LIMITED TOO GETS HIP TO
CUSTOMER
NEEDS
By Eric Krell, Contributing Writer
Limited Too sells apparel and fashion accessories to "tweens" --
girls between the ages of seven and 14. When the retailer
sought to underpin its direct-mail campaigns, it wanted
to communicate consistently in a way customers preferred.
A combination of tools and enterprise-wide engagement spurred
a recipe for success.
No longer little children, and not
yet teens, tweens are starting to develop their sense of
identity and are anxious to cultivate a sophisticated self-image.
Limited Too has learned a lot about this customer base
and how to communicate with them. There's a need to present
a "cool" or "hip" factor to tweens
and their parents. They are growing up in the Internet
and mobile phone era, and traditional communications strategies
aren't enough. Voice marketing, in which the company calls
a customer with an automated message, provides the speed
and flexibility of e-mail, but with direct mail's personal
touch, says Carol Sweeney, manager of database marketing
for Limited Too Brands.
The specialty retailer tested a voice-marketing tool from
SmartReply in October 2004 (SmartReply competes with CallCommand,
Protus, Stirling Bridge, and ListeNation). Sweeney emphasizes
that the pilot and subsequent campaigns have reinforced
the organization's direct-mail activities, providing a
consistent experience to customers.
Limited Too's mails a "catazine" -- part catalogue,
part magazine -- about six times each year to its customers,
parents who purchase clothing for their daughters. The
voice-marketing pilot reminded 50,000 customers that the
current catazine contained a discount coupon, much like
a dentist's office calling to remind you of an upcoming
appointment.
Focus on MVCs
Customers chosen for the pilot were among the retailer's
most valuable based on several qualifiers, including the
amount they spend, how recently they visited a Limited
Too store, and how frequently they shop there. A recorded
message was distributed between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to reach
the greatest number of answering machines and voice-mail
systems as possible.
The company initially touched only
50,000 customers in the pilot because it was wary of how
the voice messages might be perceived from a privacy perspective.
Those privacy concerns proved unfounded: Less than half
a percent of the pilot customers opted out of the program
(customers who answer the call have the option of clicking
a number to opt out; those who retrieve the voice mail
are given a toll-free opt-out number).
It's not enough to push information through one channel.
Limited Too decided its front-line employees needed to
be involved as well. All store employees in each of its
569 stores are informed of the campaigns so that they can
respond consistently when a customer mentions the call.
Store sales and usage of the catazine coupon increased
as a result of the pilot program. Although Sweeney won't
say to what extent, Limited Too has incorporated SmartReply
messages into its ongoing marketing activities -- the company
distributed a voice message to 3 million customers in mid-May. "We
are constantly testing new ways to use this medium," explains
Sweeney. "We have learned that calling just prior
to a weekend, when the customer will normally be out shopping,
is the best time."
Keeping boundaries in check
The company only contacts customers who have made a purchase
within the past 18 months and who have shared their telephone
numbers. Sweeney and her team target specific customers
based on prior shopping behavior and participation in previous
voice-mail campaigns.
"We take care not to over-use
the medium, so we carefully plan out the contact strategy
over the season so that a customer is not getting a phone
call every week," says Sweeney, who reports that the
Limited Too's voice-marketing opt-out rate has remained
steady at less than 1 percent once the pilot project expanded. "We
are slowly integrating this into our strategy to make sure
we get it right…so far we are pleased with the results."
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| “We target the
messages to fit the customer’s transaction
history. We’ve had tremendous success with
our calling campaigns.” |
— Dianne
Binford, SR.
Director of Consumer-based Marketing
at
Jones Apparel |
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