Brief

First Capital Connect needed a website that would reflect their customer-centric brand positioning of 'Your Journey, Your Choice, Your Railway' and play a stronger role in communicating with their customers.

The website had to speak directly to the needs of their different customer audiences in order to be effective and deliver business value. The key business objectives for the new site were to: 

• Increase customer satisfaction
• Increase revenue from off-peak sales
• Increase revenue share on competitive airport routes
• Effectively communicate brand values and deliver on brand promise

Strategy & execution

The key concept for the project was to help First Capital Connect establish a dialogue with customers. The site was structured around the provision of customised content for the three key segments - commuters, leisure travelers and business travelers, and the visual design focused on supporting this. When visiting the site, users explicitly select which segment they belong to and content and key service information is tailored to their specific needs. 

Beyond this, our approach recommended extending the customer relationship through:

• regular, targeted email contact
• encouraging participation in consultations and surveys
• the use of a highly personal tone, language and imagery
• online acquisition (SEO, affiliate marketing)

We provided the full end-to-end design and build for the website, including integration with online ticketing and live information feeds, and a sophisticated content management system that enables administrators to update all areas of the site.

Results

The resulting site engaged with visitors in way that few other train operating companies in the UK have achieved. Through targeted content and applications, users can quickly gain access to the information and tools most relevant to their needs. Promotions can also target specific customer segments in order to generate increased off-peak and airport route travel. Customer feedback has been very positive.

As of December 2008, online ticket sales for First Capital Connect had grown over 500% since the website launched in April 2007.

First Capital Connect now has a website that is the envy of its competitors - we are proud of the role we have played in realising this vision.