Jim Foreman of Staples discussed how the company bridges analytics with campaign execution. Staples generates large amounts of customer data from transactions, surveys, and online behavior. They use exploratory, reactive, and predictive analytics on this data to gain insights. Insights are then applied to outbound and inbound marketing campaigns to improve metrics like reducing customer attrition and increasing online conversion rates. Real-life examples were provided. Foreman emphasized starting with key metrics, testing offers and segments, and continually refining the process to transform data-driven insights into high-performing campaigns.

1. How Staples Bridged
Analytics with Campaign
Execution
Jim Foreman
Director, Circulation & Analytics, Staples, Inc.

2. Agenda
• Company background and structure
• Our Journey from Data to Profit:
Data Analytics Insight Campaigns Profit
• Bridging Analytics with Campaign Execution: Real Life
Examples
• Getting Started in Your Business
• Q&A

3. My Goals
• Everyone stays awake
No Discernable Snoring
Success Metric
• Everyone believes attending this presentation was
time well-spent
Success Metric You leave with at least one idea you can
bring back and execute (or test) in your
own business

4. About Staples
• Staples, Inc. invented the office superstore concept in 1986
• World's largest office products company
• Sales of $25 billion
• Nearly 90,000 associates worldwide
• Over 2,000 office superstores
• #2 E-commerce site trailing only Amazon.com

5. Staples Business Units
Staples
North
American US Retail International
Delivery
Contract Staples.com Catalog

6. No Shortage of Data…
• $10B in Sales (US Retail + .com)
• 24 Million Active Customers (B/C)
• Over 70,000 Unique SKUs
• 220 Million Sales Transactions
• Nearly 1 Billion Transaction Line Items

7. …but still plenty of challenges!
• Budgets
• Lead Time
• Resources
• Complexity
• Campaign Volume
• Analytical Demand
• Insight Generation

8. Primary Goal
Turn this: Into this:

9. How Do We Get There?
$$ Profit $$
Campaigns
Outbound Inbound
Insight
Descriptive Predictive
Analytics
Exploratory Reactive Proactive
Data
Transactional Behavioral Qualitative External

10. Data: Foundation for Success
Customer Data Contacts/Interactions Behavior & Response
Data
• Firmographic • Outbound (PromoHist)
• Web Behavior
• Demographic • Inbound
• Coupons/Offers
• Surveys/Focus Groups
External /
Environmental Transactional Data
Data
DATA • RFM / LTV
• Gov’t / Industry
• Basket Analysis
• 3rd Party
• Net Profit

11. Gain Understanding with Analytics
Analytics
Exploratory Reactive Proactive
• What? When? • Why? • How?
• How many? • Cause/ effect • Future facing
• Relationships • Time-sensitive • Less time-
• Data visualization • Understanding of sensitive
can be very underlying data • Game changing:
helpful critical highest value-add

12. Insight (According to Wikipedia)
• An actionable statement based on a deep
understanding of your target customer’s attitudes,
beliefs, and habits
• Connects at an emotional level with your customer
• Provokes a clear response (This brand understands me!
That is exactly how I feel!)
• Has the power to change customer behavior

13. Applying Insight with Campaigns
• Why blind squirrels are seldom fat
• Why marketing is not like real life
• Why screen size matters

14. The Moral of the Story
• Consistently high campaign performance requires an
ongoing stream of insight, and a way to quickly transform
that insight into an appropriate campaign
Marketing
Automation

15. Example 1: Reducing Attrition
How to get ahead of the attrition curve with appropriate
Issue marketing actions early enough to effectively reduce the
overall rate of attrition?
Predictive Modeling based on Transactional Analysis and
Solution Customer Behavior Profiling

16. Example 2: Browsed/Abandoned
Lower online conversion rates within certain
Issue product categories
Qualitative research, multi-channel customer and
Solution basket analysis, near-real-time campaigns

17. Example 3: Trigger Campaigns
Lower margin and reduced attach rates on baskets
Issue containing certain technology items
Multi-channel attachment and basket analysis,
Solution recurring trigger campaigns

18. Path to Insight: Getting Started
• Identify critical metric(s)
• Decile Analysis
• Differential Customer Profiling
• Test Offers, Segments, Campaigns
• Incremental Analysis
• Refine and retest

19. Once You’re On the Path…
• Refresh Process Annually
• Walk before you run: the better you understand the past,
the better you’ll be able to predict the future
• Think BIG – Marketing Automation software opens up
many new doors

20. One Final Nugget…
The most critical element in improving the
analytical effectiveness of your business:
You!