When you’re looking at tools, the more knowledge and data you have, the more it helps you make a quantitative decision, rather than just say that social media is cool.”

1. Vistaprint Case Study
Measuring Positive ROI
from Social Engagement

2. Vistaprint Case Study
Measuring Positive ROI from
Social Engagement
About Vistaprint
Vistaprint is a leading online provider of professional marketing services and printed
products for the home and family. A global company headquartered in Venlo, the
Netherlands, with US operations in Lexington, MA—Vistaprint employs over 2,700
people, operates 24 localized websites, and ships to more than 120 countries around
the world.
Empowering over nine million micro-businesses and consumers annually, they offer
a one-stop option for dozens of customizable, high-quality goods and services, and
they do it all online—from business cards and brochures to invitations, note pads,
and thank you notes. More than delivering a printed product, Vistaprint also supplies
online solutions such as websites, email and postcard marketing, and wearable
options like hats and T-shirts. As it has grown, the company has become a turnkey
marketing solution for micro-businesses looking to stand out from the competition.
The Story of Going Social began with Twitter and about 115 pays off. Their audience was talking, and
outbound conversations in their first about six months into their activities, social
It was time to go social—everyone knew
month. Shortly after that, it jumped up marketing had become an active component
that—but taking the plunge and doing it
to 500 interactions, and by July 2009 the of Vistaprint’s go-to-market mix—not just for
right, that was another thing entirely. For
team was surpassing 1,000 interactions promotion, but for support as well.
Vistaprint it took a forcing factor. Their
a month. Right away they discovered a
public relations manager, Jeff Esposito,
passionate online customer base that They needed the right tools for the job
said his boss at the time tossed him
wanted to connect with Vistaprint. With and metrics to understand exactly what
Stephen Baker’s May 2008 Business
customers asking to be involved, the team conversation was going on. So the Vistaprint
Week cover story, “Beyond Blog,” with the
knew they needed to start monitoring and team went looking for a new social media
instructions to: Figure it out.
measuring the conversation. monitoring solution.
“We started out very small, we didn’t
Vistaprint didn’t just listen, “We chose a social media monitoring
know what we were getting ourselves
they answered. solution when we started,” says Esposito. “As
into,” says Esposito. “Our idea was to use
our strategy evolved, it became clear that it
social for reputation management. Little
didn’t meet the measurement requirements
did we know at the time, but it’s turned
Early Success: How Customer that our team was looking for. When we
into a lot more.”
looked at the offerings out there, Lithium’s
Conversations Made Dollars…
Social Media Monitoring solution was the
Starting with the basics, the team drew and Sense perfect tool for us. The features were just
up a game plan for their community
Vistaprint has over 35,000 Facebook fans what we needed and the tool’s flexibility let
engagement and listened for a few
today, but what matters at the end of the our whole team access that critical data.”
months before getting involved. They
quarter is how their investment in social
1

3. Vistaprint Case Study
Measuring Positive ROI from
Social Engagement
When you understand the social conversation
and how to engage with it correctly, when you can
measure the outcomes, you can directly impact
your bottom line.
Jeff Esposito
Manager PR & Social Media, Vistaprint
Looking at the bottom line, Vistaprint social networks in revenue. The majority better tools to measure the competitive
started to correlate their social of that came through Twitter. It’s very landscape. “When we made the switch
conversations and responses to the simple: the more you converse in a to Lithium’s SMM product we gained the
sales funnel, and started to measure helpful, open and transparent manner, ability to look at our numbers compared
what some people believe isn’t possible: the more money comes in.” to our competitors. It gave us a look at
revenue from social. what really moves the needle across the
Once the team was comfortable with competitive landscape.”
“When you look at the conversation the nuances of Twitter and how the
coming in, there’s a mix of product engagement played into their daily Vistaprint started to track how specific
development, of real-time feedback and workflow, they expanded and scaled promotions affected online activity and
user experience.” It was easy to track to another social network—bringing how conversations drove sales and repeat
conversations to direct points of purchase Facebook into the mix. purchases. Suddenly the team could spot
online. And, just by knowing who was emergent trends right away, and see
saying what—and then reaching out to what worked and what didn’t. If there was
them—the team could start to turn some a serious problem, they had the tools to
The Right Tools:
of our frustrated customers into some of identify and pass the intelligence to the
the biggest advocates.
Competitors, a Tropical Storm, appropriate teams. Just by knowing who
and the Human Element was saying what—and then reaching out
“As a company that measures everything, Vistaprint had wanted to formalize the to them, as human beings—they could
tracking engagement back to revenues is way they understood social and tie their turn frustrated customers into some of
something that we were doing from day commerce transactions to their social their biggest advocates.
one,” says Esposito. “When we look back data. For months the team had been
to 2009, that first calendar year when we looking at their numbers in a vacuum: Tropical Storm Nicole made those
started, we brought in over $30,000 on just the Vistaprint activity. They needed benefits perfectly clear.
2

4. Vistaprint Case Study
Measuring Positive ROI from
Social Engagement
Vistaprint’s Engagement Checklist
Know in real time how you—and your Give customers real-time support Enhance your customers’
competitors—are faring and feedback experience and knowledge
Find and motivate your superfans Turn frustrated customers into your Find the right tools for the job
biggest advocates
Build and maintain your online
reputation Get feedback affecting product issues For more information about
and development Vistaprint, visit: vistaprint.com
Track online sales
Quickly discover—and be able to
Track how promotions drive activity
address—important product issues
and how interactions drive purchases
and trends
and repeat sales
Vistaprint’s English-speaking customer reason for closure to our customers. It “We could actually see what was being
service center is located in Montego Bay, got to the point to where people didn’t said if someone was not happy with us,
Jamaica. When Tropical Storm Nicole mind waiting for some of those answers.” how many conversations it would take
blew through in October 2010, their call to turn them to a positive. Or, how many
center had to be closed for the safety of follow-ups does it take? How many
employees. Right away they saw a giant conversations translate to sales?...
The Bottom Line:
spike in the social media space: people When you’re looking at tools, the more
were talking about their orders. Esposito
Results That Matter knowledge and data you have, the more
explained, “We said, ‘Hey guys, we’re “What we’re seeing,” says Esposito, it helps you make a quantitative decision,
going to try to get to these as fast as we “is that the more you talk, the more rather than just say that social media
can, but our customer service is down everything grows, whether it’s the overall is cool.”
right now because of Tropical Strom volume of conversations or the bookings.
Nicole. We’ll post more information as The more you’re active, the more active
we get it’. We posted that initial message the whole ecosystem is overall.”
About Lithium
along with periodic updates on Twitter
and Facebook – and the result was an Because for Vistaprint—for any Your customers are everywhere. Lithium
outpouring of positive responses.” company—it’s ultimately about seeing helps you find your social customers,
the dollars and cents. By the second year, understand their influence, and build
Customers who’d been angry about the team had the tools to correlate their lasting relationships. For market leaders
the delay saw the human side of the activity in the social platforms with their such as Best Buy, AT&T, Research In
company. They knew there were real reputation and their bottom line. Motion Limited (RIM), Univision, and
people working there and real people PayPal, Lithium is the leading provider
affected by a natural disaster. “The of social customer solutions that deliver
human element helped us transmit the real business results.
Lithium
lithium.com | 6121 Hollis Street, Suite 4, Emeryville, CA 94608 | tel 510.653.6800 | fax 510.653.6801
© 2011 Lithium Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3