TouchScape, a provider of Web-hosted customer care and marketing solutions, announced yesterday that it will add integrated e-mail to its service offerings.
To date, TouchScape had served as a provider of inexpensive online customer service and registration technologies. The company has added e-mail to allow its clients to take advantage of the databases they've gathered using TouchScape tools.
For example, major golf club manufacturer Ping uses the company's product registration platform.
“They didn't have a formal product registration or warranty process. Now they put a sticker on every club encouraging them to go to pinggolf.com to find out more about club accessories, events and to register the clubs,” said Brian Hoover, CEO of TouchScape Corp., Phoenix. “Being that they are sold through retailers, the manufacturer never had a close relationship with the end consumer. They're trying to build that relationship and make that connection with customers so they can build a database and market to them.”
The introduction of inbound and outbound permission marketing services was a logical next step, Hoover said. “We can now turn it around and use the permission marketing component to do a holiday marketing campaign,” he said.
The permission marketing services allow companies to segment their database, launch a campaign and track, analyze and report on marketing campaigns. Customer profiles also can be exported.
TouchScape also can create a customized customer service site that has the same look and feel as a client site. From this location, a personal page is created for each customer that accesses the site. Here, customers can view a common-questions section or search the Knowledge Base, which is derived from previously asked questions. They also can send an e-mail to a customer service representative.
All site inquiries and leads also can be routed to the appropriate salespeople in order to optimize sales, Hoover said. “Everything we do is about the database.”
By having customer service, product registration and e-mail integrated in one database, companies can avoid embarrassing situations, Hoover said. “If somebody complains about a golf club, you don't want to send them a promotion for more clubs.”
TouchScape also provides 30 different, detailed reports about response rates, click throughs and other metrics. Pricing for the services begins at $1,000.
