Why One Test Triggered a 180 Turn in How All Whirlpool Brands - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Why One Test Triggered a 180  Turn in How All Whirlpool Brands Direct Market to Consumers Thomas s Mender Ben Benjamin Huppertz Sr. Manager, Database Marketing Sr. Research Manager Whirlpool MECLABS

Session Speaker Thomas Mender Senior Manager, Database Marketing Whirlpool Black & White Headshot Thomas has more than 20 years of experience in development and implementation of data warehouses, turn-key applications and business intelligence solutions for a variety of industries. Currently, he heads the database marketing team at Whirlpool and @TomMender manages multichannel direct marketing across multiple brands and business units. Mender is a graduate of Purdue University and is also an Oracle Data Warehouse Certified Professional. 2

About Whirlpool • World’s leading global Home Appliance Manufacturer • $19 billion annual sales in 2013 • 69,000 employees • Total of 90 million emails sent • Rank #154 Fortune 500 company

Customer Retention Attract Prospects • 14 internal clients Engage Prospects • 5 Brands Convert New Customers • Retain those consumers Grow High-Value Customers post-purchase Retain At-Risk Customers • Keep them engaged Win Back Former Customers • Keep their consideration

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 3.00% 2.50% 2.00% Clickthrough Rate 1.50% 1.00% Opt-Outs 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 3.00% 2.50% 2.00% Clickthrough Rate 1.50% 1.00% Opt-Outs 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 3.00% 2.50% 2.00% We faced a challenge, so … Clickthrough Rate 1.50% 1.00% Opt-Outs 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011

Email Summit 2013

Whirlpool’s transformation Challenge the current model Change the current model Reaching new heights

Previous process Agency builds creative 10

Previous process Marketing team Agency builds approves creative 11

Previous process Marketing team Creatives are Agency builds approves published creative 12

Testing: Calls-to-action Experiment ID: Summit Experiment – Calls-to-Action Location: Whirlpool Testing Library Campaign Focus: Ice email campaign Res esea earch N otes: Bac Background: Applying what was learned about minimizing CTAs in email sends at Email Summit 2013. Ob Objective: To achieve a higher clickthrough rate. Prim rimary ry Res esearch Qu Question: Will having a single CTA be more effective than multiple CTAs? Tes est t Des Desig ign: Single variable A/B split test 13

Testing: Calls-to-action Control • Primary goal of the campaign is to promote one-time promotional email ($400 off) • Recipients: Total of 700k of current customers • Hand-raisers • Recent purchasers (≤5 years) • Old purchasers (>5 years) • Current Ice product owners

Control email Bottom Top

Testing: Calls-to-action Control Treatment CTA CTA

Results: Testing calls-to-action 42% Increase in clickthrough rate Treatment increased CTR for each of the segments below. Hand- Purchasers Purchasers Current Ice Calls-to-action tested Avg. raisers ( ≤ 5 years) (> 5 years) owners Control 1.23% 0.35% 0.40% 2.77% 1.19% Treatment 1.55% 0.54% 0.57% 4.34% 1.75% Relative Difference +26% +53% +43% +57% +42%

! What the data tells us Even subtle changes can have a huge impact on customer behavior Presenting customers with a single objective increased engagement The results proved increased effectiveness across all segments

Whirlpool’s transformation Challenge the current model Change the current model Reaching new heights

Previous process Agency creates Marketing team Email is sent to email approves customers 20

Current process Creating test ideas - collaborate 21

Current process Creating test ideas - collaborate Agency builds creatives 22

Current process Marketing team approves creatives Creating test ideas - collaborate Agency builds creatives 23

Current process Test is launched Marketing team approves creatives Creating test ideas - collaborate Agency builds creatives 24

Current process Data collection Test is launched Marketing team approves creatives Creating test ideas - collaborate Agency builds creatives 25

Current process Data collection Test is launched Building customer profile Marketing team approves creatives Creating test ideas - collaborate Agency builds creatives 26

Whirlpool testing roadmap BACKGROUND Whirlpool brand wishes to use one-to-one marketing to drive sales of its Ice product line via a rebate offer located on a landing page. GOALS 1 Maxi ximize ema email op open rate – get consumers “in the door” 2 Und nderstand da database segm egment pe performance – (A) intenders, (B) owners of an Ice product, (C) owners of a newer product and (D) owners of an aging product Und nderstand wha hat trigg iggers s CTA en engagement 3 1 2 3

