Radica System
MaBelle is the first jewellery chain retailer in Hong Kong that provides ever clear pricing scheme. By offering different popular, trendy and original product lines, MaBelle constantly leads the fashion of jewellery and diamond in the industry with innovative design. In terms of marketing strategy, MaBelle has stopped using traditional posted publicity materials. Instead, MaBelle has partnered with Radica, the local leading email marketing solution provider, to further expand target email marketing which successfully brings in a substantial cost saving. This environmental friendly change in approach also helps MaBelle effectively minimize the usage of a number of millions’ paper per year.
According to Theordore, the person-in-charge of Dorical Limited, the representing agent of MaBelle.com and MBLife.com, “In early 2006, we already found that we cannot measure any results by direct mails (DM), nor collect any idea of our customers’ preference. Most often, DM marketing generates only one-off experience because of its high production cost, which makes us difficult to maintain a continuous and constant communication with our customers. As a result, we decided to change to email from which we can measure responses. It is also the contact means that we still can keep in touch with our customers no matter they have moved house or changed jobs.”
In mid-2007, following the recommendation by Dorical, MaBelle.com and MBLife.com, which emphasizes on DIY personal approach to diamonds, started to implement Radica Intimate (RI) software (license version) for a more personalized, instant and constant customer communication through email channel. It includes monthly e-newsletter, special festival greetings, special promotion details, etc.
MBLife.com has effectively used the feature of “behavioral tracking and segmentation”
Being the agent of MaBelle.com and MBLife.com, Dorical places high importance on return-on-investment so as to perform in accordance of their company mission – “Customers win, colleagues win, shareholders win”. “Before MaBelle.com and MBLife.com switched to email marketing, they used to invest around two million Hong Kong dollars’ printing and mailing cost on those posted promotional materials per year. When they started to deploy RI, with the help from Dorical, conservatively, they have saved up to 90% of cost on average in one year. I feel very exciting about the effectiveness of email marketing”, continued by Theodore, “Besides, we also concern on the environmental issue that accelerated our decision to change to email marketing.” In 2009 alone, MaBelle.com and MBLife.com have already sent out around 3 millions eDM, under the assumption of 1 eDM equaling to the use of 2 pieces of paper, which already accounts to minimize the use of at least 6-million pieces of paper, and save a few hundred’s trees.
To tie-in the future development plan in China, Dorical will considerably increase resources on email marketing for MaBelle.com and MBLife.com and leverage this channel to further boost the visit rate and sales at their branches across Hong Kong and China. According to Theordore, “Based on our experience, email marketing can generate higher conversion rate in general when we compared it with other promotional channels. We believe that we should have a more target and personalized marketing strategy especially in China and email marketing would be our first choice for its relatively high cost effectiveness. We highly appreciate the professional opinions and services provided by Radica in the past few years.”
Being the local leading email marketing solution provider, Francis Kwok, CEO of Radica, added: “By leveraging the interactive and fast-to-reach characteristics of email, it becomes a common trend for local enterprises to switch to email marketing nowadays; Since 2009 till now, there are up to 30 million’s permission-based email messages being delivered by our Radica ePost platform in Hong Kong. This figure will definitely increase exponentially in the coming future in China.”
Dorical and Radica believe that email marketing is undoubtedly cost-effective and environmental friendly. The successful hints depend on whether the company can spend time on thinking any sound strategy, manage the execution process seriously, and measure the performance continuously.
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