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PM Forum - Edinburgh

Effective Emarketing

How does Burger King's subservient chicken relate to professional services marketing? This was the question that David Wallace of Strategy Point posed to the PM Forum audience at September's event on 'Effective e-marketing campaigns'.

It seems that if it can work for Burger King (sales increased by 9% each week in the first month of the chicken emarketing campaign), then it is not something we should assume cannot be transposed into the professional services field.

The course gave the audience an insight into why we should be using emarketing and how to make it effective. Some of the benefits of emarketing that were highlighted included:

  • directness and the ability to control your messages
  • interactivity and engagement with end-users
  • the ability to track and measure results
  • creating a modern image
  • flexibility and being able to react to shorter lead times - getting your message out on the day of an announcement will look impressive
  • cost effective - no print and postage requirements will allow significant savings, both financially and environmentally
  • data management and using the communication to allow contacts to cleanse their data
  • global reach and 24 hour marketing

Encouraging the take-up of emarketing ideas, marketers should, according to David, start by popping some 'Brave Pills'! As with all marketing communications, a strategic approach is required, ensuring that the campaign is relevant to the business, documented project plans are developed and campaign reports can be produced showing results.

David offered some words of caution when embarking on emarketing campaigns including making sure it is legal, as well as testing on all types of PC's and networks. What might look great on your own email system might not work so well in hotmail for example.

One of the successful examples David used was Shepherd and Wedderburn's 'Don't Stand Still' campaign - a campaign designed to communicate law reform and what it means for business (i.e. standing still can be dangerous). Other emarketing examples, such as campaigns from Scottish Borders and Eden Scott, were also highlighted to show how companies with much smaller emarketing budgets, could be just as successful in what they were trying to achieve.

Some key pointers as to why these campaigns worked included good pre-campaign communication (both internally and externally), a consistent approach, remembering that you are marketing to an individual and not to a company, and liaison with business development to ensure common goals at the outset. David also stressed the importance of ensuring that your emarketing campaign integrated with other online and offline activities of the firm. Most importantly, if, through your emarketing campaign, you are directing people to visit your website, we were reminded to make sure that our key messages and brand image were consistent in this area also.

Julie Hecht
Semple Fraser LLP

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