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TCRP Web Document 8: Marketing Transit Services to Business (1998)
Transportation Research Board (TRB)

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211
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Appendix A Summary of Pace's 1997 Marketing Plan and Related Documents Based on the findings of its market research, Pace summarized the characteristics of each market segment, along with opportunities for providing service and obstacles to doing so. This summary, presented as Table A- 1, formed the basis of Pace's detailed marketing, communications, market research, and sales plans. The 1997 Marketing Plan is summarized in the following sections, along with key strategies from the supporting Communications, Market Research, and Sales Plans. 1997 Marketing Plan Pace organized its Marketing Plan around its key target markets, including suburb-to-suburb commuters, suburb-to-city commuters, and city-to-suburb commuters. Suburb-to-Suburb Market Segment Pace established the following goal for this market: Gain 905 additional daily trips by increasing utilization' rates for existing customers, decreasing the defection rate for existing customers, and attracting new customers. Specific strategies for achieving this goal are summarized below. Page A-]

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Al_X A P" A-2 Increase lialzation Rat0$ for Existing customers Pace determined that 10 percent of its customers in taxis market use tile service less than four days per week. Increasing their utilization rates by one day per week would add more titan 2,000 trips per day and more than meet the ~1 Selected strategies for doing so are summarized below. ~ _ ~. . hnpbment new Vaguely strife` passes to take advantage of anticipated new farebox equipment. Pass options could be structured to increase system use. · flow Students to rHe at discount fares at any lime rather than restrict use to weekday scI,oo] trips. This would encourage additional trip-making and would develop a long-tenn customer base. Promote the cost satmg$ associated with riding the ~U$. Infrequent Pace customers may not be considering the true costs of their occasional auto commutes. b$tall more bus $heIters to improve waiting conditions. Infrequent riders may avoid using Pace during inclement weather. nerea$0 [u$tomer Retenden The average customer in this market remains for 64 months. Increasing this rate by only one month would increase Pace's customer base by 964 daily riders. Offer discounts to Ionq-term customers tI,rough the ticket-by-mai} program. Providing discounts to loyal customers can be a cost-effective means of reducing attrition. Promote ~ cost clangs associated with continued use of Pace compared with buying, maintaining, and insuring a car. A large percentage of former Pace users left when they purchased an automobile. · Implement a Guesser satilfacffon n~nitor~s system through an on-board survey. This would allow Pace to identify and address service-related issues quickly. 60nerat0 Hew Riders Population and employment growth in this market is projected to generate 905 new riders per day, which was the basis of the goal for the suburb-to-suburb market.

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Appendix A ~ Offer free trial trbs to new riders. Pace determined that non-users rate Pace lower than customers. A trial ride may change this perception and lead to increased use. ~ Develop a uniform msehanism for employer-based fare subsidies, targeted at large employers in well-served markets. Large employers are generally more willing to consider subsidies if significant service is available and if the benefit can be extended to all employees. · 888 Winch mat I'm promos Thai abBib of Pace service to potential customers along existing routes. Most non-users have no idea wI,ere the routes near their Gnomes actually go. · Imp~nt one new roux in a market that is presently unserved. Using budget savings to introduce new service in a corridor witty high employment density or population density could help gain new riders in a cost-effective way. · increase the number of signs and shelter' along Pace routes. Increasing Pace's visibility can help promote the service among non-users. Suburb-to-Dity Market Segment Pace established the following goal for this market: Gain 439 additional daily trips by regaining eldership lost when CTA eliminated the joint CTA/Pace pass in 1995 and by increasing cusfon~er utilization rates. Specific strategies for achieving this goal are summarized below. 8098. iD$t [u$~:8m~r! Pace lost 13 percent of its daily ridership, or 5,940 passengers, when the CTA/Pace joint $78 monthly pass was eliminated in 1995. Pace believes that its can regain a significant percentage of these riders through better coordination with CTA's current $~8 monthly pass and with the anticipated smart card fare collection system to be implemented this year. · Promos ,9cBJ:lA pass and Link-up as the low-cost way to commute to the city. This strategy would remind former customers that transit is still cheaper than driving. Page AM

