How the Norvado Marketing Team Led Transformation and Increased Margins an Amazing 400 Percent in a Year

After more than 70 years in business, Wisconsin-based Norvado came to a crossroads. To continue to grow their business, they needed to transform from a product-focused company to one that offered subscribers a fully connected lifestyle. Chad Mix, Norvado’s marketing director, remembers selling Norvado leadership on this major shift in company strategy: “They probably thought I was crazy, but I knew transitioning to a managed services business model was absolutely the right direction for our company and our subscribers.”

Norvado made the decision to stop selling routers on a one-off basis and move to a fully managed Wi-Fi service to generate higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and reduce operational costs (OPEX). This transformation required alignment across the entire company—and the Norvado marketing team led the change.

The impact on Norvado’s business has been astounding. In the 12 months after launching Apex Managed WIFI (based on the comprehensive Revenue EDGE platform), they grew the number of subscribers by 80 percent while increasing margins by 400 percent. Additionally, they cut support costs by 30 percent and dramatically reduced unnecessary truck rolls. Here’s how they achieved these amazing results.

• Leveraged behavioral data to create targeted service bundles with 400 percent higher margins. Using data and behavioral insights delivered through Calix Marketing Cloud, the Norvado marketing team created targeted service bundles to meet subscribers’ varying needs, with EDGE Suites such as ProtectIQ™ for network security and ExperienceIQ™ for those subscribers looking for parental controls. The result? Norvado achieved an incredible 99 percent adoption of their Apex Managed WIFI service among new subscribers. And nearly 40 percent selected packages with EDGE Suites, helping Norvado boost their margins to 60 percent—an increase of 400 percent in just 12 months.
• Launched a branded mobile app with self-serve capabilities and saved 30 percent on support. Norvado put the Apex Managed WIFI app (their branded version of CommandIQ®) at the center of the Apex Managed WIFI experience. To ensure company-wide promotion of the app, Norvado marketing delivered training materials and put in place sales incentives. To date, more than 80 percent of Apex Managed WIFI subscribers have adopted the app.

With the app, subscribers can handle tasks that previously required a call to the support desk. They can reset their Wi-Fi passwords or SSID, connect additional devices, or create guest networks for visitors. These rich self-serve capabilities—combined with Calix Support Cloud—have enabled Norvado to dramatically reduce truck rolls, increase operational efficiency, and cut support costs by 30 percent.

Continuing To Evolve and Deliver Greater Value to Subscribers

The Norvado marketing team continues to act as an agent of change. Norvado recently evolved their strategy to offer one residential Wi-Fi package, the “Total Experience Plan,” which includes Apex Protect (ProtectIQ) and Apex Experience (ExperienceIQ). By moving to a single tier, Norvado will extend EDGE Suites to all Apex subscribers, driving ARPU higher. Moreover, they’re simplifying the purchase process for subscribers and delivering greater value with the sticky enhanced services. It’s no wonder Norvado was selected as the winner of the Calix 2021 Innovations in Marketing award.

“Making change of this magnitude can feel like a huge risk and having a partner like Calix that’s truly invested in your success makes all the difference,” said Mix. “Like so many rural service providers, we have a small marketing organization; but, with the combination of innovative solutions, a world-class data engine, and vast go-to-market resources, we’ve been able to achieve results that our bigger competitors would envy.”

Schedule a marketing consult today and learn how marketing can lead business transformation.