For decades, Honey Baked Ham has been synonymous with special occasions. They enhance their bone-in smoked hams with a signature sweet, crunchy glaze to create easy-to-serve centerpieces for holiday gatherings.

The Honey Baked Ham Company has been devoted to its customers since they began selling their specially-prepared hams in 1957. They know that they have a special place in the hearts and homes of its customers—in many cases, they’re an annual tradition. So it’s important for them to honor that tradition by giving their customers the best service they possibly can. And with 700,000 hams shipping a year, perfecting the post-purchase experience is a big undertaking.

Hungry for more delivery detail.

Honey Baked Ham is in the business of shipping perishable, occasion-driven food items, which means that they have to treat their packages with extra care. Each ham is sent via 2-day shipping to ensure that their hams remain as delicious as the day they were prepared.

But customers didn’t have adequate visibility into when their packages would show up. “People didn’t know when they would arrive, which meant the hams were delivered without much awareness,” says Ash-Marie Duvernois, Director of eCommerce Operations for The Honey Baked Ham Company. “They’re packed cold so they stay fresh, but even so, people are eager to receive their order since the majority arrive as a gift for a special occasion.”

It was a recipe for frustrated customers—not at all the kind of recipe Honey Baked Ham wanted to be known for.

The problem was that that tracking information was coming from the carrier, and not from Honey Baked Ham itself, which caused a disconnect for consumers. “The carrier would send the tracking emails to customers, which were heavily branded for them, and not at all a Honey Baked Ham brand experience,” says Duvernois.

“We had a lot of challenges communicating delivery scenarios to our customers because the information didn’t come directly from us. People would ignore the email because it was from the carrier and were always emailing and calling us to ask, ‘Where’s our delivery information? We don’t see an email from you.’”

Package tracking information made simple.

All of that changed when they implemented Narvar. With Narvar, customers could view all their shipments and tracking information in one central, branded tracking page—which was especially useful, given that Honey Baked Ham doesn’t always send an entire order in one shipment. “We often pack items in different boxes, so customers might order three items and then receive them in three separate shipments,” explains Duvernois. “We had a lot of challenges with the carrier notifications. They would send all these different emails out and people didn’t know to expect multiple packages with different items. So having Narvar track it all in one experience has been really successful.”

Narvar also notifies customers so they know when they’ve gotten their packages. “No matter where they are, customers automatically know when their order has been delivered, and that’s very helpful,” says Duvernois. “People want to know that it’s going to be there in time for Christmas dinner or a birthday or even as a sympathy gift, and now they can find that out on their own. Using Narvar has been really great for us.”

“We sent over 4000 shipping notification emails over the holidays, and it generated over $500k in revenue. This is probably the best ROI we’ve had on technology, it’s been a really great experience.”

Ash-Marie Duvernois

Director of eCommerce Operations

Serving up access and personalization.

Using Narvar for tracking has also given Honey Baked Ham an opportunity to serve additional content and product recommendations to their customers, simultaneously selling more products and enhancing customer experience with the products already on their way. “We link to content through our tracking page and branded emails, so customers get a lot more information around how to store and serve their hams, as well as additional product recommendations,” says Duvernois.

And to make information even more accessible to their customers, they use a Facebook Messenger chatbot—or, as they call it, the hambot—to provide a channel for customers to ask questions without going through customer service. “Customers opt into Facebook Messenger and they can ask questions on delivery scenarios and even have witty conversations,” says Duvernois. “It’s really cute and clever.”

“No matter where they are, customers automatically know when their order has been delivered, and that’s very helpful.”

Ash-Marie Duvernois

Director of eCommerce Operations

An ROI that satisfies.

Since using Narvar, Honey Baked Ham has seen a 50% drop in WISMO (“Where Is My Order?”) inquiries—and over $2M increase in revenue. That’s because with such a huge drop in their customer service inquiries, their customer care team is free to take phone orders and upsell customers on additional products.

Furthermore, additional assets on tracking pages and in branded notification emails has given Honey Baked Ham an additional revenue stream. “What we do now is serve marketing assets when you’re on the Narvar tracking page. The click-through rate is phenomenal. It’s another place where you can continue to shop. It’s already brought in such a significant amount of ROI,” says Duvernois. “It’s pretty awesome to see.”

• 50% drop in WISMO (“Where Is My Order?”) inquiries from customers
• $2M+ increase in revenue in 3 months
• 4.67% CTR on tracking page and email notification assets
• 6.4% SMS opt-in rate

With Narvar, Honey Baked Ham can give a better post-purchase experience to the customers that trust them with their family traditions. The period between order and delivery is crucial. Thanks to Narvar, Honey Baked Ham’s customers know they’re in good hands, which has been great for their reputation, and great for their business.

“We sent over 4000 shipping notification emails over the holidays, and it generated over $500k in revenue. The CFO was beyond excited. This is probably the best ROI we’ve had on technology,” says Duvernois. “It’s been a really great experience.”

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