Silverpop gets BtoB email marketing program back on track

Company Profile
In business since 1992, Magnets USA has experienced steady growth by offering customers the best magnetic marketing materials and services in the industry. With a well-earned reputation for prompt, accurate and reliable service, the company is a favored provider among real estate businesses across the country for magnetic calendars, sports schedules, note pads, bookmarks and more. 

The Challenge
When it began its email marketing program in 2003, despite using an email service provider, the company soon realized it was pretty much on its own when it came to learning both the technology and best practices. And, according to Robert Lusk, marketing manager for Magnets USA, there were more than a few hurdles to cross. “We lacked the time and resources to properly train our staff and we were naïve about the management, maintenance and development of in-house and acquired lists.” As a result, the company lacked proper control over its program and neglected to implement many of the email industry’s best practices regarding permission, frequency and opt-outs.
 
“Ultimately, our mistakes caught up with us and eventually we were blacklisted by a number of ISPs,” said Lusk.  “Clearly, we weren’t seeing the results we wanted, and felt we really needed help.”

The Solution
Not only did Magnets USA turn to Silverpop for its email marketing solution, the company also chose to participate in Silverpop’s SureProgram. Offering self-service clients extra guidance and support, the program provides as-needed access to Silverpop’s full-service account management capabilities.

Within days of signing on with Silverpop, Magnets USA staff members were getting hands-on assistance and advice regarding strategies and tactics, best practices, and product interface from a team of highly experienced implementation and deliverability specialists. “Silverpop helped us in so many ways. A great example is that Silverpop provided an efficient mechanism for collecting, storing and acting on opt-out information, even across disparate lists,” explained Lusk.

Following a thorough program to optimize Magnets USA’s email results, the company implemented new standards for email message development, creative content, and for managing customer preferences, opt-outs and ongoing list maintenance. With Silverpop’s guidance, Magnets USA created a high-impact email program to notify customers about monthly direct mail flyers.  The combination of the direct mail piece, which typically includes a product sample, coupled with email follow-up to prompt an order, had an immediate and dramatic impact on conversion rates.

The Results
Since deploying the Silverpop solution, Magnets USA now regularly achieves 98 percent deliverability of its marketing email messages, and has a remarkably low unsubscribe rate of just 0.02 percent. The company commonly sees order volumes increase by 50 to 100 percent or more immediately following the sending of monthly promotional emails.

Magnets USA also initiated an email reengagement campaign to reactivate former customers, which had substantial results.  Previously limited by the cost of reaching out to inactive opt-in customers, the company incorporated the dormant list into its regular email campaign and has successfully converted a large number of them to current customer status.

Magnets USA is expanding its use of email to take advantage of Silverpop’s transactional capabilities.  In addition to order confirmation and shipping notification messages, Magnets USA is using transactional email in its product personalization process to eliminate human work steps, speed up order-to-delivery cycles and increase customer satisfaction.

“With Silverpop,” Lusk said, “it was kind of like buying a Ferrari and getting Mario Andretti to show you how to drive it. The combination of a powerful machine and detailed instructions on how to operate it made a world of difference for us.”