[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Case study - Club Boulevard - SMS
Zetafax SMS Gateway rocks at Club Boulevard
16th February 2004
When your customers are predominantly night clubbers in the 18 to 30 age range, keeping in touch is a challenge. Address details can go out of date quickly especially for students and young professionals living in rented accommodation who tend to not to stay in one place for long. West London–based Club Boulevard has found an effective way to stay in touch with their clientele using the Zetafax SMS Gateway from award-winning communications software specialists Equisys.
Out goes the cost of direct mail design, print and postage - compounded by the waste of returned ‘not known at this address' items. In comes the modern way of communicating with the mobile phone texting generation. Club Boulevard now sends SMS alerts of forthcoming events, promotions and offers directly to their clients' mobiles using the Zetafax SMS Gateway. An impressive one-in-ten club members responded to a recent promotion, and there have been very few requests to be removed from the database. According to Club Boulevard, the Zetafax SMS Gateway is not only fast and economic but the most effective way to reach their transient clients, yielding very high response rates.
The Zetafax SMS Gateway system was delivered by Equisys Solutions Partner Wem & Co Computer Solutions Ltd, who recommend Zetafax as their best of breed fax software offering because of its scalability, rich features and Microsoft compatibility. They recognised that the SMS Gateway feature of Zetafax provided an easy-to-use, ‘out-of-the-box' solution for Club Boulevard.
In the club world membership mailing lists are highly prized and can change hands for considerable sums. Wem & Co Computer Solutions were able to overcome the club's security worries and prevent unauthorised physical access to data simply by storing the valuable client information off-site. This was achieved by installing Zetafax on a Terminal Server at the head office which Club Boulevard accesses via a high speed ADSL Internet connection with password protection. Details of new customers wanting to receive SMS information are captured in the club and the remote Outlook address databases updated instantly. Accessing Zetafax via a Terminal Server, hosted at head office means that none of the valuable data is stored locally and further security measures prevent local copying, printing or access, except by authorised users.
In common with other Equisys solutions, Zetafax and the SMS Gateway are quick to deploy. Wem & Co Computer Solutions installed the complete solution, which after setting up the head-office systems and communications, went live within one day. Both club staff and the marketing people at head office, who devise new offers and activate the text messages, took little more than half an hour to learn to use the new SMS system. For speed and efficiency, SMS Gateway uses customers' mobile phone numbers already stored in the centrally located Outlook address book database, which means that text messages can be sent to multiple recipients in just a few minutes.
Wem & Co Computer Solutions provided a complete solution and after setting up the head-office systems and communications, Zetafax was installed and went live within one day.
Not only is the software easy to use, it also provides the club with an essential electronic audit of responses, as the Zetafax SMS Gateway automatically stores each text message sent. This audit allows users to effectively profile their customers and target them with appropriate offers.
Ted Wilmont, business development manager at Club Boulevard is delighted with the results: “As well as the huge reduction in cost and tedium we gained by abandoning direct mail, the Zetafax SMS Gateway provides us with a method of keeping our database information live, up-to-date and on-going. It takes just one click to text information to everyone on the database and if the text comes back undelivered we know immediately to remove that record.”
Club Boulevard also believes that the Zetafax SMS Gateway helps them to provide added value to members because they can remind them at the last minute of visiting DJs, different club night themes and special offers. As Ted Wilmont enthuses: “We are communicating with them on their terms, and via their preferred communication method. They will read a text message where they may not see a poster advertising their favourite DJ. It helps them feel like they belong to the Club. Texting with Zetafax is the way to go and we are delighted with the results.”
Notes to Editors
About Equisys
Founded in 1987, Equisys is a leading provider of business communications solutions. The company has offices in the UK and the United States and has an established network of distributors and resellers in over 30 countries. The company's original flagship product, Zetafax, is the world's leading SME and departmental fax server software, enabling users to send and receive faxes directly from their PCs. Already installed in over 50,000 organisations worldwide, Zetafax has recently been awarded most 'innovative fax server' award from the Davidson Consultancy.
