Clients
We have two in-depth case studies for your perusal
Intelligent Information Systems Ltd
Liberty Marketing manages the entire marketing process for this software development company. The role includes creating, implementing and managing campaigns and then analysing their impact. The main goal is to sustain the firm as a nationally competitive provider within its marketplace by bringing in constant sources of new business.
A few years ago Intelligent Information Systems was only using limited direct mail processes to generate enquiries and was struggling to make an effective number of sales off the back of them. The company was profitable but not growing and needed to increase its competitiveness as there were regular new entrants into the market. Liberty Marketing has utilised the internet as a way of generating constant prospects along with new direct marketing campaigns and increasing the company profile through events.
Some of the main tasks and achievements include:
Search Engine Optimisation and Pay Per Click advertising
The Challenge - To develop from scratch a successful online advertising strategy and help the company's websites rank well on the search engines.
The Campaigns - New content was written for the company website that was both keyword heavy and informative. As the firm has three very separate product areas, individual websites were created, each concentrating solely on promoting one product. Link building campaigns were implemented to bring visitors from other various websites to each of the news sites and pay per click advertising has been used to generate traffic from the target markets.
The Results - The company went from barely having an online existence to becoming an industry leader in online marketing. Optimising the websites and running thousands of targeted keyword adverts through the main pay per click advertising publishers resulted in world-wide exposure for very little investment. Leads rose from a couple a month to over fifty a week and the company appears on the first page of all major search engines for the most relevant searches.
Direct response mailing and emailing
The Challenge - To send information to facilities managers and convert them into prospects.
The Campaigns - A number of direct mail-shots were used to promote company products, services and events. Prospect email addresses were collected and follow up HTML email campaigns were released with news, developments and sales promotions.
The Results - The direct response targeted mail-out campaigns enjoyed successes of over double the industry standard and the number of returning prospects more than doubled once the email newsletters were released.
Market research & Product development
The Challenge – To monitor the market closely for opportunities and threats.
The Campaigns – The company became active in industry discussion groups and regular reviewing of competitor tactics and market demands were started.
The Results – By keeping information from market research and customer contact on places the company could improve products and reporting these changes Liberty Marketing has had an incredibly positive influence on product design. This market research led directly to the development of the company's top three selling products.
Event Management
The Challenge – Use events as a cost effective way of promoting products.
The Campaigns – A number of small events were held where decision makers from within prospective companies were invited to hear the benefits of using the software and see the latest features before anyone else.
The Results – The events heightened the company profile considerably amongst its main target market and brought in new sales from facilities managers and associates professionals that the company would not have had otherwise.
Copywriting for marketing literature and sales promotions
The Challenge – Increase sales through updated sales literature.
The Campaigns - The copy on the websites and in the brochures and product sheets was changed so that it was easier to read, more relevant to the target market and the benefits of the software were included to sit alongside the features. Customer testimonials were gathered and case studies were written to add credibility to the company.
The Results – Sales increased without any additional costs due to the fact that the company was able to communicate with prospects in a more effective manner.
Within a year of taking over the marketing of this software developer the company more than doubled its client list and saw its highest ever level of direct sales. The company now boasts its main product to be amongst the top three sellers in the UK.
Kingswood Associates Ltd
Liberty Marketing is responsible for the entire marketing process for this leading commercial finance specialist. This includes devising, implementing, managing and analysing marketing campaigns with a view to growing the company profile and bringing in new business.
A couple of years ago Kingswood Associates was a company that was only marketing itself with expensive print adverts and a limited amount of business development. Whilst the company was profitable it was not really gaining the market share it had the potential to. One of the main disadvantages was that the company had virtually no communication with its existing client list of over 5000 businesses and property professionals. Liberty Marketing has used a number of campaigns, especially the internet, industry events and direct mail, to improve the marketing of Kingswood Associates and help it become a nationally competitive firm.
Some of the main campaigns include:
Online advertising and search engine promotion
The Challenge - To develop an online brand and advertising strategy that generates a constant stream of new enquiries.
