PointClear Leverages Sevista E-marketing to Multiply Sales and Marketing Results
PointClear is like most companies: This Atlanta-based firm prioritizes sales above all else. This company knows that the ability to make audiences aware of a product or service, and to compel them to buy, drives business—and our economy.
But PointClear is unlike most companies in that its very business is sales. PointClear is in the prospect development business, generating sales leads and nurturing potential buyers—on behalf of B2B clients—until they’re ready to close. PointClear closes the gap between marketing and sales, helping companies fill their forecasts with qualified revenue opportunities.
How do they do it? PointClear employs a unique multi-touch, multi-media, multi-cycle approach; an approach that multiplies results for its clients. PointClear’s custom prospect development programs combine the right frequency, appropriate messages for the various segments, and a smart mix of phone, traditional direct marketing—and e-marketing—to keep prospects top-of-mind until they buy.
This proven, integrated approach to prospect development is enhanced by PointClear’s relationship with Sevista, an Atlanta-based e-marketing partner. PointClear leverages Sevista’s robust email, e-newsletter, online survey and web forms platform to effectively and cost efficiently engage contacts … and deliver sales-ready leads to clients.
As a “super user” of Sevista’s services—PointClear uses Sevista on behalf of its more than 25 clients—the prospect development company knows the power of the Sevista solution. “We have learned the value of the system by using it extensively. We have leveraged the functionality to multiply the results of our programs and to deliver the sales opportunities our clients need,” said PointClear’s vice president of solution services, Karla Blalock.
Testing to Learn
PointClear especially values the capability of the Sevista e-marketing engine to help its team learn which recipient behavior is meaningful to the sales process. “The Sevista system gives us the ability to immediately get results on our campaigns. We use the system’s features to gain real value by instantly ‘snatching’ results, testing our e-marketing and responding in a way that compels the buyer to take the next step,” said Blalock.
PointClear uses the results reported by Sevista two ways:
Step 1: To test components of the campaign and evaluate how results vary.
Step 2: To test various follow up methods that achieve the best results.
Step 1
Blalock explained that early in its two-year relationship with Sevista, the two companies
worked together to understand the value of a click, a response, a forward, and other actions
taken by the email recipient.
“We analyzed which links evoked the most response. For example, with a CFO audience, does a link to web site, a news article or a white paper create the most response? We tested them all in various combinations in a systematic way, tracked our findings, and have developed best practices surrounding our calls-to-action and incentives for response to assure consistent results,” Blalock said.
Step 2
Subsequent to testing the components of the campaign, PointClear tested various responses
to the action that its audiences take. “We asked ourselves what worked better … a follow-up call
… or a reply email? We also wanted to know how quickly we should respond,” she continued.
PointClear learned in one case—where 8,000 CFOs were being targeted on behalf of an outsourced IT services provider—that a follow-up contact by phone within one hour of the action taken (click-through, reply or forward) yields a one-in-four chance that the prospect will continue to the next step in the sales process. This is a significantly higher ratio than if the call was placed the next day or the next week, or if the follow-up was undertaken electronically, and a key piece of learning that resulted from Sevista’s tracking capabilities.
“The Sevista platform allows us to track everything—from how many times the recipient opens an email to how many people within the organization the email is forwarded to …. We’re continually learning what these responses mean, and developing the best practices that help us increase sales for our clients,” she said.
Relevant Marketing
PointClear is also a strong proponent of what it terms “relevant marketing.” “We know that extensive personalization makes a marketing message more meaningful to the recipient,” said Blalock. “Sevista allows us to leverage all the information we collect throughout the prospect development process to personalize our e-marketing campaigns—and make them more effective.”
By being able to target an e-marketing campaign by name, by individual, by title, by industry segment and by current competitive reality, as well as by using other intelligence gathered, PointClear makes its communications relevant. PointClear uses Sevista’s advanced capabilities to personalize the subject line, the “to” line, the “from” line, the content and the call-to-action, increasing response rates. In addition, messages are targeted—and frequently updated as the landscape changes—to keep communications relevant.
“Personalization is key to email effectiveness. Since fully utilizing these Sevista capabilities, we see far more response to the e-marketing component of our multi-touch methodology,” said Blalock.
Conclusion
“The functionality is all there for effective-e-marketing. It is part of the Sevista system and we are able to access it ourselves. When we need to do something a little different … the Sevista people are there to guide us, or customize the options to meet our specific needs,” said Blalock.
“We are finding that responses to our multi-touch campaigns—including e-marketing—have steadily increased and the percentage of those responses turning into leads has also increased quarter over quarter for the past five quarters. Senior executives especially are responding positively to well-planned, well-tested programs with relevant messaging, and that’s good for PointClear, and for our clients,” she said.