E-mail enabled

Enabler, the direct e-mail marketing solution, has become Stuart Alexander's number one choice for generating new business.

The value of imarket as an efficient trading platform is one thing, however, many brokers are still unaware of the beneficial support services it offers at discount rates.

The Defaqto Infowise product comparison service, for example, allows brokers to compare commercial policy wordings from insurers. Leading UK consultancy Peninsula gives brokers an opportunity to offer its added-value services to their clients in terms of health and safety and employment law advice. Online direct marketing tool Enabler offers a way of attracting new business, cross-selling policies and keeping customers informed about new service information.

The latter has proved of considerable value to Stuart Alexander, which was looking for a way to increase its volume of small to medium-sized enterprise and commercial business. The e-mail marketing service, developed by new media and marketing agency Pancentric, proved just the shot in the arm it needed.

The brokerage is now enjoying the payback of using the communications software following the launch of a series of successful e-mail campaigns, which have led to a tangible rise in its commissioning income.

Surge of new business

The surge of new business for the firm is testimony to the Enabler tool's value, and what's more, brokers registered with the UK insurance industry portal benefit from specially discounted licence fees starting from £50 a month.

Some 40 000 e-mails were sent out by Stuart Alexander - a firm that acts for thousands of clients from corporations and affinity groups to private individuals - during the course of three waves of marketing campaigns. Within a matter of weeks the brokerage saw its premium income rise by more than £200 000, for just a penny an e-mail, with further rises expected throughout the year.

"In the second of our Enabler campaigns, we managed to get 40% of prospects opening our e-mails, which was much higher than we anticipated," says Rob Holmes, Stuart Alexander's marketing manager. "And these were truly cold prospects. Hundreds clicked through for more details on our services and we have had people on the phones following up the interest.

"This should populate the sales teams' pipeline with renewals in the coming months."

For negligible cost the Enabler software allows brokers to create, personalise, send and then track the success of branded e-mailers, bulletins and even surveys.

With controls that make it effortless to orchestrate 'global' campaigns, Enabler's e-mail communications can be sent from brokers' head offices or branch offices.

"It is extremely user-friendly and one of the key benefits of e-mail is that you can change it from day-to-day. Enabler also offers a high level of functionality allowing such processes as the simple upload of different templates," Holmes says.

"It's also very handy to have one login so you can view an e-mail, send it and then monitor it."

After purchasing lists of opt-in e-mail addresses from list brokers, the firm found the process of uploading them and sending e-mails out a very straight forward one.

"Initially we bought in around 20 000 records and e-mailed them over a period of three months. I was so delighted with the outcome that we then purchased another set of data and are now trying our luck with it again.

"The cost effectiveness at just a penny an e-mail, in comparison to postal mail, makes it an attractive option."

As soon as someone opens an Enabler e-mail, brokers know about it. If someone clicks through to a webpage from an Enabler e-mail, they know about it. Real-time Enabler tracking and reporting provides all the ammunition needed to inform and drive sales.

"The fact that when you send the e-mail you can view it in real time is another major incentive to use this solution," Holmes continues.

Extremely beneficial

The software can give the name of the prospect and their phone number, what company they work for, when they responded, and what they are interested in, so companies can prepare and prioritise their sales follow-up. At-a-glance reports meanwhile show campaign and template statistics, chart sends, opens, click-throughs, bounces and unsubscribes.

In addition, plans are afoot at Stuart Alexander to make use of Enabler's newsletter facility.

This allows brokers to effortlessly put together a professional e-mail newsletter that makes them look helpful and knowledgeable - virtually ready-made and branded with their company logo. They can choose stories from a list of pre-written options, send out the e-mail and then sit back and watch those all-important enquiries roll-in.

"Even for brokers with a significantly smaller commissioning income or premium income than ours, subscribing to Enabler for a nominal outlay could prove to be enormously beneficial," Holmes adds.