Welcome Program

Why did I graft a Welcome Program on to my Marketing Management System?

Well, there are two reasons.

Recall my Home example from Eddie Bauer? Our analysis showed that Home customers "added on" to a first purchase within a few months of a first Home order. And then ... the Home customer went dormant.

That makes sense ... you don't buy Home products on a monthly basis, do you?

So by combining an Acquisition Program and a Welcome Program, we helped the Home division have the best year in their history at Eddie Bauer way back in 1999.

The idea kind of got away from me for maybe fifteen years. Then I saw the program implemented by a B2B brand. Holy cow!

This company leveraged outbound calls to first time buyers. Special email programs designed only for first-time buyers. Personalization based on the merchandise purchased in a first order. All of this stuff blended together into a tasty bowl of Welcome Program Soup!!!

When I punched client data into my Monthly Response Simulation, I noticed something very interesting:

• Regardless of client, the most impactful timeframe in the development of a customer is in the first three months following a first purchase.

Just like that, my worldview was changed. The Welcome Program became an integral part of my Marketing Management Program.

My Influences, To Date

• Audience = CMO Nordstrom.
• Awareness = Duluth Trading Company.
• Acquisition = Jim Fulton and Eddie Bauer Home.
• Welcome Program = Eddie Bauer Home, B2B Brand With A Great Program.

See how all these diverse topics interact with each other? You graft ideas on to your own Marketing Management System, and before you know it you have your own way of doing things, your own program, your own system. That's what the New Marketing Leader needs to sell to all employees when taking over a marketing department. Then the New Marketing Leader needs to execute well, correct?