The Actions - Setting up and managing Pay Per Click advertising campaigns across Google, Yahoo! and MSN covering thousands of keyword combinations. Starting a search engine optimisation process and developing numerous strong links with online partners. Working with a designer and website specialist to create a user-friendly, professional looking, content-rich site.
The Results - Kingswood is now on the first page of most search engines for some of the most competitive search terms and can be found on most of the major property, finance and business portals. Website traffic has risen from under 100 visitors a month to a few thousand and online enquires rose from a couple a month to an average of over 20 a week. Internet leads are now a major source of new business for the company.
Direct marketing
The Challenge - Start a regular communication process with existing clients and use direct response campaigns to generate new prospects.
The Actions - Regular call-to-action campaigns have been implemented, by both post and email, and are sent to targeted lists of prospects. All clients, prospects and business partners are now sent an 8 page quarterly newsletter highlighting industry and company news.
The Results - The newsletter was so well received that not only does it bring in new enquiries daily but prospects even call the office requesting a place on the mailing list. Some of the direct mail and email campaigns have brought in a completely different type of business that the company would not have enjoyed otherwise.
Event management
The Challenge - Use events to increase the brand and bring in direct business.
The Actions - Kingswood now holds and attends regular events, ranging from a small room full of clients, brought together to hear about new services, to exhibiting at some of the UK’s busiest property shows. In November 2007, the company held the Kingswood Property Investor Conference, the largest ever privately run landlord event of its type in Wales. The entire event was managed by Liberty Marketing, from the advertising and invites, developing the content and visual aids, and managing the actual day and all post event publicity and follow-up campaigns.
The Results - Despite national news reports hailing the end of the Buy to Let market in the run-up to the Conference, almost 200 landlords were brought together so that Kingswood could present its services to them en-masse and dramatically increase its local profile. The smaller, regular industry events that the company also now exhibits at bring in a number of new sales.
Print advertising
The Challenge - Improve the return on investment on the various display advertising campaigns.
The Actions - Regularly reviewing the trade press and newspapers to see where best to communicate with the target market and then negotiating substantial discounts with the publishers. As finance rates change constantly and the market is so competitive, adverts are often changed just before print so quick but effective copywriting and managing of designers to meet these strict deadlines are essential.
The Results - Through negotiation with publishers, careful selection of media, and promoting the right messages at the right times the print budget and cost per acquisition were reduced significantly whilst this area still generates a positive number of high quality enquiries.
Business development
The Challenge - Increase the number of partner firms that refer clients to Kingswood Associates.
The Actions - Regularly meeting with professionals, including solicitors, IFAs and estate agents and convincing them to refer clients with finance needs. To help them achieve this they would often be given suitable marketing materials and would be helped with sales pitches and ways to make the relationships work.
The Results - Within months of starting, referrals were at their highest ever level, contributing a large percentage of the turnover and profit of the firm.
Public relations
The Challenge - Use public relations to increase the brand image and market share.
The Actions - Despite being one of the largest specialists of its type in the UK, Kingswood was relatively unknown in the industry. By working with outside media and PR partners, brand awareness was changed to reflect the company size and highlight the service levels which the company is respected for.
The Results - An ongoing press campaign was started and within only a couple of months Kingswood was receiving regular attention from the local and national press. Full page articles in the Western Mail and South Wales Echo newspapers have helped make the company very well known in its local market and the Managing Director is often asked to quote on issues by financial, property and business publications.
Market Research
The Challenge - Monitor the market for opportunities and threats and capitalise on them.
The Actions - Kingswood maintains a competitive advantage by regularly reviewing the market for changes and taking part in online and offline discussion groups.
The Results - By discovering issues first hand and by staying immersed in the market the company is often able to release adverts and articles highlighting products that competitors are not yet aware of and regularly finds these original campaigns are soon imitated by direct competitors.
Since starting work with Kingswood Associates the company client list has risen considerably, the number of enquiries have more than doubled and, despite being at the front-line of the credit crunch and property price stagnation the company is still enjoying its highest levels of turnover.