NZ Post courier costs more than its economy parcel service. So how do you get customer buy-in? By making it simpler, and selling piece of mind.
NZ Post faced a challenge.
How do you get customers to send their parcels by NZ Post courier instead of economy mail?
As courier services see huge growth, NZ Post was looking to keep its market share but also improve margins.
Research uncovered two key insights: many customers didn’t realise NZ Post’s economy parcels went through the postal network, and a main motivation to send by courier was emotional – people wanted reassurance their item would be taken care of.
There were a couple of hurdles to overcome.
Firstly, upgrading to courier service cost $2 more. Secondly, courier bags were often stored behind the counter, so customers had to queue to buy the bag, then again to drop it off. And there were different bags for international and domestic services.
So, NZ Post ditched the pre-paid option and moved to a single bag. Consumers selected their service at the counter, giving retail agents the chance to talk about the benefits of courier over economy.
This made “Choose Courier” simpler for customers and retailers.
“We would need everything working together to deliver a result,” says the NZ Post marketing team. And a true live test in three pilot stores showed a simplified customer experience while upselling the courier service.
Communications with customers were careful as NZ Post didn’t want to drive them into the arms of competitors. Frequent senders were given the message that more choices were available.
Retail agents – including small businesses like book shops and pharmacies – also needed to be convinced the new system would grow revenue for them. Webinars and videos were followed up by store visits, mystery shoppers and selling tools. After launch, NZ Post shared courier sales results by store to demonstrate success and encourage others.
The Choose Courier campaign is part of NZ Post’s longer-term strategy to shift from being a parcel business to a courier, and this was its “biggest and boldest move”.
It paid off.
NZ Post increased the proportion of consumers choosing courier services, maintained its market share and made sure customers were happy.
As for the bottom line, NZ Post recorded an increase in Q1 – when it usually records a dip.
Judges’ comments
“This is an entry that really delivered. It demonstrated a great understanding of their objectives and challenges with a clear identification of customer needs and the gap between their needs and current experience.
“The entry clearly articulated the commercial metrics and the positive effect the campaign had on profitability. Posted some impressive results.”
This was first published in the 2024 September-October NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.
