Whistl Magazine Summer 2016

Whistl Magazine Summer 2016

Whistl magazine Summer 2016

Choice at the checkout wins customers

Interviewwith ChristineKey of Whistl Packets & Parcels

whistl hqmoves driving sales for retailers

in-home sampling REGULATORY UPDATE

whistl HQmoves

Wells Said

There’s nothing like an officemove to reinvigorate the workforce! Walking round the office here in Marlow this morning I felt a real sense of community, productivity and energy. It showedme how effective a refresh can be and the importance of creating vibrant, collaborative spaces to work in. After all happy employees make happy customers! Of course collaboration is at the heart of everything we do here at Whistl. Our recent partnership with Jersey Post demonstrates how productive a close working partnership can be and I’mdelighted to say that we’ve facilitated a new economy service that Jersey Post customers can now benefit from. We’re also seeing great success in Northern Ireland where we’re doubling the capacity of our current operations tomeet demand from the public and private sectors. It’s great news for the Belfast community where we’ll be creating many new jobs. Needless to say investment in our infrastructure is ongoing and critical to the efficiency of our operation. I’mpleased to say we’ve recently taken delivery of 100 brand new Renault trucks to replace part of our current fleet which will be stationed at various Whistl sorting depots across the country. One thing’s certain, we’re not a company that stands still! Where others zag, we zig, constantly innovating, constantly investing, constantly improving our service offering for you.

We’re pleased to tell you that theWhistl teambased at our head office in Marlow has relocated to stylish newpremises at a neighbouring site on Globeside Business Park. We didn’t have far to go! Our brand new head office based at Meridian House is located next door to our previous TNT Post headquarters of ten years. Set on three floors, our funky new offices offer better facilities and have been designed to encourage greater collaboration between staff with flexible desking, meeting pods and social areas for staff to enjoy. Nick Wells Whistl CEO said: “The new office creates an inspiring, vibrant space for us all to work in, and that was our main aim. It reflects Whistl’s positive energy and dynamic culture with engaging areas for our people tomeet, collaborate and share ideas. Plus we’ll be saving a significant amount of money so it’s a win-win all round!” Our new address is Whistl UK Ltd, Meridian House, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 1TB. Pop in for a coffee, we’d love to show you around!

NickWells Chief Executive Whistl

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2016

NEWS

The importance of physical direct mail

56%

of donors think print is the most trustworthy of all communication channels

61%

Charities enjoy higher response fromdirect mail An astonishing 79% of donations for charities come fromdirect mail. In fact the ROI for charity fundraising is staggering - for every £1 spent, £4 in donations are received, according to the Institute of Fundraising’s The Good Fundraising Guide. With 45% of the UK voluntary sector’s total income (£11.8 billion) coming fromdonations, it’s important that charity fundraising efforts continue to rely on themost trusted formof communication – physical direct mail.

of charity advertising budgets are spent on direct mail

79%

of gifts tocharities come fromdirect mail (Source Blackbaud)

72%

of donors like to receive something in the post to honour their support

howpeople respond todirect mail

online donations in response to receivingdirect mail

25%

50% 50% 26% 14% 34% 44%

Millenials (Age 21-35)

Gen X (Age 36-50)

boomers (Age 51-65)

greatest (Age 66+)

keep printed material

search for a brand online

go straight tothebrand’s website

Source: Why direct mail still matters DMA and fast map consumer research

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2016

Packets & Parcels strengthens team

We’re delighted to welcome Steve Vass to our Packets & Parcels management teamas our new Development Director. Steve will continue the development of our carrier management interface and build on our existing relationships with delivery companies to offer new customers themost appropriate solution for their delivery needs.

Steve has worked in the carrier industry for over 20 years, more recently spending six years with MetaPack. He was also Product Development Director at Yodel. Steve said: “This is a great opportunity to work withWhistl to develop its new Packets & Parcels one-platformmulti-carrier solution. For the first time it gives small andmedium sized e-retailers access to the best carrier for the best price without the stress of handling multi-relationships.”

