Trade New Zealand
Taps Touchpoint to Help Kiwi Companies Take on the World
14 April 2003
New Zealand exporters know that when scale and distance both work
against you, the only solution is to work smarter and work together.
That’s why more than 2000 of them decided to create an online
profile on MarketNewZealand.com, Trade New Zealand’s new e-business
site, in response to an enrolment campaign rolled out with the assistance
of multi-channel marketing technology company Touchpoint and creative
agency Nebula.
Trade New Zealand applied the lesson that many of our most successful
exporters have learned: test and prove the technology locally –
then roll it out globally. Trade New Zealand is now also using the
web-based Touchpoint technology in its New York and Manila offices,
and plans to make it available to other offices around the world.
MarketNewZealand.com constitutes a critical part of Trade New Zealand’s
push to improve communications with exporters and introduce international
buyers to New Zealand industry capability, helping New Zealand businesses
to take on the world. The site is designed to strengthen the relationship
between New Zealand exporters and the rest of the world while driving
the adoption of online trading and other e-business practices by
exporters. Because this was Trade New Zealand’s flagship e-business
initiative, success and credibility were critical, so Trade New
Zealand sought expert assistance to help drive participation from
its exporter client base.
After a thorough evaluation programme Trade New Zealand commissioned
Touchpoint and Nebula to assist with the execution of a pilot campaign.
The core objective was to get over 1300 clients to complete the
application and create an online profile by July 2002, in time for
a wider launch to other exporters and overseas markets. Secondary
objectives included assisting to promote MarketNewZealand.com, building
a permission database for ongoing communications with exporters,
helping establish a sense of community among exporters and educating
Trade New Zealand staff about e-business.
“We selected Touchpoint because it had the expertise needed,
was the only truly integrated multi-channel solution, and promised
cost-effectiveness,” says Trade New Zealand Marketing Executive,
Arjan van der Boon. “Further, it offered web-based reporting
that can be accessed remotely, allowing us to send, track, follow
and report on inbound and outbound marketing campaigns across multiple
channels including direct mail, email and fax. That’s a valuable
benefit for an organisation like Trade New Zealand.
“It was also really important for us to expand and fine-tune
our database of current and potential New Zealand exporters.”
The pilot project covered the online and offline promotion of MarketNewZealand.com,
which needed to reach critical mass in time for the trade portal
to be effective in attracting overseas buyers.
The initial campaign was based on a combination of direct mail
(DM) and email marketing, backed up by telemarketing, advertising
and printed materials. In a post-completion review Trade New Zealand
found that the DM-email combination was the most cost-effective
method of communication, especially when compared with traditional
advertising. Email was approximately a fifth of the cost of other
campaign methods.
“The implementation and execution was smooth and successful,
and Trade New Zealand is well pleased with the results,” says
van der Boon. “The pilot project achieved a 22 per cent response
rate overall. Eventually we exceeded our initial target of 1300
live clients and today we feature more than 2000 online profiles
on MarketNewZealand.com. Touchpoint’s technology performed
without defect or failure and as a result of our success in attracting
a critical mass of exporters with an online profile we’ve
recently been able to start marketing our site to international
buyers looking for suppliers from New Zealand.”
After the pilot, Trade New Zealand surveyed its base directly about
a number of new services it was looking to offer exporters, and
was surprised at the high response rate – and at the speed
with which the responses arrived.
“The Touchpoint solution enables Trade New Zealand to communicate
regularly and more efficiently with our clients,” says Arjan
van der Boon.
“Touchpoint has a solid track record. We appreciate the partnership
approach they take with us, and the expert advice they can provide
in the area of e-marketing. Trade New Zealand regards Touchpoint
as locally developed product that delivers results quickly and compares
well with similar products in its class from around the world,”
says van der Boon.
“We’re impressed that a global government agency like
Trade New Zealand is eager to make smart use of new technologies,”
says Steve Shearman, Touchpoint Director.
Touchpoint also implemented processes to integrate their marketing
solutions with Trade New Zealand’s CRM system, ensuring that
different arms of the Trade New Zealand organisation including overseas
offices could communicate simply and easily with exporters using
Touchpoint. A number of overseas offices will start using Touchpoint
remotely to deliver campaigns that deliver communications back to
overseas recipients.
Trade NZ are now looking to integrate Touchpoint into a number
of future initiatives including supporting the roll out of its E-Business
Guide for exporters.
About Touchpoint
Touchpoint is the leading edge New Zealand provider of multi-channel
marketing systems used by marketers and professional direct marketing
agencies. The Touchpoint software suite helps businesses build closer,
more profitable customer relationships by taking advantage of traditional
and emerging digital channels, including email, direct mail, telemarketing,
SMS text-messaging, fax, and the web. Touchpoint solutions provide
direct access for marketers, agencies, and customer service staff
to setup, manage and track integrated marketing programmes and campaigns
across multiple channels in real-time.
About Trade New Zealand
Trade New Zealand uses its global network to enhance the ability
of New Zealand businesses to convert opportunities into sustainable
and profitable foreign exchange earnings.
Funded by Government, Trade New Zealand works in partnership with
individual companies and export groups that have the commitment
and capability to export.
Trade New Zealand is a Crown Entity established under the New Zealand
Trade Development Board Act 1988. It is governed by a board of directors
with strong private sector representation.
For more information please contact:
Sally Raudon
Botica Butler Raudon Partners
09 303 3862,
021 402 502,
sallyr@botica.co.nz
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