JML profits from 24/7 sales processing & up-selling.

JML profits from 24/7 sales processing & up-selling.

- Out-of-hours selling gives 15-20% extra sales

- Ventrica supports DRTV campaigns & meets ALL key KPIs

Introduction:

Established for over 25 years JML began in 1986 in John Mills’ basement, but today, it encompasses a workforce of over 300, selling products to more than 80 countries worldwide. JML’s unique combination of innovative screen promotions and TV home advertising continues to be a huge force in driving volume and footfall to its retailers.

JML heavily invests in the sourcing of new promotional products from around the world and spends £14 million every year on being visible through high profile television and off-the-page advertising campaigns with a dedicated shopping channel on Sky. Over 4300 UK and Ireland stores sell JML products and demonstrate them in-store with video screens. JML is headquartered in London and its in-house contact centre is based in Tyneside.

Challenge – Finding a reliable and DTRV experienced outsourcer that could manage overflow and 24/7 sales enquiries

Contact Centre Manager Ellen Fuller says, “We have a long history of using outsourcing to complement our own in-house contact centre to provide over-flow calls and out of hours, 365 days a year. When our original outsourcing partner went into administration, we needed to find an alternative provider with the relevant DRTV experience.”

The Solution – A flexible, professional outsourcer with existing knowledge of how TV ad campaigns work

Ellen Fuller says, “We drew up a final shortlist of two outsourcers, but finally selected Ventrica based on the strength of their DRTV capabilities. We were also impressed with their call centre environment, they were very enthusiastic and the price was right.”

JML provided full system and product training and encouraged Ventrica’s staff to take between 50-60 products home to try out. Ellen explains, “We want our staff to understand and relate to the products that they are selling – this is key in building a rapport with existing and new customers.”

“All our staff are un-scripted and we want conversations to be natural because this really helps in building a long-term customer relationship. Our retention stands at 48% which is reflection of how we communicate and treat our customers. Ventrica took this in their stride and were immediately successful in building a good relationship over the phone as well as selling additional products and services. The feedback from customers has been very positive.”

Why cover for out-of-hours and overflow is so important? – “we would lose up to 20% of our business”

“Without effective cover for out of hours we would lose up to 20% of our business. Although we run the in-house centre from 8 to 8 we still get lots of orders throughout the evening and early morning. Even if we allowed them to leave a message, a nightworker doesn’t want to be called back during the day.” Says Ellen.

“During busy times such as December and January we can expect the total number of out-of-hours and overflow calls to triple, so you are looking at a tremendous amount of business that would remain untapped.”

Not only is Ventrica key in managing calls out-of-hours, they also provide cover during the day, especially when there is a flood of calls in response to TV or off-the-page advertising.

“The great thing about Ventrica is that they are really flexible and can scale up and down according to our needs. So whether it’s a popular TV campaign or we need to rely on them if there is an internal disruption such as a systems upgrade, then we know we can count on them. Every year we have an annual conference that all staff attends so on days like these, Ventrica simply ramps up and takes care of all our enquiries.”

Results - All key KPIs met and Ventrica matches performance of in-house team

Ventrica has met all key KPIs set and equalled the results from JML’s internal staff are:

Products per order
Post Target – selling a ‘priority post service’ for deliveries
Additional Product Warranties on key items
Call lengths
Average order value
Joining JML’s VIP Club (yearly subscription) 34-35% conversion rate achieved

“We are really impressed with the work that Ventrica does and quite amazed by the fact that they’ve been able to match what our in-house staff have been able to achieve. JML has thousands of products and being able to get to grips with these in such a short period of time has been really surprising. We have also been impressed by their ability to up and cross-sell, meeting all of the KPIs we set.”

Summary: “The partnership works really well for both of us” – “the figures have been excellent”

“From the beginning the partnership has worked really well for both of us. We know that we can approach Ventrica with any challenges we may have and they constantly come up with innovative ideas and ways to make the service even better. The figures have been really excellent and we are looking forward to working with Ventrica for a long time to come.”