In early 2004, Brunel Franklin handled just a few hundred leads per month at its claims handling business. The directors recognised the potential to do far more. At this stage, most new business was generated by phone sales and two things were clear to the company's management.

First, if Brunel Franklin was serious about maintaining growth, it would need large numbers of telephone sales staff to handle enquiries and capture customer details. Second, it would be impossible for staff to deal with large volumes of new cases efficiently using existing software applications.

"We realised a major change was required", says Brunel Franklin's Claims Director Ian Allison. "That's where eCatcher came into the picture. We wanted to shift our business to a new model - one where most of our new leads came in via the web. So we used eCatcher to create our online "60 second test".

THE 60 SECOND TEST

This was a breakthrough. The 60 second test encouraged customers to contact Brunel Franklin, instead of the company having to contact them. But why would prospective customers do this? Ian Allison explains:

"We were offering people instant feedback on their chances of making a successful claim. This is very popular with would-be clients and has another spin-off benefit for us. By encouraging customers to enter their details securely online, at a time that suits them, we save our staff from being tied up in the task".

1,600% INCREASE IN REVENUE EACH YEAR

The results speak for themselves. eCatcher has helped Brunel Franklin increase the number of new leads it processes every month from several hundred to tens of thousands.

Now 90% of new leads are generated via the web. Between the first half of 2004 and the same period in 2006, revenues have grown by 1600% per annum while staff numbers have risen by just 250%. Brunel Franklin has moved from being a very small player in its field to market leader.

There have been other benefits too. The user-friendly capabilities of eCatcher allow the company to experiment with its online questionnaire, modifying the test to improve response and adding extra questions to open up new sources of revenue. Managers can also monitor the effectiveness of marketing campaigns closely and divert resources to media offering the lowest cost per lead.


Altogether a more effective and responsive way of doing business.

"eCatcher has enabled us to grow at an exceptional pace."



Ian Allison, Claims Director, Brunel Franklin & Company Limited.