Foresters Financial: Welcome Call Campaign

In addition to financial services, Foresters Financial uniquely support their customers as automatic members with a suite of benefits designed to help them, enrich family life and strengthen communities.

Foresters’ altruism and commitment to community improvement is rare within the financial services world and educating members so that they understand and use the benefits on offer is challenging. The benefits package includes:

• Competitive Scholarships
• Legal helpline
• Fun Family events
• Volunteer events
• Community Grants
• Money Advice
• Volunteer leadership.

Members who purchase a product are initially contacted by post after three months, with a welcome pack outlining member benefits. Ongoing contact with members is then delivered by both post and email.

When Foresters met with Chord, they had valid email addresses for around 9% of members in the UK. Given the time and monetary cost involved in member communications, a key priority was to gain consent from a higher proportion of members to receive communications via email and to capture more accurate email addresses.

There was also a need to increase members’ awareness of the unique range of member benefits.

Chord worked with Foresters to adapt a tried and tested approach for contacting 4,800 active members in the first instance, who had purchased a Foresters product more than three months ago, for whom an email address was missing.

There were two clear objectives for the campaign:

1. To capture member email addresses so that regular updates can be sent.
   Target: email addresses captured from at least 50% of members reached.
2. To raise awareness of automatic Foresters membership and that access to complimentary benefits is available.
   Target: speak to 30% of total contact list.

To gain the best possible outcomes, Chord worked methodically through the member list to:

1. Allow up to 3 call attempts to reach each member, leaving tailored voicemails when needed. Evening calling was also used to optimise reach.
2. Speak to members using the agreed call guide, to capture email addresses and make members aware of the unique complimentary member benefits available and record awareness levels.
3. Record the member was happy to receive the call.
4. Call back members who were too busy, having agreed and diarised the call back.
5. Capture additional valuable feedback from conversations with members.
6. Transfer members directly to Foresters Customer Services, as required.
7. Record details of members requesting removal from marketing communications.

• 53% email opt-in / email addresses captured (against a target of 50%)
• 52% members spoken to (against a target of 30%)
• 140 calls per day on average (against a target of 130)

Members were five times more likely to provide an email address than to refuse.

Chord’s cloud-based telemarketing campaign management system ensured that calls were dialled and scheduled as efficiently as possible. Detailed daily and weekly reporting gave Foresters reassurance that the campaign was on track and would achieve the desired outcomes.

As a result, Chord were commissioned to call an additional 11,200 members.