Operations & Logistics Strategy from the BEHIND THE SCENES eBook - Part 10 of 10

"They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words,' but in our case, a successful DRTV infomercial or short-form is worth a thousand details. In this day and age, where responses to DRTV comesthrough several channels – phone, web, search, social and more – making sure all venues that we use for our clients are set up correctly, allowing us to track correctly and optimize media placements accurately. With real-time and daily data flowing between call centers, web sites, fulfillment houses, our analysts and our clients, the entire operation must be seamless. And that means attention to detail."Lisa Raver, Director of Operations

What areas fall under the umbrella of operations and logistics?

The top-level areas that we are involved in for many clients are:

· Call center

· Fulfillment

· Media

· Paid Search

· Web site

· Ecommerce

· Payment processing

Within each of these are dozens of specific tasks, many of them relating to daily automated activities that we set up and monitor. We also work with numerous technology partners, such as Marin Software, Google and Bing, Core Direct, etc., meaning we need to understand their platforms and how they integrate with ours. For example, when we build microsites for our DRTV clients, the "nitty gritty" we address in operations includes:

· Work with creative in regards to website flow

· Research technology to be used

· Research and propose payment process

· Determine the best avenue to develop site

· Hire contractors to assist with coding

· Manage contractors

· Develop order management process

· Develop returns process

· Site validation (address validation)

· Slice images and develop HTML

· Payment gateway/merchant account setup

· Payment gateway API process

· Develop/code Site

· Develop data feed process and procedures

· ISS configurations

· SSL configurations

· Develop emailing processes, which could including setting up new account via client email server

· Testing QA

· Site troubleshooting/changes/updates

Do you make recommendations to the clients about their web sites in order to have it ready for an onslaught of visitors from DRTV and other tactics we employ?

We evaluate existing sites based on a long list of criteria that we know are important from past experience. It's the same list we use when we build new sites.

Probably the most important aspect of any site, whether for a sale or lead capture, is what we call the "conversion path." These are the step(s) and web page(s) that consumers see in order to complete the transaction. Because we know that online shopping cart abandonment is close to 80%, we address potential causes quickly.

Some issues, such as price and S&H costs are outside our purview, but others we look at closely:

· Clarity of content on pages and instructions

· Placement of "add to cart" buttons

· Number of pages in the conversion path – too many?

· Information in the web form – unnecessary?

· Size of type – too small?

· Missing information

· Information not consistent with the spot or infomercial

We know that consumers are very savvy and they are one click away from abandoning our clients' sites and going elsewhere. That underscores the importance of detail.

You mentioned shopping cart abandonment. What can you learn from client data to help reduce this?

We take a look at the web pages that immediately preceded the abandonment, and then brainstorm to figure out why they left. A pretty common example is abandonment right after the consumer is presented with the S&H cost if that cost is not presented on the product page.

If a lot of consumers abandon on the page that presents the S&H cost for the first time (assuming it is too much), then we discuss that with the client. Since, according to Forrester, excessive S&H costs is the number one reason for abandonment, we almost always address that issue, especially if supported by existing data.

What is our involvement for services that DRTV marketers need, but may not already have, such as call centers, fulfillment and search?

Over the years, we have established relationships with vendors that have proven themselves to us, and we recommend them where appropriate. Many of our clients like the notion of "one stop shopping" so we not only select the vendor, but handle all the tasks associated with getting that vendor live with our client.

This is particularly important due to the real-time nature of DRTV and the web. By having long-term relationships with companies that understand the need to move fast, they accommodate us when changes to the infomercial are made, so that these changes, such as price or offer, are quickly disseminated and acted upon by people who need to make changes at their end.

For example, a price change would need to be communicated to the call center, so they can change their script; the web site manager, so she can update the price on the site; the paid search manager, so he can change the price in search ads, and so on.

Conclusion

Creating a successful DRTV program requires a team of experts as you have seen, each being required to make numerous decisions that impact the project as a whole. In general, the more of these experts that you have under one roof, the better – as so many decisions need to be made in real-time in order to maximize response and conversion.

You can download the entire eBook at any time at: http://BS123.acquirgy.net

Irv Brechner has written over 100 published direct marketing articles and 13 books on a variety of topics. He's been a pioneer in online customer acquisition since 1996 and offline for his 35-year career. He has developed Acquirgy.com's "Customer Acquisition Intel Center" (acquirgy.com/intel ) he evangelizes best-of-breed tactics to help companies acquire customers in the digital age. He can be reached at: irv@acquirgy.com .

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