ClientLogic Corp., Nashville, TN, a marketing services and fulfillment company, is expected to announce at this week’s National Center for Database Marketing conference in Orlando, FL, that it has acquired MarketVision Inc., a Denver-based marketing automation vendor. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
MarketVision sells a relationship marketing tool that tracks inter-relationships among a company’s network, including suppliers, affiliates, salespeople, customers and prospects. The relationship model can be integrated into a customer relationship marketing tool, allowing for a more complete view of contact points. Sun Microsystems Inc., Palo Alto, CA, is one of MarketVision’s largest customers.
“We are taking MarketVision’s core relationship engine and putting it as the base of every other thing that we do,” said Bob Fetter, chief marketing officer. “We will build our call centers, Web sites and distribution and fulfillment systems around MarketVision’s relationship engine.”
According to Fetter, the acquisition gives ClientLogic a “key piece of what we were missing.”
ClientLogic was formed in 1998 when Onex Corp., Toronto, a holding company that specializes in building large outsourcing companies, decided to enter the CRM space. Onex merged several firms together, including its subsidiary North Direct Response Inc., an inbound call center; Softbank Services Group, the Internet-based order taking and customer service arm of Softbank; LCS Industries Inc., an integrated direct marketing company; and CRI, a catalog fulfillment and distribution company. In October, ClientLogic also announced its acquisition of Cordena Call Management, a Netherlands-based customer service provider.
ClientLogic, which had FY99 revenues of $225 million, is targeting companies ranging from small Internet start-ups to established Internet companies to traditional Fortune 500 companies.
However, unlike many CRM companies today, Fetter said ClientLogic is not targeting companies in traditional vertical delineations or offering specific solutions for markets such as financial services, retail or utilities. Instead, it’s going after companies that are entering the direct or online channel for the first time.
The key benefit for ClientLogic’s customers, according to Fetter, is the company’s ability to offer solutions quickly.
Currently, ClientLogic is in the process of integrating all of its divisions and technologies together and is looking for acquisition opportunities in Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region.
