Connecting With Indirect Customers

Filling out a lengthy registration or warranty card for a newly bought item and slipping it in the mail can sometimes, well, slip our minds. That's why Toshiba decided to put its product registration and warranty forms online using DataLode's RealConnect Marketing solution. Prior to implementing an online registration system, Toshiba was seeing dismal product and warranty registration numbers, says Tyler Beaty, product manager for mobility services and solutions at Toshiba. "Toshiba ships tens of thousands of notebooks a month," Beaty says. "The only way customers could register their notebooks was by mail, telephone, or the Toshiba Web site. This practice resulted in customer data being compiled in different formats and across multiple databases. Also, due to the disjointed registration process, customer acquisition rates only averaged 20 percent." To solve the problem Toshiba placed DataLode's solution inside every laptop it sells. Customers can now register their PC when they first turn it on. A screen pops up inside Microsoft Windows, and pertinent data like serial numbers and other warranty information is automatically populated in the registration form. Thus, customers are less likely to abandon the process, since they don't have to search for critical data to complete the form. After implementing RealConnect Marketing, Toshiba's registration rates doubled and disparate customer data sources were reduced by 50 percent, Beaty says. Also, the call center now receives customer information within 24 hours of the product purchase. The increased customer information has been invaluable in gaining more insight into who is buying Toshiba products, according to Beaty. But Toshiba hasn't stopped there. The company is also leveraging the RealConnect infrastructure to perform outbound marketing tasks to new customers. When customers register their computers over the Web, Toshiba can now send back to the customer customized offers, like upselling extended warranties and other services that fit the exact product registered. "By providing personalized offers our customers are receiving the best Toshiba service and solution to meet their needs, which has resulted in higher customer satisfaction and a better buying experience," Beaty says. "In addition, by implementing RealConnect we have created a direct sales channel that makes the purchase of products easier and has resulted in increased revenues with higher margins for us." Within one month of using RealConnect, Beaty says, Toshiba upped its warranty sales by 47 percent and increased average sale price by 4 percent. Since the initial rollout of RealConnect was so successful, Beaty says Toshiba will soon be adding the capabilities to other Toshiba products like tablet PCs and network servers. The Payoff Toshiba used DataLode to help solve the problem of low product-registration numbers, disjointed customer data marts, and sluggish extended-warranty sales. The implementation:

doubled product-registration rates

helped centralize customer information (disparate data sources were reduced by 50 percent)

increased warranty sales by 47 percent

increased average product sales price by 4 percent