Phil Smart Mercedes – Auto Dealership, Seattle WA www.philsmart.com

Loni Rose – Singer/Songwriter, Seattle WA www.lonirose.com

Like many busy people she has lots of demands on her time. She also has a loyal following of fans that want to stay informed about her touring schedule and what projects she’s working on next. She tried to stay in contact with her fans by maintaining a list on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that was growing after every show. To protect her fans privacy, she would put hundreds of email addresses in the “BCC:” field and send off her generic “Dear Fan” email.

When some of her closest fans and family would ask why they had not heard from her, she began to understand that most of her mail was not getting delivered. Even though these people had given express permission to receive her email, it was getting deleted or sent directly to the “Junk Mail” folder. Loni didn’t realize that she was using the same tactic as novice “spammers.”

To fight SPAM every corporation and ISP (like MSN and Yahoo) deal with massive amounts of SPAM on a daily basis. These companies have created rules to survive the onslaught of SPAM and one of the first rules on the list is to delete any email with an excessive number of BCC email addresses.

Since every fan is important to Loni’s success, this was a real problem – but it wasn’t her only problem. She also had to manually add and delete new contacts every week. Each show brought new fans and rather than being able to let those fans add themselves from her website, she had to manually input handwritten email addresses and names to her excel spreadsheet. Anyone who wanted off her list had to also manually be deleted. She also felt badly that while she used to be able to address each fan by name, her notes were going out with a generic greeting.

With Axis 24/7 Marketing, Inc. her problems are over. Loni is now able to greet each fan by name with his/her own personalized note. Since each email gets sent individually to a single email address, ALL of her mail gets delivered

Each email also includes a “Share the Loni Love” link so that her fans can forward the email to their friends increasing her audience. Her list has grown over 100% since starting with Axis 24/7.

Additionally she no longer spends anytime maintaining any kind of list herself because it’s all automated. People can add themselves right from her website, and modify their subscription at any time.

Here’s Loni in her own words:

“Keeping in touch with my fan base via email used to take me hours, and was a constant source of frustration. About half of my messages would not get through mail filters because I was putting everyone in BCC [blind carbon copy], and manually adding and deleting contacts took forever.

By using Axis 24/7 email service, my fan list has grown over 100% because of the automatic subscribe features. Axis handles all the aspects of my contact list so there is no effort on my part, and sending a personalized email to hundreds of fans now only takes me a few minutes.”

Loni Rose
Singer/Songwriter, Seattle WA
www.lonirose.com

Big Blue Charters – Fishing Charter Service, Sitka AK www.bigbluecharters.com

Big Blue Charters is a fishing guide service in Sitka Alaska that takes customer service seriously. Their business has grown because of their individual attention to their customers needs. After several years in business, they had developed a nice database of customers. They also had developed a beautiful website that was getting a lot of web hits. But business could always be better, and they were looking to expand the number of boats in their fleet.

To increase their business, Big Blue decided to try Axis 24/7 for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that although they were getting a lot of visitors to their website, they weren’t converting a large percentage into customers. The only contact method they offered was filling out a thorough “Contact Us” form, or picking up the phone and giving a call. Since many of their visitors were “just looking” they weren’t ready to make a commitment and simply moved on to the next site on their list.

By integrating Axis 24/7’s technology into their website with a “Join our Sitka Fishing Newsletter” entry box, they are able to “net” dozens of visitors every month. Since starting with Axis they have increased their number of contacts by over 300% in less than 6 months. With permission to send an email, Big Blue can now begin to build a one-on-one relationship and will have multiple chances to convert those website visitors into paying customers.

The second way that Big Blue Charters is using Axis, is to stay in touch with their previous customers. Big Blue sends a personalized note to each of their customers by using Axis technologyand usually includes a picture of some lucky fisherman with their huge fish. Each customer is instantly reminded of the good time they had, and it’s all they can do to resist booking their next Alaskan fishing adventure on the spot. Big Blue is using Axis 24/7 to hook new customers while keeping other one’s on the line. Check out Big Blue now and sign up for their exciting fishing report.

Big Blue Charters
Fishing Charter Service, Sitka AK
www.bigbluecharters.com
1-877-747-5161

The Evening Hatch www.theeveninghatch.com

The Evening Hatch is the largest fly-fishing guide service in Washington State and offers first-class service to its customers and a rare 100% satisfaction guarantee. They have invested in an elaborate and rich website offering fisherman lots of free up to date information on fishing conditions, beautiful pictures, and ideas for their next fishing adventure. They are located in Ellensburg, Washington right off of I-90 and also offer a fully stocked retail store with advice on fly pattern choices.

Although The Evening Hatch had hundreds of customers in their database, they did not have an effective way to contact them quickly and inexpensively with a new message. They also offered a monthly newsletter on their website, but didn’t have any way to announce that a new edition was now available, so they had to simply cross their fingers that their loyal customers would remember to check back. Additionally, they were not leveraging their excellent web traffic by turning visitors into contacts and eventually into customers.

