Data-driven strategies have become a requirement for businesses across sectors to engage customers. For companies operating across markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, the challenge heightens. To meet the customers’ needs for personalisation and seamless interaction, traditional methods may be insufficient.
FedEx, a transportation, e-commerce, and business services provider, has found its traditional customer segmentation based on last shipment data ineffective to personalise experiences for its customers, lacking nuances in the approach.
Although its ‘Always On’ campaigns have long been rolling out monthly in APAC to address all customer lifecycle (CLC) stages, the company sees the need to boost its strategy to continue engaging its customers.
This case study digs deeper into FedEx’s strategy to engage its customers from initial acquisition to long-term retention and reactivation through tailored campaigns.
The Challenge
Prior to having CLC models, companies like FedEx may rely on last shipment data for customer engagement. However, this has proven ineffective due to the lack of granularity in segmenting customers. FedEx needs extensive data sources to gain various dimensions that affect customer engagement, navigating the challenge of personalisation for different audiences in the vast market.
Additionally, FedEx found limitations in its initial set of CLC campaigns in 2021 with its previous email platform provider, which were static with fixed email sequences triggered by events. These campaigns also took significant time and effort from the email team when setting them up quarterly.
The Objectives
With the aim of addressing the CLC stages, FedEx’s objectives cover the entire cycle with the ‘Always On’ campaign’s nurture, grow or retain, and reactivation phases. Specifically, the company aims to acquire new customers, grow its active customers’ ‘share-of-wallet’, and win back its lapsed customers and revenue.
The Solution
With its need for scalability, automation, and personalisation, FedEx collaborated with Salesforce professional services to develop multiple CLC campaigns targeting various segments. Each customer segment, including prospects, new joiners, active and dormant customers received tailored email journeys. Through different campaigns, FedEx’s objectives of converting leads, engaging new customers, and reactivating lapsed ones were addressed. The campaigns also used English and local languages to cater to 14 APAC markets and ensure cultural relevance.
Additionally, it also allowed the FedEx team to build and manage campaigns in-house, upskilling its marketing operations team for future campaign automation. The team conducted internal testing, developed reusable templates, and automated the customer registration process.
To further reduce its reliance on external support, FedEx worked on building, testing, and deploying its emails for customers using an Excel template. A self-service platform, also created by the marketing operations team, turns the file into an email and sends it to customers once campaign owners are satisfied with it.
Furthermore, they created a self-service platform that enables non-technical campaign owners to build and deploy emails using Excel, eliminating the need for complex technical skills and Salesforce expertise. This solution has been implemented in various APAC markets, leading to campaign efficiency.
The Results
Through the new strategy, FedEx’s campaigns across the CLC stages led to a growing customer base and revenue. It also significantly saved the company’s hours by 60% to 80%, with the automated campaign needing only a one-time set-up, ready to be sent to different customer groups. The strategy also allowed for scalability and flexibility, leading to improved customer engagement.