Since 1976, Jack Henry & Associates has provided information technology systems to financial institutions. More than 30 years of business is quite a feat in an industry known for start-up technology companies that often fail and a significant number of acquisitions. With more than 8,700 financial institution clients nationwide, Jack Henry contributes its success to hard work, focused strategies and a habit of going out of its way to build honest relationships with customers. The company prides itself on doing the right thing, and doing whatever it takes to maintain exceptional levels of customer satisfaction and retention. What began as a vision has become Jack Henry tradition.
Situation
Though Jack Henry already had a stellar reputation among its current clients, the company found that generating new business leads was challenging in its extremely competitive business environment.
An entire year of advertising generated two inbound calls inquiring about Jack Henry’s products and services. Sending out thousands of direct mail pieces yielded minimal responses. The company found trade shows generated some leads but the cost per lead was too high to generate the quantity of leads required by its sales team.
Jack Henry did see results with an in-house telemarketing group but found the level of involvement required to manage the team was excessive. “While they produced solid results, the ongoing maintenance and management of the team was just not a core competency within the marketing department,” said marketing manager Dennis Jones.
SOLUTION
After mediocre results with its in-house telemarketing team and a short-lived relationship with an outside telemarketing firm that demonstrated questionable business practices, Jack Henry found the solution to its marketing dilemma: outsource telemarketing to a proven, integrity-driven business-to-business marketing service provider.
Although somewhat hesitant to outsource due to a previous negative experience with a telemarketing firm, Jack Henry embarked on an extensive evaluation of six telemarketing vendors. The agency they used previously had huge turnover in their account and program level management, leaving Jack Henry in a constant state of training.
It was important to Jack Henry that it found an established agency with proven results. After engaging in a request for proposal and on-site visits with each agency, Jack Henry decided to engage in a pilot program with TeleNet Marketing Solutions.
Not long after beginning the pilot program with TeleNet Marketing, Jack Henry’s concerns of outsourcing soon faded as they quickly saw results of an integrated telemarketing program, often combined with multi-part direct mail campaigns.
RESULTS
Using their multifaceted approach to marketing, TeleNet Marketing gave Jack Henry the results it wanted.
TeleNet Marketing paired Jack Henry’s direct mail campaign with a follow-up telemarketing initiative to pinpoint decision-makers, gain an understanding of prospects’ current situations and pains, and ultimately uncover leads for Jack Henry’s sales team.
Looking at the results of one targeted campaign, a four-part direct mailing to 300 credit unions generated two responses while TeleNet Marketing uncovered 31 leads with their telemarketing follow-up program. Jones credits the 10.3 percent lead rate to both media working together, along with their advertising and trade show presence.
The TeleNet Marketing pilot program has become an annual contract, which Jack Henry has recently doubled. Although typically a lengthy sales cycle, Jack Henry has already “won” multiple deals that TeleNet uncovered during the first several months of their partnership, leading to a significant return on investment.
