CEOExpress, a useful links and research site for busy executives, wanted to drive more visitors to become registered users and more registered users to refer friends. Also the site had just won a "Best of the Web" award from Forbes magazine and President Patricia Pomerieau wanted to thank visitors for making this possible. Maureen Maher, VP Corporate Development shared the details with us.
CAMPAIGN
Pomerieau decided to offer visitors the chance to win her favorite "executive toy" -- a stress-buster spinning top. Maher says, "This top has occupied prime real estate on Patricia's desk for a few years. She decided there was no better way to say a heartfelt thank-you than to share with users something she really enjoys. She instinctively knows what our users will respond to -- that's why the site's been so successful." So the team "had some fun" doing a photo shoot of the top in Pomerieau's office and ordered 100 more from the manufacturer.
Next Pomerieau penned a heartfelt "thank you" email to the site's registered users. The note was one page long, mentioned the Forbes award, some of the site's newest features and at the very end said, "As a small token of my personal appreciation I am giving away my absolute favorite Executive Toy to 100 users." The letter didn't say what the toy was, but urged the curious to log on to the site for more details.
Meanwhile an enticing graphic of a wrapped present had been placed on the upper right corner of the site's homepage. Visitors were urged to "click here to win." Registered users could enter to win the top by using a handy form to refer friends to the site, other visitors could enter by becoming registered users.
The entire campaign ran for one short week in mid-October.
RESULTS
Maher says, "You can't even imagine the response, it was overwhelming!" User registrations jumped 45% higher than normal levels during the week, plus 7,827 "tell a friend" forms were sent out -- a massive increase over the site's normal weekly average of 143 forms!
Users also showed their appreciation for the campaign's personal touch. Pomerieau received literally hundreds of unsolicited emails from users praising the site. Some even asking how to invest in the company! Maher says, "Overall the campaign was a big success because it was a great opportunity to make another personal connection with our users."
NOTES: Think "executive tops" are silly? Users didn't. In fact, demand was so high that CEOExpress is connecting users who didn't win the top to the vendor.
