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Email expertise adds value to customer communications

Challenge

ATS Automation Tooling Systems is a global leader in the design and manufacture of industrial automation systems. With 4,100 employees and 26 facilities worldwide, the company recognized email as a natural marketing tool for its far-flung customers, but hadn't been getting the returns it desired from its email efforts. ATS had been working with an advertising agency that was very experienced with web and magazine work, but did not have a great deal of email marketing experience. Although he had thousands of names in his database receiving a quarterly email newsletter, Marketing Manager Jim Beretta felt there was more leverage to be gained from this powerful B to B communications tool.

Solution

Inbox, a full-service email marketing company, analyzed ATS's needs and developed strategies to reach more customers, build relationships with those customers and use the information gleaned to further refine marketing strategies.

The first step was to produce a detailed email permission strategy and best practices report to provide direction for growing and grooming the ATS email database. This would allow ATS to add valuable names to its database and effectively target the right communications to the right customers.

Next, Inbox encouraged ATS to add value to its existing newsletter by providing content about the industry rather than exclusively promoting its own products. This would build relationships by positioning ATS as a trusted source of information in customers' minds. Inbox also replaced the newsletter's awkward forwarding option with a user-friendly-forward-to-a-friend button - with tracking capability - to increase the newsletter's reach and further grow the database.

Jim Beretta's next request was to be able to use the database to track how efficiently individual sales reps were in getting new prospects to subscribe to ATS email newsletters and alerts. Inbox added a unique url as part of each sales rep's signature on email communications. Now, whenever they send email communications to their leads and prospects, an automatic subscribe link appears at the bottom along with their signature. Management can easily track the number of new opt-ins generated by each rep.

A major marketing channel for ATS is tradeshows, with the company participating in dozens of shows each year on three continents. Inbox created a template for trade-show invitations that allows ATS to target mailings by region or industry sector, and to target only those customers or potential customers with a vested interest in attending each event.

Results

ATS now has an integrated email marketing strategy that maximizes company resources and reaches selected customers and prospects in highly efficient, cost-effective way. Says Jim Beretta, "I have been extremely pleased with Inbox Marketer as our e-communications partner. From the speed at which they have been able to execute programs, to keeping our email communications integrated, successful and on-target, they continually earn our business."