Axis 24/7 Marketing provides them with a solution to these opportunities and helps them create more business and develop stronger relationships with their customers.

First, by building an email list for their current customers they are now able to quickly and inexpensively communicate with thousands of their previous customers on a moments notice, addressing each person by name. This is extremely valuable for The Evening Hatch in a number of ways.For example sometimes The Evening Hatch gets special permission to fish a private lake called Isaak’s Ranch. This lake offers the rare chance to catch a huge trout for lucky anglers. By using Axis 24/7 to quickly get the word out when these opportunities come up, The Evening Hatch is able to “sell-out” these special opportunities in a single day.

Additionally Axis 24/7 was recently able to save the day in an emergency. A last minute customer cancellation for a guided fishing adventure in Patagonia Chile put the Evening Hatch in a tight spot. Even though it was a rather large commitment to make last minute, The Evening Hatch was able to send out a special 2 for 1 offer to their entire customer base and was able to “snag” four more customers for the same dates.

The second benefit of using Axis 24/7 is that the Evening hatch can send an email to all of their contacts to let them know the current newsletter has been posted to the website. This gives their customers the reminder, and the link they need to click back to the website. Bringing these customers back to the website helps The Evening Hatch increase their web traffic that creates even more business. Since they now offer online shopping, it gives their customers the chance to stock up on some supplies.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is that Axis 24/7 has been integrated into The Evening Hatch website. Now web visitors have a chance to add themselves to the Free “Fishing Tips” newsletter and the Evening Hatch now turns a web visitor that may have never come back, into a new contact. They are now able to contact that person regularly, and convert them into a profitable customer and new source of referrals. See how The Evening Hatch does it by visiting their excellent website now.

Here’s what Jack Mitchell, owner of The Evening Hatch has to say about Axis 24/7 Marketing, Inc:

Axis 24/7 is a must! Plain and simple it is the best marketing tool I have ever used. For example "Bulk mailing" via snail mail demanded man hours/money and bulk mail via E-mail "the old way" (blind carbon copy) was inefficient in both time and actual success of delivery. Axis 24/7 is simple to use, works around the clock for you and is efficient. Just the other day after an unexpected cancellation at El Patagon, a fly fishing lodge extraordinaire, I sent out a "Special Notice" to my guest base and was able to schedule 4 anglers into one of the finest fishing lodges in the Southern hemisphere at the push of a button. I really don't know of any marketing tool as powerful!

Respectfully and fish-on.

Jack Mitchell -Owner
The Evening Hatch -Ellensburg, WA
www.theeveninghatch.com
1-866-482-4480

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Honda of Seattle – Auto Dealer, Seattle WA www.hondaofseattle.com

Honda of Seattle is a leading, progressive auto dealer that focuses on excellence, convenience and value for its customers. One of the few auto dealers that actually offers a price guarantee, Honda of Seattle rises above the competition. To help in that aim is their excellent staff that focuses on delivering the best service available every day.

The sales staff at Honda of Seattle is busy. As a downtown dealership they have plenty of car shoppers looking for assistance. This creates a dilemma for their sales staff. Although they know it’s important to stay in touch with previous customers, they are constantly asked to serve new people and never seem to find the time. Previous customers are important because they are an important source of repeat and referral business. Previous customers already know that they offer the best value, convenient location, excellent service and quality products – so they are actually easier to serve.

To solve this problem many of the sales staff contracted with an outside company to send a paper newsletter. While this was a good start, there was a postage charge for each piece so the company only included 100 people in their offer. It was also not personalized, not easy to respond to, and couldn’t be forwarded to family and friends. Nor did it offer a “link” back to the website where people could get more information, or a way to make an online service appointment. Since most direct mail gets a 1-3% response rate, this was an expensive and low benefit proposition.

One of the veteran salespeople decided to try Axis 24/7 and use email instead. Though she had not been collecting email addresses, she started with a small list of previous customers that bought within the last two months. Her first email to about 30 customers resulted in several referrals. These customers were able to easily reply to Kathleen’s email with the names of the interested parties. Since it was effortless on their part, the customers were happy to make the introductions.

When the sales manager learned about the results, he put together a plan for the whole staff. Now each salesperson sends out an email to their entire customer base effortlessly. This automated follow-up system is exactly what the sales staff of Honda of Seattle needed – an easy way to personally stay in touch with hundreds of previous customers regularly without any effort. Now they can stay focused on creating new customers while staying in touch with their previous ones.

Here’s what sales manager Ryan Jupiter has to say about working with Axis 24/7.

Axis 24/7 was creating great results for one of our top salespeople, so we wanted to expand the program. Not only did Axis 24/7 provide the technology but they came into our business and helped explain the concepts and get our staff fired up about using it. Their knowledge and understanding that our staff needs an automated follow-up system so they can concentrate on today’s business was well received. Now each previous customer receives a personalized email from their salesperson each month. We even offer a service coupon with each email to keep them reading, and provide extra value.