Whirlpool testing roadmap

The inverted funnel • Customers are not “falling” into your funnel, they are “climbing” up. • Every micro-decision is a place to test. • Every channel • Every touch point in each channel

Subject line testing A Doing Laundry Just Got Loads Easier B Perfect Laundry is Now Perfectly Simple C Download This App: Lighten Your Laundry Load D 3 Great Ways to Lighten Your Laundry Load

Subject line testing A Doing Laundry Just Got Loads Easier 13.30% B Perfect Laundry is Now Perfectly Simple 17.07% C Download This App: Lighten Your Laundry Load 17.93% D 3 Great Ways to Lighten Your Laundry Load 14.47%

Subject line testing A Want to Make Doing Laundry Loads Easier? Creative A B Introducing an App That Makes Laundry Fun. Seriously! C Conquer Laundry: Enlist the WashSquad A Doing Laundry Just Got Loads Easier Creative B B Perfect Laundry is Now Perfectly Simple C Download This App: Lighten Your Laundry Load D 3 Great Ways to Lighten Your Laundry Load

Subject line testing A Want to Make Doing Laundry Loads Easier? Creative A B Introducing an App That Makes Laundry Fun. Seriously! Action-oriented subject C Conquer Laundry: Enlist the WashSquad lines got higher open rates A Doing Laundry Just Got Loads Easier Creative B B Perfect Laundry is Now Perfectly Simple C Download This App: Lighten Your Laundry Load D 3 Great Ways to Lighten Your Laundry Load

Value proposition testing Version B: Version A: Lifestyle Application theme theme FREE DOWNLOAD CTA drives users directly to Apple Store for download – minimize number of clicks

Value proposition testing 15.3% Increase in clickthrough rate *Tuesday deployment generated 19.2% more unique opens than Wednesday

Value proposition testing A lifestyle theme got higher Increase in clickthrough rate open rates *Tuesday deployment generated 19.2% more unique opens than Wednesday

Value proposition testing Version A: Version B: Treatment Control TESTING USER- GENERATED CONTENT FROM RATINGS AND REVIEWS

Value proposition testing 151% Increase in relative difference in intenders Significantly higher than other segments Value prop testing CTR Relative difference Intenders 0.64% 151.04% Old refers 0.27% 26.05% All general 0.39% -10.51% What You Need to Understand: Customer reviews added a ! significant increase for intentional buyers but not across all segments

Whirlpool’s transformation Challenge the current model Change the current model Reaching new heights

Whirlpool testing impact 42% CTR

Whirlpool testing impact 15.3% 42% CTR CTR

Whirlpool testing impact 15.3% 42% CTR CTR 15% Open Rate

Whirlpool testing impact 15.3% 151% 42% CTR CTR CTR 15% Open Rate

Whirlpool testing impact 30% 15.3% 151% 42% CTR CTR CTR CTR 15% Open Rate

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 5.00% 4.50% 4.00% 3.50% 3.00% 2.50% Clickthrough Rate 2.00% 1.50% Opt-Outs 1.00% 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 5.00% 4.50% 4.00% 3.50% 3.00% 2.50% Clickthrough Rate 2.00% 1.50% Opt-Outs 1.00% 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Before Testing: Clickthrough vs. opt-out rates 5.00% 4.50% 4.00% 3.50% 3.00% Small changes, BIG impact 2.50% Clickthrough Rate 2.00% 1.50% Opt-Outs 1.00% 0.50% 0.00% 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Whirlpool’s Testing Dashboard • Whirlpool’s Dashboard provides at at-a-glance result lts • Sa Saves tim time an and effort for more testing • Giv Gives cr credit where it’s due

“This was one small step for a man, one giant leap for Whirlpool.”

Key takeaways Even small changes can make a big difference It’s not all about the numbers – it’s about the culture Let consumers make the decisions 50

Thank You Thomas Mender Black & White Senior Manager, Database Marketing Headshot Whirlpool @TomMender Benjamin Huppertz Senior Research Manager Black & White MECLABS Headshot