Whistl partners with iForce

Whistlwins MBO Deal of the Year

It was a successful night for us at the annual Thames Valley Deal Awards where we were awarded Deal of the Year in the over £25million transaction category for the 2015management buyout of Whistl fromDutch parent company PostNL Henley-based HMT LLP Partner Ian Barton advisedWhistl during the transaction that completed in October last year. Under the new ownership structureWhistl management have taken an 82.5% shareholding in the business with PostNL retaining a significant minority shareholding. Business Magazine’s Thames Valley Deals Awards are the biggest deals events in the South of England, attracting entries from banks and private equity houses, business advisers, lawyers and other intermediaries.

e-retailers’ customers informed on status with branded communications that are triggered throughout the delivery process. We currently handle over 60million ecommerce items providing tracked and untracked services, support for label printing, manifesting and customer notification. Christine Key, Managing Director of Whistl’s Packets & Parcels division said: “The iForce IRS software has enabled us to provide a single, multi-carrier management tool suitable for both large and small retailers who want a seamless cost-effective way to enhance their delivery activity and ultimately improve the end consumer experience.”

To help us continue to improve our multi-carrier, single-supplier solution we’re pleased to say that we have partnered with iForce, the UK’s fastest growing supply chain business, to develop an Intelligent Routing System (IRS) for our Packets & Parcels service. The bespoke carriage software integrates with all our UK and international delivery partners so that we can process, manage and track deliveries more efficiently – a seamless multi-carrier management solution that can be accessed through one single provider. It enables us to pick upmail, large letters, packet and parcels in one convenient collection plus keep

4 Whistl Magazine • Summer 2016

CUSTOMER FOCUS news

driving sales for retailers

A recent study by Royal Mail revealed that e-retailers are already taking action to boost customer satisfaction and drive sales. Here’s what the study found.

Good returns deliver customer satisfaction and drive sales

Smartphone shopping & price promotions are new factors in online competition

Online marketplaces seen as key to increasing sales

On-time delivery drives customer satisfaction

63% 49%

47%

7 in

10

increase inon-the-move smartphone shopping

online retailers plan to increase the number of channels they sell through

believe a good returns process will make consumers more likely to be more satisfiedwith their service

believe their customers have become more satisfied in the last year

44%

85%

66% 45%

believe price promotions lead shoppers to seek out the best prices

are planning to list on additional online marketplaces

say on-time delivery is the most common factor in drivingcustomer satisfaction. That’s more than the number of SME e-retailerswho consider the quality and price of their products as key drivers of customer satisfaction.

believe it makes consumers more likely toorder in the first place

52%

40%

50%

believe price sensitivity and an increase in the number ofwebsites are the main drivers of competition

of SME online retailers intend to launch their own website

say consumers are more likely to become repeat customers

Findings fromRoyal Mail annual tracker survey

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2016

Packets & Parcels

Providing choice at the checkout is key for SMEs

As competition in the ecommercemarketplace intensifies, many SMEs are looking to encourage repeat business andwinmore customers. Christine Key, Whistl Director of Packets & Parcels, explains howmore choice at the checkout and reliable, on-time delivery plays a pivotal role in keeping customers coming back for more.

It alsomeans they’re better equipped to cope with surges in demand during peak selling periods. Working with an individual carrier that has a limited network capacity may not provide this level of flexibility. Here at Whistl we’re able to adopt a multi-routing approach, selecting the carrier that has the infrastructure to deliver cost-efficiency and on-time, every time performance. Reliability is key. 66% of SME e-retailers identified on-time delivery as more crucial than the quality and price of their products. For a small business without the budget, in-house expertise or staff tomanage delivery, working with amulti-carrier provider is going to be the most cost-effective, hassle-free and efficient means of giving your customers the range of reliable delivery options they need. A recent survey showed that some 66%* of consumers confirmed that they have bought goods fromone retailer in preference to another because the delivery options were more appealing with 49% saying they’d been happy to pay more for a better or more convenient delivery option. Many small e-retailers are now waking up to the fact that delivery is a major factor in the purchase decision-making process. Delivery options are important to consumers so it’s not something that small e-retailers can ignore. Get delivery right and you’ll see more satisfied customers, more sales and more customers coming back for more!

