J. J. Keller drives cyber Monday sales 48% higher with the help of IBM Smarter Commerce.

Established in 1953, J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc. has become the nation’s leader in risk and regulatory management solutions. The company serves nearly 350,000 customers, including more than 90% of the Fortune 1000. Its diverse products and services consist of publications, forms, training, supplies, software, consulting, online management tools, outsourced services and mobile technology.

Business challenge
J. J. Keller helps companies comply with government regulations from federal agencies such as the US Department of Transportation, the US Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Regulations can change rapidly, and J. J. Keller must work fast to provide the most current information, products and services to customers. J. J. Keller knows that acting and adapting quickly to changing regulatory requirements and implementing marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and being a proactive vs. a reactive company is the best way to stay ahead of the competition. However, the company’s e-commerce site didn’t provide the flexibility needed for fast content changes or customized promotions. “We couldn’t make changes on the fly or implement time-sensitive marketing campaigns quickly,” said Adrienne Hartman, Corporate E-Commerce Manager for J. J. Keller. “Instead, we had to rely on the IT team to make changes, which wasn’t an effective use of their time.”

The old site had fundamental usability problems too. “It was slow, crashed frequently, and couldn’t handle the increase in customer traffic,” she continued. “We had to send e-mail campaigns over multiple days so customer response wouldn’t impact site performance. When customers did respond, they sometimes experienced cart deletions or problems during checkout.”

J. J. Keller focused on a single goal: deliver the ultimate customer buying experience. “We are a B2B company, but in many ways we act like a B2C,” Hartman said. “Our customers want B2C functionality, such as intuitive navigation, shopping lists and order history. They also want B2B features like customized landing pages with personalized products and pre-filled checkout information. We felt confident that if we implemented B2B features with B2C usability, an increase in customer satisfaction, average order size and revenue would follow.”

Solution
J. J. Keller redesigned its web site using a Smarter Commerce approach to deliver a robust and differentiated customer experience. IBM WebSphere Commerce provides J. J. Keller with state-of-the art tools to create and manage e-marketing promotions and implement B2B functionality with B2C-like capabilities. “WebSphere Commerce helps us meet the changing needs of our customers,” Hartman explained. “When a windstorm sent trucks careening across highways in California, we placed a marketing campaign online within an hour that featured a pay-per-view training video about driving in strong winds. We never could have been that reactive or responsive with the old web site. We are much more nimble and quick now, and we don’t have to rely on the IT team to make content changes because we have the tools to do it ourselves.”
Hartman said WebSphere Commerce also helps J. J. Keller meet the changing regulatory needs of its customers quickly. “As soon as a government agency releases a statement about an upcoming modification, we immediately publish new content to the site, Tweet, and send e-mails, to customers who are affected.”



J. J. Keller plans to use WebSphere Commerce for mobile and social commerce as well. It includes a cross-channel selling solution that helps companies maintain a more consistent brand experience on any new channel they pursue, including social networks, mobile devices, call centers, stores, kiosks, or through business partners. “J. J. Keller is channel agnostic and our goal is to always be exactly where our customers need us to be,” Hartman added.
J. J. Keller takes customers’ needs and feedback very seriously. Therefore, Hartman and her colleagues use IBM Digital Analytics, to improve and enhance the customer experience. Coremetrics offers rich business capabilities for query, drill-down, analysis and segmentation of customers, providing J. J. Keller with tangible and actionable customer information. “Coremetrics provides the analytics we need to tweak online marketing programs, adjust our search rules and improve overall site navigation,” she said. “The combination of WebSphere Commerce and Digital Analytics has helped us provide a more personalized and productive experience for customers, resulting in an increase in conversion rate, average order size, customer satisfaction and revenue.”

The best example of increased revenue occurred on Cyber Monday in 2011. “We created a simple email that offered 20% off all products, just like ads in the consumer space, and it worked exceptionally well. Cyber Monday sales in 2011 were 48% higher than Cyber Monday sales in 2010 and 66% higher than our daily average in 2011. Not only did we prove that B2B customers are true consumers at heart, we also set a new sales record!”

Key benefits
J. J. Keller utilizes Smarter Commerce to improve integration and efficiencies between customers’ needs and its e-commerce site. WebSphere Commerce and Coremetrics have enabled the company to create a dynamic, personalized shopping experience based on insight gleaned from analyzing customers’ behavior online. After implementing the IBM solutions, J. J. Keller achieved the following increases in 2011 over 2010:
•Revenue: 19%
• Conversion rate: 19%
• Average order size: 5.7%
• Customer satisfaction: 7%

J. J. Keller also celebrated a new sales record on Cyber Monday in 2011:
• Sales were 48% higher than Cyber Monday 2010
• Sales were 66% higher than the daily average in 2011

“WebSphere Commerce and IBM Digital Analytics give us the tools and analysis we need to offer the right promotion to the right customer at the right time.”
— Adrienne Hartman,
Corporate E-Commerce Manager
J. J. Keller & Associates