Published on 09-Dec-2008
Customer:
Edible Blooms
Industry:
Consumer Products
Deployment country:
Australia
Solution:
Customer Relationship Management, Transforming Business
Overview
Edible Blooms is an Australian-based gourmet gift company. Aside from brick and mortar store locations, Edible Blooms also has a web site for customers outside of the major metro areas, as well as a toll free number for customers to place orders via phone.
Business need:
Edible Blooms faced the issue of having a customer database but not the understanding of how to use the information to its full potential.
Solution:
Using Elk Software Group’s eNewsletters Online system (www.eNewslettersOnline.com), which is built on IBM WebSphere Application Server Express and uses IBM DB2 UDB, Edible Blooms implemented a bi-monthly newsletter to serve as the core of the company’s direct marketing strategy.
Results:
The success of the Edible Blooms’ eNewsletter can be measured in several ways, but none is more convincing than the spike in web site traffic the company began to receive after the first e-mail distribution was sent out to the existing customer database.
Benefits:
With the Elk/IBM solution, Edible Blooms now has a cost-effective marketing strategy.
Case Study
About Edible Blooms
Edible Blooms is an Australian-based gourmet gift company. With store locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and additional stores opening in Perth and Auckland (NZ), in 2009, Edible Blooms provides high quality gourmet chocolates, fresh fruit, and hand baked cookies for individuals and companies looking for a creative way to surprise or reward friends or employees.
Aside from brick and mortar store locations, Edible Blooms also has a web site for customers outside of the major metro areas, as well as a toll free number
for customers to place orders via phone.
Creating the Right Marketing Mix
Edible Blooms was founded in 2005 by Kelly Baker. The company experienced massive growth in only a few short years and found itself with store locations in most major Australian cities, as well as a burgeoning online business. Baker understood the idea of developing the right marketing mix for the company, but also understood that her database of customer information was remaining largely untapped. Realising the potential of implementing an online-based newsletter, Baker began her search to find a company that could deliver high quality results for a small to medium sized business in Australia.
Recognising the decline in consumer spending worldwide since 2007, Edible Blooms was determined to watch its profits grow by implementing the right marketing mix.
Finding the Right Solution
Edible Blooms was looking for a way to communicate to its customer database through the online newsletter platform. The important factors for the company
included creating a final product that projected a highly professional image and was able to reflect Edible Bloom’s company branding and imagery, reliability,
ensuring compliance with the Spam laws in Australia, ease of use, and most importantly, good customer support from the software provider.
After speaking to several companies regarding their online newsletter offerings, Edible Blooms decided that Elk Software Group’s eNewsletters Online system, built on IBM WebSphere Application Server Express and which uses IBM DB2 UDB, was the right system for the business’ needs.
An important factor in Baker’s decision to use the Elk/IBM solution was her concern to ensure compliance with Australia’s
Spam laws. After discussions with Elk about these concerns and not wanting to alienate her customers, Baker was confident that she had found the ideal marketing tool.
“We had a database, but as a new company, we weren’t taking full advantage of its potential. Now, we’re maximising our
marketing efforts with a technology that requires very little effort.”
The Results are Sweeter than Candy
The success of the Edible Blooms’eNewsletter can be measured in several ways, but none is more convincing than the spike in web site traffic the company began to receive after the first e-mail distribution was sent out to the existing customer database. The click-through response from the eNewsletter was so great that Edible Bloom’s server crashed and the company was forced to stagger distribution from that point forward.
“The tools we are given with the eNewsletters Online system, such as realtime tracking, are a great benchmark for us,” said Baker.
“We see a definite spike in traffic immediately after we send out the newsletter, but we can now monitor the site’s traffic on regular days as well.” “The eNewsletters Online system has definitely increased our successful marketing tactics, which is shown by our annual growth year after year.”
About Elk Software Group
Elk Software Group is a Perth-based IBM Advanced Business partner† that specialises in software development of web-based business products and custom
systems.
Elk Software Group’s eNewsletters Online is an online email newsletter product that allows customers to create and send professionally-designed HTML email
newsletters to their subscribers quickly and easily. Features include multiple mailing lists, WYSIWYG Editing, click-thru and open rate reporting, send management
and subscriber management, plus much more. eNewsletters Online is a fully Internet-based system, so there is no software to download and install.
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Service:
GBS Marketing and Sales Transformation
Legal Information
TRADE MARKS: IBM, the IBM logo, Websphere, DB2, Express and Express advantage are trade marks or registered trade marks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product and services marks may be trade marks or services marks of others. © Copyright IBM Australia Limited 2008 ABN 79 000 024 733. © Copyright IBM Corporation 2008. All Rights Reserved. Printed in Australia 04/08. GL_9954 IMPORTANT PRIVACY INFORMATION: If you would like to request access to or correction of your details, or if you or your organisation would prefer not to receive further information on IBM products, please advise us on 132 426 (Australia) or 0800 801 800 (New Zealand). †”Business Partner” is used informally and does not imply a legal partnership. The customer case study referred to in this publication is based on information provided by Edible Blooms and Elk Software Group and is not is redeemable through IBM Australia Limited. IBM is not in a position to verify the accuracy of the information or any claims made by third parties. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described. IBM does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. Subject to any rights which may not be excluded or limited, IBM makes no representations or warranties regarding non-IBM products or services.