is using data to discover and precisely target your most valuable customers

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1 Marketing Forward is using data to discover and precisely target your most valuable customers Boston Proper and Experian Marketing Services combine superior data, analytics and technology to drive profitable customer communications

2 Introduction Boston Proper, a leading direct-to-consumer retailer of women s high-end apparel and accessories, aims to grow online sales; increase response and revenue from offline marketing programs; and extend customer loyalty while driving traffic to its ecommerce site, To reach these goals and deepen customer engagement, Boston Proper leverages Experian Marketing Services Data Management, CheetahMail marketing and Marketing Analytics. Experian s Data Management team helps Boston Proper cleanse and update its customer database and optimize list processing initiatives for more than 52 million catalogs, postcards and other direct-mail communications year-round and, in turn, lower postage costs by 4.4 percent, increase advertising efficiency by 30.4 percent and increase incremental Web/catalog revenue by 20 percent overall. The cleansed and updated customer information is also utilized by Experian CheetahMail. By combining this data with reporting tools to send the most appropriate messages, at the most optimal frequencies, to relevant customer segments, Boston Proper s messages have outperformed those of their industry peers in nearly all areas, with 4.2 times higher average revenue per , high click-through rates of 45 percent and unsubscribe rates no higher than 0.15 percent. Boston Proper uses Experian Marketing Analytics to determine what segments of their customer base are best to target for increased return on investment (ROI). As an added advantage, Boston Proper can seamlessly incorporate these segments into its direct-mail and efforts with Data Management Services and CheetahMail. Using Marketing Analytics predictive models and scoring to drive segmentation initiatives allows Boston Proper to garner a 129 percent above-average response rate from the top 20 percent of names, and a 44 percent higher response from the top 50 percent. Boston Proper s goals Increase direct-mail cost savings Seamlessly align online and offline channels Increase response and revenue Maintain an active and loyal customer base Optimize segmentation for increased customer response Building a success strategy Experian Data Management services: optimizing data for increased deliverability and mailing performance Experian s Data Management team helps Boston Proper cleanse and update its customer database and conduct list processing initiatives for more than 52 million catalogs, postcards and other direct-mail communications year-round. On a weekly basis, Experian matches Boston Proper s new transaction files to the existing database in order to identify new customers and ensure the most current information is used in future marketing communications. The data is aggregated to the customer level for optimal segmentation and prepared for any further data mining Boston Proper may choose to perform. The updated files are also sent to Experian CheetahMail (see next section) for marketing processes and deployment. The Experian Data Management team performs a full suite of list processing services for Boston Proper, including data suppression to limit unwanted records to maximize returns and merge-purge to drive down marketing costs by eliminating duplicate records. Thorough address hygiene and validation processes are also conducted for improved direct-mail deliverability, in turn lowering postage costs by 4.4 percent. Advertising initiatives have also increased in efficiency by 30.4 percent and incremental revenue rose 20 percent overall, providing Boston Proper with a higher budget to put toward the business. Experian CheetahMail s reporting and analytics tools have given us the ability to fine-tune our program based on valuable, real-time data. By testing mailing performance on an ongoing basis, we see how our customers interact with each they receive and adjust our program and content accordingly. Margaret Moraskie, Senior Vice President, Ecommerce, Boston Proper

3 Experian s CheetahMail marketing: deepening customer loyalty and driving online sales with relevant customer communications Showcasing its clothing line with exotic, evocative photography is a true hallmark of the Boston Proper brand that customers have come to expect. To maximize retention and meet these same expectations online, Boston Proper utilizes visually stimulating HTML templates based on strategic or best-practice recommendations from Experian CheetahMail. The designs mirror the imagery on as well as in the retailer s catalog, creating a visual cohesiveness among channels and giving customers a familiar and engaging design to interact with. Building on the weekly customer data files that CheetahMail receives from Experian Data Management, Boston Proper collects information on each customer s response rate and activity to determine which mailing frequencies, offers and message content garners the greatest response from each customer type. Boston Proper uses the segmentation tools in the CheetahMail application to leverage these findings and send the most appropriate messages, at the most optimal frequencies, to each group accordingly. For example, the entire file receives two general catalog announcements per month, and a second per week promoting a top-selling product classification. Finally, customers who interacted with the s in the last 90 days receive a third that is more category-, trend- or productspecific. Experian Marketing Analytics: developing precise segmentation strategies for increased campaign response Boston Proper looks to leverage analytics to target customers who have made purchases more than one year ago based on the deduction that they are familiar with for the brand and, with the right targeting, have a high propensity to make another purchase. To assess and identify Boston Proper s 13-plus customer segments, Experian uses a regression-based model that assigns a value to each of several customer attributes and sums these values to represent the overall value of a prospect. Attributes include last transaction date, largest purchase amount first and average dollars spent in increments of six, 12, 24 and 36 months and more. These sums, or

4 scores, are calculated on all records and ranked into equal segments. As an added advantage, Boston Proper can seamlessly incorporate these segments into its direct-mail and efforts with Data Management Services and CheetahMail. The Marketing Analytics model delivers a true linear progression that allows Boston Proper to choose scored groups of different sizes to best meet the needs of timely marketing initiatives of various scales and gain a higher response rate from the older customer records. In the first month of implementation, the top 20 percent of names (those with the highest scores) had a conversion rate 129 percent above average, and the top 50 percent of names had 44 percent aboveaverage conversions. Results Experian Data Management 20.0% incremental revenue gain 4.4% postage savings 30.4% advertising savings Experian CheetahMail marketing 4.2 times higher revenue per (compared to industry benchmark) 45% click-through rate 0.15% or less unsubscribe rate Experian Marketing Analytics 129% higher conversion rate from top 20% of customers 44% higher conversion rate from top 50% of customers

The Experian advantage By leveraging Experian Marketing Services Data Management, CheetahMail email marketing and Marketing Analytics, Boston Proper has access to proprietary Experian data sources

5 The Experian advantage By leveraging Experian Marketing Services Data Management, CheetahMail marketing and Marketing Analytics, Boston Proper has access to proprietary Experian data sources covering the widest breadth of the consumer population, scalable and advanced technology, and strategic full-service support. Given the long length of the relationship, Boston Proper also benefits from working with a provider that has an unparalleled understanding of its business, schedules and expectations. For more information, please visit Experian has been the partner of choice for Boston Proper, helping to manage our customer database and campaign processing for over 15 years. By leveraging the breadth of Experian Data Management services, we are able to understand our customers buying habits and preferences bringing positive results for our direct channel marketing efforts and revenue year over year. Margaret Moraskie, Senior Vice President, Ecommerce, Boston Proper

6 Experian Marketing Services 955 American Lane Schaumburg, IL Experian Information Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. 05/ CS

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