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Staples Business Depot: Control Group Kudos
May 17, 2008
Yesterday, I looked at the issue of using control groups to evaluate the impact of any changes to your print marketing. Today, I want to share a terrific example of a marketer who did this well—Staples Business Depot.
Staples Business Depot wanted to explore the possibilities of 1:1 personalization with its loya
lty program customers. It revamped its letters to include personalized incentives, but as part of its careful testing procedure, it kept the appearance of the letter the same. This way, any change in response would be due to the personalized messaging alone.
It sent out 37,500 letters, splitting the mailing in half. Half of the letters were static. Half of the letters were personalized.
The results of the personalization?
- 50% lift in response
- 18% higher average purchase value
- 13% reduction in per-coupon redemption cost
- 37% rise in profit
Staples can be certain of this because of its control group. Otherwise, the influence of other factors would not have been known. Did the timing influence the response? Changes in the economy? Something in the business climate? Impact of seasons? Holidays? Acts of God?
Staples’ smart use of control groups—including its decision to keep the layout and appearance of the personalized letters the same as the static letters—is a best practice all marketers can follow.
Have questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at htollvr@aol.com. For more information on primers for marketers and small businesses on digital, 1:1, and Web-to-print technologies, visit www.digitalprintingreports.com.
Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on May 17, 2008 | Comments (0)
