Marketing Forward is using customer preferences to drive targeted marketing Experian Marketing Services and Bass Pro Shops increase customer response through data-driven marketing Overview Bass Pro Shops is a leading multichannel retailer of outdoor recreation goods and hunting and fishing equipment. They wanted to increase email open rates, ROI and transaction rates, as well as gain a better understanding of the online competitive landscape. Bass Pro Shops was able to meet its goals by utilizing Cheetahmail, QAS and Hitwise to gain the insight they needed to drive targeted marketing campaigns.

1. MArkEtIng FOrWArd
is using customer preferences
to drive targeted marketing
Experian Marketing Services and Bass Pro Shops increase customer
response through data-driven marketing

2. Introduction
Bass Pro Shops is a leading multichannel retailer of outdoor recreation goods and hunting and
fishing equipment. to build targeted marketing programs across its online and brick-and-mortar
customer touch-points, Bass Pro taps into Experian Marketing Services’ CheetahMail email
marketing, QAS address verification and Hitwise competitive intelligence capabilities.
CheetahMail provides strategic guidance throughout all stages of Bass Pro’s robust email program,
which includes sending highly individualized and relevant messaging. through CheetahMail’s
preference center functionality, Bass Pro gives consumers the option to tell them what information
they are most interested in receiving. given that 75 percent of new subscribers use the preference
form to select from interests such as hunting, archery, clothing and electronics, Bass Pro is able to
deliver highly targeted and response-driven emails from the start. All while QAS verifies the entries
and automatically fills in missing address fields, a tactic that can save up to 75 percent of the time
needed to enter a full, valid address.
In addition to utilizing CheetahMail’s rich reporting tools to track campaign performance and
response, Bass Pro also has the ability to compare these results against key competitors through
Hitwise reports, a tool that provides insight on how 10 million U.S. Internet users interact with over
1 million Websites.
Bass Pro Shops’ goals
• Increase email open rates, return on investment (rOI) and transaction rates
• Verify customer information at the point of entry
• gain a better understanding of the online competitive landscape

3. Moving marketing forward
Experian® CheetahMail® email the preference center also is cross Experian® QAS® address
marketing: targeted messaging media focused, and subscribers have verification: data hygiene for
based on consumer preference the option of selecting their preferred precise customer contact
to increase email open rates, return on channel and store location. Bass Pro utilizes QAS Pro Web to
investment (rOI) and transaction rates, verify customers’ addresses entered on
Bass Pro leverages Experian Marketing In addition to building Bass Pro’s its ecommerce Website.
Services’ CheetahMail email marketing. robust preference center, the
CheetahMail account team also In real time, QAS Pro Web
Customers are more willing to interact provides detailed analysis on reporting validates and standardizes the
with and respond to companies that data, allowing Bass Pro to determine addresses against official postal
contact them the way they want to be what campaigns are performing best as authority records.
contacted, with information that caters well as specific elements that
to their individual needs and interests. contribute to conversion and Customers enter an address using
to capture customers’ interests for transactions. Leveraging this type of the software, which then quickly
increased relevancy and engagement, data and working closely with their supplies the deliverable, complete and
Bass Pro’s CheetahMail account team account team, Bass Pro developed and standardized address into Bass Pro’s
created an online preference center implemented a welcome series email existing database application.
form for Bass Pro’s Website, campaign that rendered impressive
www.basspro.com. results and stronger rOI.
When signing up for Bass Pro’s email
Based on testing, Bass pro
program, on average, 75 percent of new By automatically filling in address
determined that the optimal offer for
subscribers use the form to select from fields, QAS Pro can save up to 75
inclusion in the welcome series was
interests such as archery, fishing and percent of the time needed to enter
$10, garnering a 37 percent open
hunting so later they can receive emails a full, valid address.
rate and a 6 percent transaction rate.
targeted to these areas.
“Having accurate contact information is important to the efficiency of our business. By leveraging
Experian Marketing Services’ QAS address verification, we have direct access to comprehensive address
verification and data quality software and services to make sure we can engage our customers reliably, for
maximum impact and increased ROI.” – Todd Jones, Manager of eCommerce Marketing, Bass Pro Shops

4. Experian® Hitwise® competitive the tools also provide Bass Pro with
intelligence: Industry insight for an understanding of the differences “Utilizing Hitwise competitive
competitive advantage between the customers who make
to gain a deep understanding of the purchases on the site and those who
intelligence from Experian
competitive landscape for improved visit without converting to identify Marketing Services, we are able
marketing strategy, Bass Pro leverages additional market segments based on to gain an insightful analysis
Experian Marketing Services’ Hitwise competitive analysis.
of the online landscape and
competitive intelligence.
Bass Pro receives a monthly custom understand what’s happening in
Using My Hitwise, an intuitive tool report from Hitwise that delivers our industry on a daily basis. We
for creating custom categories and the metrics that are most critical to
aggregations for competitive analysis, its business. the reports provide a see trends developing among
Bass Pro can identify Websites they gateway to determining company our competitors and gain a
have designated as online competition. focus on and strategy from a holistic view of our competitive
Bass Pro also leverages Hitwise competitive and industry wide
rankings, Charting, demographics perspective. In relation to its work
landscape in a way that keeps
and Clickstream tools to run a thorough with CheetahMail, Bass Pro can use us ahead of other vendors in our
analysis on these the report to better understand how category and at the very top of
segments and determine where email, as part of its overall connection
www.basspro.com ranks among strategy, has performed against the
our customers’ minds.”
specific competitors; market share the company’s competitors. – Todd Jones, Manager of eCommerce
Marketing, Bass Pro Shops
site gained or lost compared with the
competition daily, weekly and monthly;
and whether marketing, search and
advertising campaigns have a direct
impact on the site’s market share.
through Hitwise, Bass Pro has insight on how 10 million U.S. Internet users
interact with over 1 million Websites.

5. The Experian advantage
Working with Experian Marketing
Services’ email, competitive
intelligence and address verification
capabilities, Bass Pro has seamless
and limitless access to a vast number
of online and offline data resources,
giving the company a 360-degree view
into its customers’ behaviors and
industry trends. Coupling this insight
with the expertise of Experian analysts
and robust digital-marketing platforms,
Bass Pro is poised to grow its business
well into the future.
For more information, please visit
www.experian.com/marketingservices.
Campaign results
Experian CheetahMail Experian QAS Experian Hitwise
Welcome email Average address entry Insights on how 10 million U.S.
• 37 percent open rate time saved: Internet users interact with
• 6 percent transaction rate more than 1 million Websites
• 75 percent
Preference data acquisition:
• 75 percent of new customers

6. Experian Marketing Services
955 American Lane
Schaumburg, IL 60173
1 888 404 6911
www.experian.com/marketingservices
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Experian and the Experian marks used herein are service marks or
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Other product and company names mentioned herein are the property
of their respective owners.
June 2010