Andrew Pearson, Windsor Circle

Sean Godier, CEO at Business-Supply.com, saw great return from an email coupon campaign in March. He generated a list of Best Customers from a Windsor Circle segment, and sent one email with a 10% off coupon.  At the same day and time, he sent a 5% coupon to the remainder of his list, with tens of thousands of subscribers, and totaling 21 times more customers than the Best Customer segment. 

The email to the Best Customer segment resulted in higher conversions, revenue, average order size , and revenue per email than the list more than 20x the size:

• 5.5x conversions
• 6.4x total revenue from 1/21st the customers
  
• 15% higher average order revenue
• 134x revenue per email

The Windsor Circle segment that Sean sent his 10% coupons to was derived using our automated purchase history analysis.  In Windsor Circle speak, the segment was "RFM 6 or less, Recency Actual of 6/1/11 or after, Spend Rank of 3 or less, Frequency Actual is 2 or more".  In marketing terms, the segment pulls together Business-Supply.com customers who purchased multiple times in the last 9 months with higher than average total purchase data, and whose overall Recency, Frequency, and Monetary score puts them in the top tier of all customers.

Our team is excited to see yet another win for Sean.   There are many other segments that our retail intelligence software finds and builds automatically in an online retailers email marketing platform.  Give us a call if you'd like to see similar results.

Business Supply has been in business since 1999 and offers a great selection of discount office supplies, office chairs, breakroom supplies and more.  All orders shipping via UPS with a value of $60 or less are shipped for $7.95, while any order shipping through UPS over $60 ships for free. 

On Feb 29^th, CEO Matt Williamson attended the South East Venture Conference 2012 in Tyson’s Corner, VA, along with dozens of dynamic high-growth companies and hundreds of investors.

Matt has been finding the support, questions, and feedback from the Venture Capital community particularly valuable. “It’s been an incredible experience being in such a tight concentration of venture capitalists. The overwhelming response is that we’re a compelling story for such a short amount of time that Windsor Circle has been around.  The VCs have been extremely helpful.”

Presented by TechMedia, SEVC promotes networking and interaction among leaders of tomorrow's economy.

Rick Smith, editor and co-founder of WRAL Tech Wire, reported from Tysons Corner on Windsor Circle’s pitch and following interest. We love his analogy of Matt drawing “venture capitalists as if he were selling Tiffany diamonds” – though we think Windsor Circle will have far better appreciation than diamonds.

We very much appreciate Rick’s proclamation that “if there were an award given for first-day's performance at SEVC 2012, Williamson would probably have won, based on the crowd surrounding him as soon as he finished an 8-minute presentation about where [Windsor Circle] is now - and where it seems to be headed.”

Online retail is poised to capture $55 billion, or 21 percent, of all marketing dollars in the near future, says research firm Forrester.  Windsor Circle aims to provide the leading eCommerce-to-Email platform integration solution.  Smith captures our value proposition well:

“Better Segmentation – Instantly”

Windsor Circle offers plug-and-play capability within hours of a deal and at a fraction of the cost.  One client, Internet 500 member Artbeads.com, reported a 58 times return on investment in just three weeks.

We’re excited to attend events like SEVC12 backed up by a great and growing team – with 3 new sales associates added in February.  From our $350,000 angel to our recent second fundraise of just over $400,000 – both closing fast and oversubscribed – we are inspired by the velocity that a company can gain with the backing of committed, collaborative, and connected investors.

Joe Procopio, local entrepreneurial writer for TechJournal, noted that “while Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga dominate the exit talk, crowd funding made up a large portion of the entry talk.”  For Windsor Circle, SEVC12 was our kind of crowd-funding opportunity.

The SEVC strives to support entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and the resultant economic development of the Southeast, while understanding the importance of investment capital to those goals. Great speakers this year included Mark Heesen, President of NVCA; Chuck Templeton, Founder of OpenTable; Prashanth Boccasam and Sean Glass at Novak Biddle; and Jason Caplain, GP at Southern Capitol Ventures.  Other RTP-based presenting companies were Springmetrics, Netsertive, Katharos, and StrikeIron.

Windsor Circle is thankful and humbled to have been spotlighted at SEVC12, and look forward to sharing follow-up news about our growth and upcoming fundraising round.

We're excited to announce our latest integration with eCommerce and shopping cart solutions provider, 3dcart.

Press Release, 2/27/2012:

3dcart (www.3dcart.com), a privately held eCommerce and online shopping cart company based in Tamarac, FL, recently partnered with Windsor Circle (www.windsorcircle.com) to help retail clients increase email marketing revenue through enhanced customer segmentation.

3dcart has over 10 years of long-standing relationships with its 10,000+ customers, online retailers who rely on their eCommerce and shopping cart platforms to collect important customer data. With the new Windsor Circle solution, clients can use purchase history and shopping cart data to create targeted customer segments directly from the 3dcart platform. 

Windsor Circle's solutions will help 3dcart clients automatically generate powerful and relevant targeted customer segments and business intelligence to increase response rates and top line revenue from their email marketing campaigns.

About 3dcart (http://www.3dcart.com)

After years of building custom eCommerce solutions for medium to large businesses, 3dcart founder Gonzalo Gil, thought he could compile many of the most requested eCommerce features into a simple and affordable shopping cart.  3dcart has evolved into a robust eCommerce platform with thousands of merchants all over the world and an enduring drive for innovation and value, with the motto "We help you sell more."

