Fulfilling Work
IN PHYSICAL circles, the out-of-control assembly line is a staple. Lucille Ball’s conveyer-belt misadventures represent its high point, and shows ranging from “Saturday Night Live” to “The Simpsons” have used it as well.
In the real world, when there is a foul-up in the works, the potential for mirth is limited.
Insurance DMer Conseco Direct sends out more than 15 million mail pieces a year, including those to people responding to its DRTV ads, cross-sell and upsell pitches to current customers, and follow-ups to both. Components of each piece can vary based on differing state regulations, a consumer’s currently held policies and whether it is for prospecting or cross-selling and upselling.
Filling each envelope correctly and maintaining adequate supplies are critical to the Philadelphia insurer’s success. “We are constantly mailing,” says assistant vice president of advertising operations Wayne Heimbach. “If we mail late, and we are mailing [cross-sell and upsell efforts] to the same individuals…’cannibalize’ is the word that comes to mind.”
As part of Conseco Direct’s program, one of its printing/fulfillment houses-Communication Concepts Inc. in Ivyland, PA-mails two or three solicitations to each potential client, based on the type of inquiry and the prospect’s profile. The 1.2 million mailings (initial responses and follow-ups) sent out annually to TV ad respondents, along with the 14 million upselling and cross-selling pitches to the company’s customer database, use more than a dozen creative packages-and, Heimbach estimates, more than 200 fulfillment variations.
Conseco Direct’s mailings have gone more smoothly since it began using Communication Concepts’ Fulfillment Automated Mailing System. Before doing so, some of the inventory management was done at the end of every direct mail campaign. Requests from its TV ads were fulfilled through a regular series of small mailings, and inventory was taken every six months.
Under the current system, which is accessible online, Heimbach can check component quantities from his desktop computer, allowing him to anticipate a need for specific items based on the company’s mailing history and planned outreach efforts. Before the system was put online, Communication Concepts employees had to do a physical inventory. “It would take days due to the number of components,” Heimbach says.
The online capabilities have also helped with rapid fulfillment procedures. Conseco Direct knows that the responsiveness of a hand-raiser diminishes with time. Under the current system, for example, a respondent captured by a call center after viewing a commercial at 7 o’clock Monday evening is sent to the insurer on Tuesday. The company uploads its prospects to Communication Concepts nightly, so the name is appended with the appropriate package data and shipped to Communication Concepts Wednesday. Once there, the automated mailing system attaches a key code and personalizes a letter, readying it for shipment Thursday.
In setting up its system, Conseco Direct drew up a “variable direction document” which outlines the components for each effort. The firm sends a test file through the system and evaluates the resulting printed material for customizations and package elements. Even after Conseco Direct signs off, it still seeds two tests into its mailings.
