Celebrating Our Customers' Success
During the summer of 2022, Quadient launched a customer recognition program as an internal campaign called “Summer School.” We delivered thousands of badges to Quadient Inspire users who completed certificate programs in Quadient University. We watched as Inspire users were celebrated by their peers, managers, and former colleagues. These likes, shares, emails, comments, and other interactions generated millions of impressions that highlighted the skills, dedication, and commitment to CCM excellence.
The project started in a marketing brainstorm session, as we were looking to shine a spotlight on our customers within their networks, while maintaining momentum in the traditionally quiet period between conference seasons. Since Inspire Days 2020, Radim Šnajdr has been showing me the ins and outs of Quadient University. We noticed that some people posted PDFs of their certificates on social sites. As we looked for ways to make it easier for certified users to share their accomplishments, we learned Libor Nunvar had already evaluated potential customer recognition software vendors for a previous project that did not get implemented. So, we dusted off his RFP and selected BadgeCert as our vendor.
But you can’t just start handing out badges. You must understand the intricacies of the platforms to get the maximum level of attention for the customers. That’s when Michele Otaluka joined the project to create and manage our LinkedIn strategy. She adjusted the releases to avoid peak holiday times, separated the badge releases into waves to ensure every accomplishment got a moment in the spotlight, and maximized the opportunities for meaningful sharing. Michele’s guidance delivered more than triple our initial interaction projections.
With the scope approved and vendor selected, it was time to design badges. That’s where Meriem Mellouli Daouas and Yulia Makeeva clearly understood the assignment. They came up with a variety of design concepts that highlighted the customer’s individual expertise, clearly identified the level of the badge, and attracted attention to the badge earner in the never-ending social media feeds. Their orange (basic,) purple (advanced), and green (special expertise) badges let their colleagues know which skills have been mastered. Quadient’s vibrant badges are quite different, as they are designed to put the focus on the earner and the skill.
While designing badges is important, an unclaimed badge makes the same noise as a tree falling in an uninhabited forest. That’s where Nicole Kaplan brought her expertise by creating email copy and layout for a pre-badge issuance mailing, as well as the badge issuance emails. Her copy must have worked, because we were seeing above-average badge interactions, above 40%.
It’s almost impossible to implement a program without negative consequences. Our professional services partners are a very important group of stakeholders with massive representation in the community of certified Quadient users. Not all of them liked the idea of their amazing people sharing their accomplishments, because highly decorated users can be easy targets for recruiters. We had several discussions with key partners and moved ahead with the program because it highlighted the incredible amount of skill that is present in the Quadient partner community. With this critical decision made, it was about time to hit the “send” button!
Wait! Not so fast…it's unthinkable to send thousands of emails in the age of privacy and compliance. So, we partnered with our IT team and Marketing Operations teams to review the content, security, and structure of the program. We had to approve some IT integrations, review email security, and implement the ongoing automatic delivery of credentials from the Quadient University portal. With that approved, we initiated the program and awarded our first batch.
The program has since passed its initial “summer school” campaign and moved into normal operation. Now, any time an Inspire user earns a certificate, they are automatically emailed their badge, which can immediately be claimed and shared. We added badges for our key partners, which completed Libor’s original project. Next, we are adding badges for our Quadient Accounts Receivable by YayPay certified users.
As we close this blog, consider celebrating, liking, commenting, or sharing badges you encounter (From Quadient or any other source.) It’s a great way to spread skills awareness across your network, reward people for investing in their career, connect your skilled connections with opportunities, and celebrate wins with the people in your network!
