Sage PLC, parent company to local accounting, payroll and CRM leader Softline, recently signed a deal with leading digital marketing specialist CommuniGator, which will see the company distribute Accpac CRM together with Sage Communicator, a permission-based CRM marketing tool.
Softline ACCPAC says this deal is significant in that it finally acknowledges the power of permission-based e-marketing as part of an integrated CRM solution.
Keith Fenner, strategic sales manager at Softline ACCPAC, says Sage Communicator is a valuable tool that enables marketers to ensure easy delivery of the right message to the desired target audience in a cost-effective manner.
"Every business has a constant need to communicate with its customers, suppliers and prospects to sustain its revenue. The secret is to know what data to send to whom at an appropriate time. Sage Communicator, as part of an overall CRM solution will make this arduous task much easier," says Fenner.
What makes this product set so valuable, according to Fenner, is that it tracks the online behaviour of the recipients and writes this directly back to the contact records of the Accpac CRM. "This is an invaluable feature for any marketer wanting to create tailored and personalised e-channel marketing campaigns."
The e-channel is about permission-based marketing and the needs of the target audience. Effective segmentation of the data and the targeting of specific needs in a CRM system is what counts. Fenner says a product like Sage Communicator offers a timely and cost-effective solution that simultaneously tracks results. He says for an e-channel solution to work, the entire organisation needs to embrace this new method of communication.
"The reason for company-wide involvement is the sourcing of opt-in e-mail addresses at every touch-point of the business. This way a database is built of contacts who have already expressed an interest."
Fenner says marketers should not be put off the first opt-in exercise, which he says can be extensive. This often leads to marketers either buying or renting a list of e-mail addresses or creating a value exchange.
"As unsolicited e-mails may be considered as spam, it is crucial to create a value exchange between sender and recipient. For example, a hotel chain may offer a free draw for an exclusive vacation based on basic information received from the recipient.
"This in turn will be used to automatically profile, target and market the recipient with content that they have specifically requested. This is fully customisable and automatically maintained within Accpac CRM," comments Fenner.
Sage Communicator is a 100% Web-based solution built in the Microsoft .Net framework. It utilises common standards including SOAP and XML to ensure minimal impact on the environment and maximum functionality within the product.
"With no client architecture to consider, the only requirements are a database and Web server using IIS. By using SMTP as the mail backbone, all the leading mail platforms are supported as a delivery mechanism and relieves any outbound e-mail burden by throttling delivery and not using the corporate e-mail system," says Fenner.
He says there are six key benefits of the e-channel for any direct marketer:
* Lower costs - no budget required for postage, print and fulfilment.
* Higher response rates - response rates of 6% to 8%, which is higher than traditional direct marketing.
* Response rates are higher and more rapid - Gartner says e-mails accumulate three days compared to three to six weeks for traditional direct mail.
* Shorter time to create a campaign - Gartner estimates e-mail campaigns to take between seven to 10 days to create as opposed to four to six weeks for traditional direct marketing.
* More frequent communication - e-mail campaign structures can be set up to ensure frequent communication, which is impractical for direct mail due to costs.
* Two-way communications - feedback from target audience behaviour can be incorporated into market research and used in future e-mail campaigns.
An additional benefit in the enterprise version of Sage Communicator is the ability to not only analyse who receives the information, but which topics readers show continual interest in.
"This invaluable source of information enables marketers to create tailored loyalty programmes and cross-selling campaigns," concludes Fenner.
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