Browser-based and written in HTML5, Self Service works on any PC or tablet and includes a number of features not previously available to online customers and that are already contributing to a significant uplift in revenue for the MNA, says PCS.
Since going live earlier this year, the MNA now have more than 6,000 registered private customers, who have booked 27,000 free adverts and 4,100 paid advert adverts, generating over £61,000 in revenue. Alongside this, more than 230 registered trade customers have booked more than 150 trade adverts generating £7,300. Additional contracts sold on the back of these bookings by the MNA’s internal trade sales team, have generated an additional £7,000.
According to the publishers, key to the user experience is the ability to create classified, semi-display or full display ads through an easy-to-use interface that gently prompts options, upsells and packages but only requests registration or sign-in at the stage when the advertiser wants to confirm their booking.
Says PCS’s Sales Director, Mark Read: “It’s an interesting phenomenon, but it seems that when gently presented with options, customers seem to be more likely to take advantage of upsells because they feel that they’re making the choice, not that they’re being pressured into doing something they don’t want to do.
“The ad creation process means they can choose from a number of intuitively presented designs, they will be offered choices relevant to the ad their placing – make, model, colour, year of car, for instance – and they can see exactly how the ad will look thanks to simple as-it-will-appear preview tools – including choice of fonts and colours – that most people see every day in any word processor.”
Phil Inman, Chief Executive of the Claverley group, owners of the MNA, has been encouraged by the returns on the investment the company has made to date in Self Service.
“These are early days, with Self Service having only just gone live, but so far we have been very pleased by the response from customers, the improved service we have been able to offer them and the revenue generated.
“We are looking forward to seeing the impact the new system has on our fixed contract business and how well the resulting longer-term revenues meet our expectations. So far, the indications are all very encouraging.”
About PCS
PCS says: “PCS is a leading supplier to the UK publishing industry with a comprehensive suite of proven integrated systems. Over 40 years PCS has evolved a comprehensive suite of proven, integrated systems with a tradition of providing leading edge solutions that embrace the latest technologies as well as servicing traditional customers, their customers, partners and stakeholders.”