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ALA Promote serve connaot~ns to eta and Mama, focusing on travel time savings. Reminding commuters that combined transit travel times are faster titan driving helps to distill negative perceptions of Pace. · Pursue an decagons card fare Do IeciNn system in conjunction with CTA. Since 43 percent of Pace's customers transfer to or from CTA, this will improve service, increase pass sales outlets, and allow more flexibility for developing additional pricing options. · Purdue joint service promotion and subsidy stra~ges v~h Metra. These strategies could shift Metra passengers frown park-and-ride to feeder bus. increase UlDkabon Rams for ~istinq Customers About ~ percent of Pace customers in the suburb-to-city market use the service less than four days per week. By increasing their rate of use by one day per week, Pace could gain 1,058 daily riders. · Promote Best slangs a$soceted with using transit Targeting this message at occasional riders could increase their use of transit. · improve Pace service Nforma~n at Mstra stations. This could encourage Metra users unfamiliar with Pace to try feeder buses or other services. city-to-Suburb Market Segment Pace established the following goal for this market: Gain 342 adclitional daily trips by decreasing tile defection rate for existing customers and attracting new customers. Specific strategies for achieving this goal are summarized below. grease [usIemer letent.ie~ The city-to-suburb market has the shortest customer retention period of all Pace markets, at 53 months. The primary reason for leaving is purchasing an automobile. Increasing the average customer retention period by one month would yield an increase of 330 daily trips. Offer discounts ~ bng!~rm customers through the ticket-by-mai] program. Providing discounts to loyal customers can be a cost-effective means of reducing attrition. Paw A-4

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Appendb A · Dev010p a en form mechanism for employerbas04 fare Pubis, targeted at large employers in well-served markets. Large employers are generally more willing to consider subsidies if significant service is available and the benefit can be extended to all employees. Promote cost sayings, hnag4 saf0H, and environmental Benelux of using Pace, targeting employed African American females. Tunis group of reverse commuters is concerned with image and safety, is price sensitive, and is snore concerned about the environment than are other groups. Promote GO$t savage of b ansn b relalbn to auto ownership (e.g., insurance and maintenance). Stressing the high costs of auto ownership would be designed to encourage current reverse commuters to delay auto purchases. De'0bp more sheltf red waiting area' in high employment suburban areas. Reverse commuters were among the most dissatisfied with shelter availability in the suburbs. Attract New Riders Projected suburban employment growth is expected to generate 342 daily trips to this market, which was the basis for this objective. Promom ~uburbanieb opts that are ~$sble via Pact city residents may not be familiar with Pace service options in relation to specific jobs. · Promos benefits of Pace to Suburban 0mplayers. Employers can infonn city residents about Pace services when they apply for jobs or start work. · Promom general awareness of Pass and specific services to city residents. Only 45 percent of city residents were aware of Pace. · Our Easer ~d new duct reverse commuting service from Inert dragon'. Reverse commuters expressed concerns about safety on the CTA, total travel time, and costs. By eliminating a transfer, introducing direct Pace services in this market could improve trip quality considerably. Communications Plan Pace developed a communications plan to support its marketing goals. Elements ofthe 1997 plan were developed to expand on marketing strategies intended to increase ridership frequency among existing customers, to keep customers longer, and to attract new riders. Pag0 AM

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AI~X A Marketing to eustemers Strategies for reaching commuters in each market segment include the following: Television, radio, and newspaper advertising · Database marketing to current customers (including information on schedule changes and pricing incentives) · Cable access programming Internet marketing Customer information services (including kiosks at key transfer points and information displays on buses) Direct mail flyers included in monthly advertising mailers Joint promotions witty Metra (focusing on suburb-to-city commuters) Printed materials targeting high school and college students making suburb- to-suburb trips, including a student user guide Public relations (including press releases and meetings with editorial boards) Specialized fare promotions, including Ticket-by-Mai} These strategies are targeted at individual commuters in Pace's major markets. Of special interest here are the strategies targeted at particular employers, as summarized in the following section. Marketing to Employers The 1997 Communications Plan shifted the focus for marketing Pace's Vanpoo! Incentive Program from the general public to employers. The plan includes the following elements: Dh~ct mea. Promotional materials would be developed for human resources managers at companies in Chicago and in the suburbs highlighting the advantages of the vanpoo} program. The mailing would include a business reply card that companies could return to receive more information or to request a Pace representative to contact them. · Business publications. Pace would investigate the feasibility of advertising in trade publications targeted at human resources executives and company decision-makers. Pag. AN