Ryan Jupiter – Sales Manager
Honda of Seattle – Seattle, WA
www.hondaofseattle.com
1-800-582-0719

Mor Furniture – Furniture Retailer, San Diego CA www.morfurniture.com

Mor Furniture is a large furniture retailer operating in several western states. They offer exceptional value and superior quality furniture. Their showrooms are gigantic showcases of bedroom, dining room, and living room furniture exquisitely presented in room groups complete with complementary accessories that are also for sale. They offer a unique “room pricing” concept so you can easily turn an empty house into your dream home almost overnight. They keep furniture in stock so it’s immediately available instead of the customary 6-8 weeks that most furniture retailers ask their customers to endure. Showrooms are an exciting energy-charged environment with dozens of big screen TV’s playing movies, and free freshly baked cookies, popcorn, and soft drinks.

Mor is an experienced marketing organization and has been using broad media like television for years. They run aggressive add campaigns and special financing offers to hopefully reach customers at the right time – when they are in the need for furniture.

Their TV ads create many impressions with their audience, but at a large cost. Mor is interested in using new technology like email to market to their best target audience – their previous customers. Instead of relying entirely on TV to communicate with their customer base, they’ll be able to send targeted marketing offers to lure them back in the showroom for additional purchases.

Additionally, Mor uses Axis 24/7 technology to streamline their operations, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. When Mor customers make a large furniture purchase, the excitement can get in the way of them understanding the salesperson’s instructions. They can easily forget some of the details of what’s going to happen next, especially if some of their items are out of stock.

When the customer’s order is input into the Mor computer system, the salesperson also enters their email address. At the end of each business day, all new Mor customers are exported from Mor’s database and added to the Axis 24/7 secure email list. Each new customer receives a “Welcome” letter that reminds them of all the details about their purchase. They get a reminder about the process for “out-of-stock” orders, details about the delivery process, whom to call to reschedule if something comes up, and a special note of thanks from the showroom manager. This note helps provide answers so that customers don’t have to call in – wasting their time as well as Mor’s. It also gives the customer the chance to provide feedback to the showroom manager about the sales experience – creating a VIP type relationship.

Mor’s CFO has this to say about Axis 24/7 Marketing, Inc:

We’re very excited about working with Axis 247/7. They have integrated into our backend systems so the processes are all automated. It gives us the ability to communicate with our large customer base one-on-one, greeting each customer by name. Our previous customers are an excellent source of not only future business, but for referrals. When we send a VIP invitation to announce a special sale, they often bring friends along to the special event. It’s an extremely cost effective way for us to market to our customer base, and we don’t have the usual lead time needed for TV ads. We can have an idea, and send out the message that same day. We expect Axis 24/7 will be a strategic partner of ours for a long time to come.

Jeff Haux - CFO
Mor Furniture
www.morfurniture.com

Protein Planet – Cafe/Store, Seattle WA www.protein-planet.com

Protein Planet has revolutionized the lunch hour with the first quick-serve, low-carb, high protein cafe/store in the country. They have become a popular destination catering to the busy downtown worker, who has decided to manage their weight and overall heath on a controlled carb diet.

Protein Planet is a snazzy self-service cafe/store where you can conveniently browse the refrigerated cases and choose from an exciting selection of freshly prepared controlled carb entrées. They serve great tasting Naked Sandwiches, gourmet salads, piping hot flavorful soups and chili, sugar free desserts, low carb breads and delicious made-to-order, high protein, real fruit smoothies. They also offer a huge assortment of protein and meal replacement bars as well as hundreds healthy choices for your controlled carb lifestyle.

With national expansion in their plans, Protein Planet is building a strong brand and loyalty among their customers. Their customers have come to expect Protein Planet to not only provide them with healthy low-carb food, but education as well. Their flagship store in Seattle has a running multimedia display projected on one of their walls educating their customers on the latest diet research. They also have fitness magazines in their seating area to inspire and educate. Customers leave the store with a healthy meal and a little extra motivation to stay the course.

An HTML email newsletter is a perfect vehicle for Protein Planet to keep the momentum going. They can continue to educate their customers on the value of a low-carb diet, and also continue to build their brand by including their logo in each email sent.

Collecting email addresses from their customers was easy. They simply put a goldfish bowl at their counter offering the Free Newsletter combined with a weekly drawing for a free smoothie. Without any additional effort the bowl simply filled up with business cards of people who wanted to hear from Protein Planet on a regular basis. Check out the first edition of Protein Planet’s newsletter here.

Here’s a note from co-founder David Grosvenor:

Axis 24/7 took all the work out of creating an exceptional marketing vehicle for Protein Planet. As a new business owner, my time was extremely limited so Axis 24/7 gave us the idea to put the fishbowl on the counter and it worked. Customers dropped their cards in and it filled up quickly. We now have hundreds of customers to contact after just a short time.

Axis also designed a very rich HTML newsletter that perfectly complements our website using our logo in each email sent. It also gives us the perfect vehicle to provide links to exciting new research on the benefits of a low-carb diet. We couldn’t be happier with the results and the value provided by Axis 24/7 Marketing, Inc.

David Grosvenor – Co-founder
Protein Planet – Seattle, WA
www.protein-planet.com