Sometimes it’s just a little push that can turn a good plan into a great success. For Peoples Telephone Cooperative, that little push came in the form of our Suggestive Marketing feature. The Texas-based company used the feature for a high-speed Internet promotion that delivered results far exceeding expectations.
Suggestive Marketing’s benefits include instant access to talking points, details on available promotions, and other information for each account when it is opened in Customer Master. Information is hard to miss and easy for all associates to use. Another important benefit is that Suggestive Marketing can be configured to display different information based on account criteria. For example, accounts with lower speeds of Internet could have Suggestive Marketing text regarding a promotion for a faster speed.
It was a high-speed Internet promotion where Suggestive Marketing really proved its worth for Peoples. Mcxie Hurst, Peoples’ Marketing Manager, said the company used Suggestive Marketing during a “speed bump” promotion. Customers who agreed to bump their speed to a faster tier of Internet service received a gift card. The plan’s details were outlined for each eligible account within the Suggestive Marketing screen.
The speed bump promotion was a resounding success for Peoples. It was started on the first of August and 156 customers have since taken advantage of the promotion. Hurst said her original goal was 40.
“This was by far the most successful speed bump promo we have done,” she said. “I feel the causes were two-fold. One, was the gift card, which was exciting, but more importantly, the promotion was right in front of our service teams when they had the customer in the office or on the phone.”
By using Suggestive Marketing during customer interactions, Peoples’ associates always knew if the account qualified for the promotion. Additionally, Hurst said they also loaded the direct mail pieces into Customer Master so associates saw exactly what the customers were seeing from a direct mail perspective.
“Having the direct mail pieces available was very helpful for reciting fine print and other policies associated with the promotion,” Hurst said.
While Suggestive Marketing is primarily used by Peoples’ customer service team, she said other departments also have access to the information. The company’s Internet tech support, dispatch and field teams all had customers accept the speed bump promotion.
Going forward, Hurst said Peoples plans to expand its use of Suggestive Marketing. For companies not using Suggestive Marketing, she said it’s definitely something worth trying.
“Don’t be afraid of it. Your team wants to do well at their job and this is an avenue that can help them,” Hurst said. “It is a win, win situation for your service team and management.”