THE CHALLENGE
Prospective drivers would idle out of the signing up process and our triggered emails were not engaging enough, or informative enough to interest them to finish their application. We needed to figure out a way to communicate why delivering with Grubhub is a great opportunity in order to motivate drivers back into the funnel and finish their application.
THE GOAL
We needed to incentivize idle drivers to re-enter the funnel by creating an engaging, informational & fun stream of emails at different touch-points to increase conversion. This would allow us to re-engage a significant amount of drivers that are already in the funnel which could help us limit the time, money & effort spent on sourcing new leads.
INSIGHTS
•As of Jan. 2017, Only ~20% of driver leads are contracted.
•Only 16% of drivers complete the application.
•Stages with the highest drop-off are Set Up Profile & Direct Deposit. At these stages, drivers need to upload screenshots of their driver’s license and a personal check, so the extra steps deter them.
•Drivers are not inclined to open emails once they start losing interest.
•Email open rates between 38-49%.
•The majority of our potential drivers are males in the range of 20-30 years old.
SOLUTION
I wanted this stream of emails to be informative as well as visually intriguing and appealing. This way, the reader can be drawn into reading the value props as well and click on the CTA. I knew that the majority of applicants would be receiving one or multiple emails at some point of the process. I wanted each email to be different, but also for them to have an overarching theme.
Keeping in mind that the majority of drivers were male and between the ages of 20-30, I thought about what piques their interest. That's when I thought that having a "video-game" concept would be a good solution. I wanted each email to be reminiscent of a video game and to point out different value props. Keeping in mind that because we were talking about their livelihood, I had to make sure that the messaging was encouraging, and that it had a good balance of seriousness, and fun.
Along with the copywriter and animator, we made a stream of 17 emails to be sent each time the applicant became idle. We also added a module underneath the CTA listing which item they needed readily available to complete the form. For the Direct Deposit stage (highest drop-off rate) I included an image of the check indicating where they could find the routing and account number.
RESULTS
Since its initial launch, we saw the number of driver sign-up completion go up substantially. It went from 16% to 27% in the first quarter. After 12 months, the driver fleet doubled, and as a result, we spent less on sourcing new leads while also expanding our overall delivery reach.
OBSTACLES
I wanted the concept to not just be part of the emails, but for the theme to continue throughout the sign-up page. We were unable to work alongside the third-party agency who was involved in the signing-up landing pages portion. Which meant there was a disconnect between our communication and where we were sending the applicant to. In the future, I would love to find a way to incorporate the theme all across all touch points.
