Case Study - Effective e-mail marketing for a small business consultancy

= avoiding a cycle of Feast and Famine =

The Company

A specialist consultancy providing a broad range of quality and business systems consultancy, including appropriate staff training and team building. Key markets include the Health Service, Education and the Private Sector.

The Problem

As a small company, existing projects meant it was proving difficult to find time to devote to new business developent. Consequently, as projects ended, there was limited new work to fill the gap until new opportunities could be developed.

This cycle of feast and famine was less than ideal so a solution was required.

The Solution

With limited budget, BSA Marketing recommended e-mail as a cost-effective communication tool.

A marketing review of the company's past activities indicated that credibility and experience were important elements of their offering. This suggested that simply e-mailing cold to an unqualified list was unlikely to yield useful response. However, we also identified that there had been little or no communication with past clients and contacts - all of whom had experience of the company and their capabilities.

BSA Marketing recommended targeting these past contacts - even though the initial list was less than 100 organisations.

The Benefits

The intial campaign produced quality enquiries and business and the relationship with BSA developed. Since 2004, the target list has continued to grow with new contact and has now reached around 220 names. The company continues to work with BSA undertaking 3-4 e-mail campaigns each year.

As well as maintaining and developing market awareness, every campaign generates positive response and enquiries. The significant majority have yielded project work - either directly or via referral.