your plan a reality? – Supporting systems? • Doesn’t have to be technology-focus

– Additional resources? – Other?

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Things to consider ! Technology can help you automate the flow of the interaction, but is not required to see results with the COC programs ! Customer information and analysis is helpful but not a requirement for COC to work ! Customer desire should factor heavily in program design. Give customer’s (and prospects) the opportunity to opt-out of communication at each channel Copyright 2002, Taylor-Harkins Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Thank you! Dave Harkins Co-CEO Taylor- Harkins Group [email protected] www.taylorharkins.com

Cindy Tanton Director, Database Marketing Blue Cross Blue Shield of FL [email protected] www.bcbsfl.com