Expanding Reach with a Bold Fulfillment Evolution in Fiber

Company Overview

Our client, a regional fiber internet provider based in Indiana, offers high-speed connectivity with competitive incentives such as free installation, one month of free service, and reduced pricing. Despite an attractive value proposition, the company faced challenges breaking into rural and conservative Midwest markets, especially with homeowners unfamiliar with or resistant to digital technology. This marked one of the first Home Connect campaigns launched in the Midwest, following successful rollouts on the East and West coasts.

Market Context and Challenges

This Indiana-based campaign presented a unique set of demographic and geographic challenges not previously encountered by Home Connect. Data from the initial outreach revealed that 51% of homeowners in the target region were over the age of 70, and many relied exclusively on landlines, with little or no access to mobile phones, email, or internet.

Additional insights pointed to a more conservative, rural "Midwest farmer" demographic, often disconnected from digital-first marketing. Despite a compelling fiber offer, the absence of digital communication channels significantly reduced response rates. Scaling message volume in an attempt to compensate only shrunk profit margins and eventually led to diminishing returns, putting pressure on campaign performance for both Home Connect and the client.

The Solution

After reviewing the data and early campaign performance, Home Connect recognized that the traditional automated messaging-only model was insufficient in this market. Three tactical options were considered:

1. Continue with scaled messaging, accepting the lower ROI.
2. Cease operations in that region.
3. Pivot to a hybrid model, expanding fulfillment capabilities beyond messaging.

Home Connect chose to pivot strategically by introducing a dedicated sales representative and expanding its fulfillment strategy to include manual outreach. This allowed for direct engagement through voice calls, enabling conversations with homeowners previously unreachable via digital methods.

This transition was rolled out in phases, using campaign data to fine-tune engagement tactics and allocate resources more effectively.

Marketing Expenditure and Customer Acquisition Efficiency

Initially, the campaign relied solely on digital messaging, but response rates were low due to demographic limitations. While the offer remained strong, the cost of scaling outreach in this environment outpaced conversions, diminishing overall profitability.

Post-pivot, the addition of a live sales team allowed Home Connect to recover the campaign, regain efficiency, and better align with the local communication preferences.

Campaign Recovery and Impact

Thanks to the pivot, Home Connect was able to recover the campaign and maintain its relationship with the fiber internet provider. More importantly, the experience provided valuable lessons in market-specific targeting and outreach adaptability.

Key Learnings:

• Not all markets are ready for fully automated outreach.
• Age and communication preferences must be factored into campaign design.
• Fulfillment diversity (calls + messaging) significantly improves reach and ROI in under-connected areas.

Future Considerations

This campaign served as a turning point in Home Connect’s fulfillment strategy. The insights collected informed a larger organizational shift toward call center integration, and helped shape the roadmap for multi-channel customer engagement.

Looking ahead:

• A 10,000+ sq. ft. call center is under development.
• Plans are in place to scale to 300+ representatives within the next 60 days.
• The platform is evolving into a blended model that combines automation with personalized voice outreach to support diverse markets.

Conclusion

While the Indiana campaign presented challenges not previously encountered on the coasts, Home Connect’s adaptability ensured that both the client and the platform came out stronger. The pivot to hybrid fulfillment not only salvaged the campaign but laid the groundwork for national scalability, bridging the gap between digital convenience and human connection.

References

Bojerski, M. (2025). Expanding Reach with a Bold Fulfillment Evolution in Fiber

Home Connect Publishing

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