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Appease A · Premed materials. Pace would develop a series of printed materials to support employees in their efforts to market vanpoo' services to employers. Printed materials could be targeted to particular audiences. For example, Pace could develop a brochure for employees of specific companies that includes information about Pace as well as specific employer programs. Pace also developed a video for its vanpoo] program that Marketing and Development staff show to employers. Market Researeh Plan Pace makes extensive use of market research activities to support its overall ridership and service goals. Tile goals of the ~ 997 Market Research Plan include the following: · Increase customer satisfaction through the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) program · Support existing services by Terrifying customer needs and increasing customer loyalty C~7 · Focus on growing markets by providing analysis on market segmentation, customer demographics, and shifts in major market segments Support the development of new pricing options from the customers perspective Explore new passenger amenities and improve existing ones. · Identify new market opportunities through further analysis of previous surveys. Although Pace has focused much of its market research efforts on customers, the Market Research staff is available to assess the travel needs of certain companies or markets. For example, in the 1997 plan, staffwill undertake the research necessary to support the Marketing and Development Department's efforts to develop service to O'Hare Airport. Sales Plan The Sales Plan - with its primary target of employers, employment agencies, and job placement organizations - is of particular relevance to this study. The Marketing and Development staff is responsible for implementing the Sales Plan. Specific strategies are targeted to each market segment; key employer- based strategies are highlighted below. PB911 A-7

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A - IBEX A Suburb-to-Suburb Market Segment · Roun`Trip T ckets. Staff will use free round-trip tickets to encourage non- users to try Pace service. Tickets will be distributed through employer promotions, Transit Days, shopping center promotions, and festivals. Pace will track the use of these tickets to gauge the effectiveness of the promotion. · Employer Subset Pass. Pace is developing an employer subsidy pass for testing when new farebox equipment is operational in 1997. · Serv" Promotion. Staff will continue to promote existing fixed-route services to suburban employers. Staff will target individual employers with over 100 employees and business groups, including TMAs and chambers of commerce, to identify opportunities to increase Pace ridership. · NOW Shoves. Staff will work with operations to identify opportunities for new services. · SBrt~c~ [haB98S. Staff will inform employers about anticipated service changes. Suburb-to-lity Market Segment Pass gabs Ousts. Staff will work to increase pass sales locations, including additional corporate sales locations. City-to-Suburb Market Segment p~0y~ S0.s.~.s. Marketing and Development staff will review subsidy opportunities at major employers with a large city-based work force. Relocation Support Sets. Pace will continue to support employers relocating from Chicago or an inner suburb by assessing employee transportation needs and developing proposals for Pace services. · Informabon. Pace will distribute promotional materials to major employers. In addition, a new video entitled Making the Right Moves summarizes Pace's services to relocating employers and will be made available to interested parties. Peg. AD

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Appends A · l~v0rI. EXp~S$ '8rI - $. Pace will review opportunities for subscription services frown tile inner city/inner suburbs to suburban employment locations. Vanpoo' Promotion. Staff will continue to promote the Vanpoo] Incentive Program to the business community. Corporal Shuns Van. Marketing and Development staff will work witI, employers to increase opportunities for shuttle connections between fixed raid stations and suburban work sites. Suppl0mBnt Appinilix A - ~ . -i-;SUb ~, 0~ i 5 ~! Jo' b r6 ~ ; i: ~ - One of limited choices - ~ : Large route network Hi; Auto to bus user potential - ~ - Suburban population and fob growth : Pace controls fares Highest market share Highest share of choice riders Best travel time and convenience Most stable rider base Best service connections Cost advantage over auto Largest captive base Good service connections Access to suburban Jobs Suburban job growth , ~ ;. ,} : : O' a., . -us. -~ Less convenient than auto ;~; :-: Low densities and dispersed ''~ travel patterns No market growth Population decline in inner suburbs CTA fares Less convenient than auto Shortest customer retention Most customers lost to auto purchase CTA fares -Gil :: . Many unserved areas . - Improve operating ;' - ; i. speeds/Reduce travel time --: Employee shortages :g,, :CTA suburban routes : ~ i. Employer relocation O Clean Air Act compliance More direct service to CBD Express bus Vanpools Reverse express and subscription routes Reverse vanpools Improve operating speeds/reduce travel time Improve suburban access/waiting conditions Employee shortages Improve awareness of Pace Employer relocation . ..... . ::: ; Pace considered ineffective Hi; ~ Telecommuting .: Further decentralization of ~1-. ~ population and jobs -:: ~ :~: Employee turnover/relocation . . 1 Further market erosion Declining COD employment Declining inner suburban population |Declining CTA ridership Competition from autos Employee turnoverlrelocation Page AD

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Representative terms from entire chapter:

travel time