Introduction:
The freight delivery industry is highly competitive and speed of delivery is one of the decisive factors that customers consider when choosing a logistics company.
Due to this fact, the transportation company has developed a service of overnight delivery, which guarantees delivery to the destination by 9 am the next day if it is sent before 6 pm.
To promote the new overnight delivery service, we launched an advertising campaign for logistics with the following objectives:
- Increase awareness of the overnight delivery service among unique users.
- Attract new users.
- To increase express delivery market share in selected regions.
Strategy and Implementation:
Approach:
Based on the goals we set, we developed a strategy for advertising in paid channels.
Its essence is to maximize coverage of the target audience among users who are new customers for us.
For regular customers of the transportation company, we decided to broadcast the advertising message through news on the website, the official app and e-newsletters.
Implementation:
Paid Internet Advertising Channels:
We used Contextual Advertising as the main channel. Ads were broadcast to users looking for express delivery of goods. As a supplement, we created an advertising campaign targeting our main competitors in the region.
Note: You should be careful in the wording of your ads, and not use competitors’ brands in your ad headlines. This will avoid legal issues. I recommend reading this article for guidance.
Social media
Social media advertising for a logistics company targeted an audience with an interest in the topic of trucking.
Programmatic Advertising
Performed media advertising purchases through Programmatic Advertising on business and trucking related websites and business news portals.
The audience of loyal customers was excluded from being shown paid ads using the methods described in this article.
Conditionally free channels:
The content department of the transportation company posted news about the terms of the promotion on the official website, app, social networks and messengers.
Email Marketing:
We implemented email marketing for a logistics company with promotional mailings to inform the company’s regular customers about a new express delivery service.
Offline Advertising:
We placed ads on digital billboards in regions participating in the promotion with high traffic to increase awareness of the company’s promotion.
During the advertising campaign, we extracted MAC addresses of users who saw the ads and retargeted them through paid channels.
Issues in Campaign Implementation:
During the implementation of the adopted strategy, we encountered the following problems:
In several areas, production couldn’t meet the required speed of delivery. The company failed to deliver the cargo overnight in 20% of cases, contrary to the target indicator. Customers complained about the mismatch in delivery speed.
Solution:
In the process of analyzing the reasons for the delivery speed discrepancy, we considered several options: such as technical problems, organizational problems, and unforeseen circumstances.
After an internal review, the company identified organizational issues that were successfully resolved within 10 days.
To minimize negativity from dissatisfied customers, the company has developed compensation measures:
- Discount on the next delivery.
- Refund of up to 110% of the funds within 2-7 days.
These measures not only reduced negativity, but also allowed the company to incorporate additional benefits into the terms of the promotion.
Results:
During the advertising campaign period, we managed to achieve a reach of 11 million users with a frequency of 4 impressions per user.
The transportation company received over 6,000 new orders based on tracked associated conversions. This is 10% higher than YoY metrics.
The new user rate calculated by the transportation company in its CRM system was 27.83%, slightly below the planned target of 30%.
The transportation company identified new customers by their taxpayer identification number. If the number was not in the customer database, the client was considered new.
We attributed a slight deviation from the plan for new customers to the fact that the client company holds a leading position in the freight transport market, and a significant portion of users exposed to the advertising had previously used the services of the transportation company.
Our assumptions were also confirmed by the fact that 13% of engaged customers had not placed an order with the transportation company for more than six months. According to this attribute, we categorized them as returned customers.
It should also be taken into account that advertising systems, do not allow you to exclude the audience by taxpayer number. And e-mail addresses and phone numbers of managers are constantly changing due to staff turnover.
Research:
Together with the team of analysts, we conducted research using a combination of online surveys and interviews with customers.
We conducted online surveys before and after the advertising campaign to track changes in awareness of the overnight delivery service.
We conducted selective interviews with customers who used the overnight delivery service.
Research Results:
Awareness of the overnight delivery service among users increased by 11.78%.
Based on survey results, 87% of customers who utilized the overnight delivery service are satisfied with the quality of service and delivery speed.
The visibility of the transportation company’s ads among surveyed users increased by 11.9% compared to the period before the start of the advertising campaign.