Speech Summaries

Dennis M. Shockro Vice President, Information Systems The Yankee Candle Company

Design Track: Three Cross-Channel Design Success Stories

Moderator: Bob Chatham, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research

Panelist: Dennis M. Shockro, Vice President, Information Systems, The Yankee Candle Company

Questions And Answers

Q: Can you introduce your company and the various channels it uses?

A: We have four channels: wholesale, retail, Internet, and catalog. In-person it is easy to create a good customer experience because of the fragrance. We had to think of something to do for the Web so we began customizing candles in only a few minutes online, and they can easily engage a representative on the phone if they choose.

Q: Please discuss Yankee Candle’s cross-channel design and implementation.

A: Focus groups play an important role in all design projects. Also, we are continuously monitoring trends, such as visit frequency, cross-channel visits, and abandonment. Everything matters for us, but we put less emphasis on conversion rates. Molecular has been instrumental in providing design functionality and innovations like Flash technology. USinternetworking has provided on-time and on-budget development and service options to us for years.

Q: Please discuss Yankee Candle’s organization in regards to cross-channel.

A: We have three major cross-functional teams: 1) vision and strategy (senior leadership members) develops the ideas; 2) operational planning (technical leaders and leaders across the business units) looks at what the first team has given them; and 3) content execution (site developers) develops the site and works with third-party vendors and customers. There is one person who reports to all three teams. We have many changes to our Web site: four changes/year to the retail site and a major redesign every 14 months, and two changes/year to the wholesale site and a major redesign every 18 to 24 months. Consistency does matter; all channels must represent the brand appropriately and deliver a high level of service. The net impact must be a satisfied customer, a solid brand, and a product sale. There is no question that they believe in investing in the Internet. As for who gets credit for a sale across the various channels, the credit for sale goes to the channel that consummates the final purchase with the customer.