Help-Link was backed by NorthEdge in April 2013. However by early 2015 it was clear the marketing strategy and go to market approach being taken by Help-Link wasn't commercially viable.
A turnaround plan was enacted to stem and reverse the £500k a month loss the business was making, to bring it back to breakeven and then beyond. To make it a saleable asset and find an exit for NorthEdge.
The bulk of the £6m annual loss was directly attributable to the go to market strategy and a £750 cost per acquisition, which on a volume of 10k boilers installed p.a. is a lot!
In May 2016 I joined the turnaround management team with the objective of maintaining the volume of boiler installations but reducing the CPA by £500 to a commercially viable £250; erasing £5m of the £6m loss.
The starting point was applying the ValueLaunch™ Framework.
Help-Link ValueLaunch™ Framework
Insight
The £6m loss needed clear insight to ensure actions made it better not worse, and quickly, as supportive as Northedge are investors there is never an open chequebook for too long on losses of £500k a month.
It was very clear that:
- The TV-led model was ineffective due to reach and lack of budget; it was running on a day time DRTV (direct response TV) model and only talking to a small fraction of the 60k people each month who change their boiler.
- The funnel and customer journey were very wasteful and leaky with only 1 in 20 becoming a lead.
- The channel mix was too narrow and execution of each channel was poor and slow.
- Key roles either didn't exist or were outsourced to agencies.
Help-Link TVC 2016
Strategy
- Prove TV was ineffective and if so remove from the mix, re-basing the CPL, resetting the unit economics
- Make the funnel convert well before pumping volume in, use customer insight to fuel the hypotheses and get proof beofre scaling.
- Broaden the mix with performance channels and take control with key hires to build a dynamic and focused in-house team.
Execution
- TV was quickly removed from the mix following a TV dark test, where the hypothesis was proved that the TV strategy was ineffective and removal would simply lose magin destroying volume.
- A conversion rate optimisation program resulted in 3 huge wins for the business:
- Online Quote more than doubled leads as it gave users the exact thing they were looking for, a price
- Book survey online drove operational efficiencies with up to 15% users booking their own appointments rather than chasing them with a call centre.
- Value segmentation directed effort into the most valuable leads
- Key channels were recruited for and the role brought in-house. Both for existing channels like PPC and for new channels not previously run like eCRM and Organic. The mix became more balanced and run on margin and attribution.
Results
- £250 CPL on 10k boiler installations p.a. achieved by March 2017 (10 months)
- £5m EBITDA added back
- Business acquired by HomeServe August 2017
What people say about us?
Don't just take it from us
Warwick Ley
Investor & Business Leader
“As Marketing Director, Phil has led and delivered an enormous step change for Help-Link in its digital marketing strategy and brand development in an exceptionally quick timeframe. His impact at both a strategic development and execution level has been significant. "
Richard Harrison
CEO at Switch2 Energy Ltd
“Phil is a highly talented marketer, with a deep understanding of how to design & execute an effective marketing strategy. He has an exceptional ability in Digital marketing - probably the best I've witnessed!"
Mark Pegler
Managing Director at ParkVia
“Phil joined us on an interim basis as marketing director, following Mercia Technologies' investment in July 2018. During his time with ParkCloud, Phil brought energy to the team, and helped us to move the business forward. Phil is a strong change agent, who facilitated a clearer vision for our B2C strategy.”