CUSTOMER RESEARCH:
It goes great with bagels.

You know customer loyalty can drive increased profitability. You also know that first you’ve got to know which customers you want to keep. But attracting the right (a.k.a. more profitable) customers in the first place also has to factor into the equation.

By analyzing the characteristics of Einstein Bros^® Bagels’ existing clientele, CCG developed a targeting strategy to address both retention and acquisition goals. Generating an immediate 26 percent lift in response in the process? That was like an extra helping of what Einsteinites like to call “schmear” (a.k.a. cream cheese).

Profiling … Who eats here now?
CCG first matched the name and address information in Einstein’s database (no transactional data was available) to demographic and lifestyle characteristics. In this case, Cohorts^® was used to append a segmentation code to each customer.

Segmentation … Who’s likely to come often?
CCG then identified the top customer segments. “This is where we determine that ‘Victoria’ has a greater propensity to dine at Einstein vs. ‘Buddy and Carole,’” says Sallie Burnett, VP/National Sales – Retail.

Testing … Will Victoria really buy more bagels?
Or do single men in the 23 – 45 age group prove to be hungrier? CCG helped Einstein identify top segments and test them against standard criteria, isolating all variables but the list.

Response analysis … Numbers talk.
Indeed, the top segments had the biggest appetites for Einstein’s menu — translating to a 26 percent greater response from the targeted list than from traditional geographic-based lists.

Mass market targeting … Not an oxymoron.
Einstein already knew what offers and packaging worked best. But one question remained: Which audience? CCG’s data analysis and consulting insight allowed Einstein to better target overall marketing — even newspaper ads, via zones and ZIP codes with the highest concentration of top performers. In its national direct mail promotion, Einstein saved $35,000 by reducing quantities, yet still met response/sales goals.

Next course: Slice & dice for a dozen more.
With the insight and results garnered from CCG’s analysis and consulting thus far, Einstein will start to build frequency and loyalty among the newly identified top customer segments. For starters, the company can use its mail-cost savings to continue testing other campaign elements — and moving customers from trial to repeat-purchase to relationship.