Shopping Cart Platform:

Shopping Carts from 3DCart allow online retailers to market and sell products online.  3DCart includes all the features necessary to build and edit online storefronts, control online and offline payment options, set up real time shipping options, contact your customers, manage your shop inventory, and much more, all without writing a single line of program code.

eCommerce Platform:

3dcart creates custom eCommerce designs for thousands of online stores. 3dcart gives you all the tools to create your website and online store. Clients can start with over 50 eCommerce website templates, and can create their own designs using HTML & CSS.

Contact: Joe Palko, Chief Marketing Officer
Phone: 800.828.6650 x200

About Windsor Circle (http://www.windsorcircle.com)

Windsor Circle increases revenue for online retailers through eCommerce Intelligence Software that helps retailers access and analyze customer purchase behavior. By providing pre-packaged integrations to the leading software platforms used by online retailers, Windsor Circle provides marketers with instant access to shopping cart, order management, and eCommerce data so that they can enjoy the same personalization and targeting capabilities that the world’s top online retailers use to drive revenue. The company is based in Downtown Durham, NC.

Contact: Matt Williamson, Chief Operating Officer
Phone: (919) 822-2009

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This Valentine’s Day, it’s time to share the love with your customers– and increase your email marketing sales.

The numbers are in: Online retailers sold nearly $50 billion worth of goods to U.S. consumers in the fourth quarter of 2011, comScore says, a 14% increase. Online retail sales increased 13% for the full year.  

So what better day to share the love with your customers and start the new year off with a blast than a great Valentine’s Day email marketing campaign? Here are some tips to increase customer engagement, reward - and sow the seeds of - loyalty, and make compelling Valentine’s offers.

Review and Segment your Customer Lists

You’ve now got a full year of purchase history under your belt, topped off with holiday shopping data.  Valentine’s Day is your first big email marketing opportunity – and test – to leverage that data and send more relevant emails to your customer base.

Sort recipients based on the products you intend to market. For V-Day, keep it simple: men and women, then old and new customers if you have a loyalty program.  Note that men spend twice as much as women on V-Day, according to the National Retail Federation. Gift cards and date ideas are great messages to send to the men on your list.

Set the Mood

Remind your customers that the big day is coming with great Valentine’s Day headers. Use images and fewer words: Spice up your emails with hearts, roses, kisses.  Get them in the Valentine’s Day buying spirit with playful humor, like “Top ten ways to tell someone you love them” - using your products.

On Valentine’s Day, content and tone are critical – and the only way to get that right is with clearly defined segments. Don’t peddle Brazilian waxes to guys or straight-razor shaves to ladies.  A playful, funny approach that puts guys at ease falls flat with women, who generally prefer sincerity – especially on Valentine’s Day! 

If you want to tackle advanced segmentation, or have a large national list, think location-specific.  While shoppers in the Carolinas are enjoying an unusually warm winter – and a feisty flu season! - folks in the Northeast might still be shoveling snow.  Can you segment by state, and send a “Feeling stir crazy? Warm up the house” emails to the Northerners, vs “Spring’s coming early! Great ideas for your honey bunny” down South?

Windsor Circle specializes in analyzing customer data often locked in your eCommerce and shopping cart software, to generate customer lists based on purchase history and location data, and automatically populate these segments into your email marketing software.  We help cupid’s arrows hit the bulls eye.

Valentine’s Email Campaigns Start in January

Digital marketer Oneupweb reported top online sales in 2010 were February 5-6.  Starting you Valentine’s Day email campaign a month out isn't too early. Sending a week out is peak.  

There are advantages to emailing customers early before they spend their money elsewhere.  Send one email per week, and in the final week remind customers that there are only 7 days left to buy. Create a sense of urgency- but ease their anxiety by offering free shipping and guaranteed delivery before the 14th.

Make It Easy with Product Recommendations & Gift Cards

Some people give Valentine’s Day gifts to friends, coworkers, or family members. While a gift card may not be personal enough for couples, it is a great option for others. And don’t hesitate to suggest products based on purchase history and customer tastes: If someone has purchased pet items, remind them not to forget Spot.  If they bought winter sports goods over the holidays, suggest a ski trip for two.

• You can differentiate your local business from national competitors by offering delivery as late as possible near or on Valentines.
• If you are using a deal-of-the-day merchant, such as Groupon, LivingSocial or Gilt Groupe, you can email your own customer list to let them know about the deal.  And make sure to send thank-you to everyone that bought a coupon.

Use the Holiday to Show Customer Appreciation

Send a special Valentine’s email to show you “heart” them too. Express appreciation for their past business with a special discount to your best customers.   

This Valentine’s Day, contact your customers early, send them creative and targeted offers, and share the love with your loyal customers. And sit back and enjoy an early boost to your new year’s revenue with sweet Valentine’s Day profits.

Landing pages are one of the most important elements of modern lead generation.  A landing page can capture leads at a much higher rate than your homepage by providing a specific offer, clear calls to action, limited navigation, a simple form, and an instant win for the visitor. Windsor Circle offers Six Best Practices to launch highly effective landing pages.