LivePerson will begin a business-to-business campaign promoting MOM, or Monitoring Online Movement, a Web-based tool that lets companies identify, monitor and manage contact with consumers in real time while they are on the company's site.
The campaign begins with e-mails May 12, Mother's Day. It continues with print ads later this month or early next month.
LivePerson, New York, is a provider of real-time online communication tools. It works with companies of all sizes.
Publications running the ads have yet to be chosen, but there will be four ads. They were created in-house and center on four images of motherly-type figures telling prospects and customers to install MOM in their online store.
“We will wait to see the level of response we get from the e-mail campaigns and the print ads before we decide whether or not to do a direct mail campaign,” LivePerson CEO Robert Locascio said. “Direct mail is something we have done in the past, and like anything else it has produced mixed results. We have found e-mail to be much more effective.”
One set of e-mails will go to all 3,000 of LivePerson's current customers while another set will target 500,000 prospects compiled from internal prospect lists.
“We have three internal groups that work on targeting our primary markets,” Locascio said. “There is a small business, financial services and call center group.”
Some current customers will receive messages via pop-up windows that will contain information on MOM and a chat-now button, he said.
“Close to 25 percent of our revenue is driven by live person chats,” he said. “So we include a live chat button in all of our e-mails and electronic messaging. On average we get a 15 percent response rate from them, and the number can go as high as 25 percent at times.”
The e-mail to current customers and prospects will describe MOM and its benefits, followed by a call to action. E-mails targeting prospects will go into more detail about real-time communication.
“When targeting the prospects, we will have to get a little more flashy and include more information,” Locascio said. “For them, we have to highlight the benefits of real time and discuss the positive effect it has on conversion rates.”
MOM has a flat-fee licensing cost of $10,000 per month. The campaign cost $500,000, 75 percent of which is for the print ads. Locascio said the goal is 500 customers.