Most customers today expect to be able to choose between multiple delivery options according to the speed, cost and convenience they require. It plays a crucial role in the customer experience and is one of the main influencing factors in customer conversion. For small retailers this does not necessarily mean you have to invest in an expensive logistics infrastructure to compete with the giants. Working in partnership with a multi-carrier provider like Whistl gives you access to a host of leading national and international carriers offering a range of reliable delivery solutions. That’s good news for both you and your customers. It means you can offer more choice at the checkout, helping to increase customer satisfaction and sales conversion rates, whilst your customers can choose the delivery option that most suits them – whether it’s economy, non-urgent delivery or premium time-critical. It all comes down to convenience and allowing customers to choose their preferred way of receiving their purchases at a particular point in time. Here at Whistl we support around 2,000 SMEs with their postal and delivery requirements. Out of the 4 billion items sent through our network every year, over 142 million are sent by SME customers across a range of sectors including retail, entertainment, leisure, charities and financial, and we’re pleased to say that 86% are satisfied or very satisfied in doing business with us! Having access to flexible multi-carrier solutions through one provider has big advantages for the small companies we work with. Managing delivery certainly becomes less of a headache and frees up precious time to focus on core business activities.

For more information about Whistl’s range of national and international Packet & Parcel services, contact your account manager today or visit our website at www.whistl.co.uk

* Delivering Consumer Choice: 2015 State of ecommerce Delivery survey

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Here at Whistl we care just as much about small businesses as big businesses. Here are some of the lovely things that some of our small-but-perfectly-formed customers had to say about us. “Pick-ups are on time and everyone is lovely and helpful”. Lisa Chauhan, Arya Samaj (Vedic Mission) “Very satisfied with your company, communication is very good and professional.” Karen Jones, Panda Motors “ We feel the systemwe have withWhistl works well for us, communication is also very good.” Steve Jones, Raisemore Delivering for small businesses

“Get delivery right and you’ll seemore satisfied customers, more sales andmore customers coming back for more!”

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Whistl Magazine • Summer 2016

Doordrop Media

Can in-home sampling beat the in-store experience?

A staggering 50% of UK adults* say they aremore likely to buy a product if they receive a free sample first, but in a noisy marketplace where somany brands are always competing for attention, what sampling method is more effective: in-store or in-home? Mark Davies, Managing Director of Whistl’s Doordrop Media division explains why there’s no place like home for sampling.

Whether it’s in-store, at a railway station or on the high street, the experiential space is diverse, but if you want to create a morememorable brand experience that resonates with the consumer you needmore than energetic promotional staff to attract attention! After all how can a new clothing detergent randomly handed to a young student on the high street be of immediate use? When will a busy business executive be able tomicrowave the pasta pot given to themon their way to work? Has a busy, harassedmum really got time to stop and savour a new fruit-infused tea when doing the supermarket shop? The one place consumers are likely to have instant access to a washing machine, microwave or kettle is in the home. It’s the perfect environment to engage with your target audience and promote the trial of your brand. This is where in-home sampling fromWhistl proves to be more effective than other sampling methods. By providing consumers with a brand experience in the comfort and privacy of their own homes you aremore likely to trigger a response that results in a purchase in-store or online. Even full size products can be delivered, so you can reduce your production costs and extend the trial period of your product sample. Intelligent targeting techniques built around behavioural insight, known spending habits and customer intelligence all ensure only themost valuable and relevant households are selected, eliminating wastage, improving ROI andmaximising effectiveness. Having tracked results using Electronic Point of Sale software and customer loyalty

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