It has been a thrilling year for our client, The Transforming Center. We launched a new website in July as part of the process of helping them build a solid electronic communication platform. It really bore fruit in our Christmas appeal – with the year-end giving doubling from the previous year. I haven’t received a final analysis of the appeal, but I am pretty confident I will be celebrating again as I expect to see some real growth in new donors. Of course this is only one aspect of their development picture, and I can assure you there are many more hurdles to get over, but I am proud of the Spire2 team and want to celebrate the victories.
What we love about electronic communication (web development and email marketing) is that one gets real data on what is happening. If the strategy is working, it can be seen. If it is not working, the numbers don’t lie. The Downtown Wheaton Association is great to work with because they are open to new ideas, they trust Spire2, and have been committed for the long haul. We were more than pleased when they asked us to provide them the numbers for their annual meeting. If you hear a horn tooting in the background while reading, we apologize.
- Downtown Wheaton Association’s website traffic increased 37% over the last year (20,000 eyeballs).
The Shoppers’ Club email marketing program continues to flourish:
- The last 5 campaigns had an average open rate of 52% (national average open rate is 19%).
- Membership in the club has grown 190% in the past year.
- Merchant participation increased with more than 27 merchants making submissions.
So how did we get these results? There are no shortcuts. It takes, time, effort and creativity. Growing a good list is hard work, but if one takes the time, it will deliver the results. Are we totally satisfied? Nope. I want better results. We are working on some ideas to bring more attention to all the good things that are going on in Downtown Wheaton. Stay tuned.
So are you getting the inside scoop on what is going on in Downtown Wheaton? Are you getting exclusive deals and offers from local businesses? Join the Downtown Wheaton Shoppers’ Club right now!
Spire2 was nominated for the Wheaton Chamber of Commerces 2011 Gammon Awards for the work we did for the Downtown Wheaton Association.
As part of our Spire2’s redevelopment of www.downtownwheaton.com Spire2 recommended that the association start an email marketing program. Spire2 created the Downtown Wheaton Shoppers’ Club program. This free club with a monthly newsletter creates a channel for the association to communicate on behalf of membership while enhancing the image of Downtown Wheaton. The club is also critical in driving traffic to the website to learn more about upcoming events and news from stores.
The results have been incredible. The first five campaigns averaged an open rate of 61.9%. The club grew almost 400% in the first 12 months and continues to grow with new members joining on a daily basis. “As other forms of advertising continue to be less effective, developing a house list has become a strategic move in helping us stay connected with Wheaton residents and those who are passionate about the value of shopping locally,” says Noel Wiedman, manager of the Downtown Wheaton Association.”
Along with creating and managing the program for the Downtown Wheaton, we helped the Downtown Wheaton Association develop some strategies to promote the club. The most visible and unique was the creation of the sidewalk decals (shown above). These proved just as effective in building awareness for the Shoppers’ Club to merchants as it did for residents. Thanks goes to The Sign Authority for their help in finding a material that lasted well beyond the manufacturer’s guarantee – making these a very cost-effective promotion.
The awards are chosen by the public, so I will post the link for voting as soon as it goes live. If you shop in Downtown Wheaton and you are not part of the Downtown Wheaton Shoppers’ Club, sign up and you will be automatically entered to win a $100 gift certificate.
CLICK HERE TO VOTE : I am the third option under the “Nathan Lewis Best Marketing of the Year Award” You don’t have to live in Wheaton to vote!
I spoke to Cheryl, my contact at Community School of the Arts (CSA). She called with a question and casually shared with me some news. A whopping 40% of their new students came through the new website this fall. At their teachers’ retreat the director shared that many community art schools are letting teachers go and cutting programming back. It is a different story at Wheaton’s CSA; they are blessed to have a waiting list. Cheryl said, “We have gotten a tremendously positive response to the new site, and appreciate the marketing counsel you provided.”
I am proud of the Spire2 team – thanks Andrea and Andriy.
And, Cheryl, call anytime. I am happy to answer any question – especially if you want to share things like: “your work is responsible for solving world hunger,” or “I have five contacts who own companies that need your marketing expertise,” or even, “I am buying you a large quantity of chocolate and it will be at your office this afternoon.”
Spire2 helped CareNet to create their email marketing program last year. We met to follow up just before the one year mark to make sure everything was still going well and to make little changes. One of the objectives was to increase internet donations. CareNet shared that they exceeded their goal, and their electronic donations were up by almost 50% with a month still left in the fiscal year.
Jeffery James in the role of Director of Communication on the board of the Chicago Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC/Chicago)again grew their email list by 30%. By utilizing principles developed from years of experience with email marketing, we once again accomplished significant growth in the size of the audience. Email has continued to grow in importance in reaching and connecting with members and prospective members.
Giving amoung young alumni grew 79.8% over the same period last year as a result of Spire2’s “Where’s the need” campaign. Almost 50% of the young alumni who responded to the campaign gave to the Wheaton Fund for the first time. The microsite developed for the campaign delivered 40% of the responses. Spire2 developed all aspects of the integrated campaign for Wheaton College that included direct mail, email and a microsite. See the campaign.
Spire2’s Jeffery James, acting as Director of Communication for the board of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Chicago Chapter, oversaw email marketing and web communication for the program year ending June 30, 2006. Using strategies he recommends for clients he grew their email list by 34% while maintaining open rates. “It has been a great challenge to communicate with communicators, so I am pleased to see the growth. The IABC/Chicago e-update has become the center of the communications program and a vital link in driving interest in programming.”
Russian Ministries, a Spire2 E-broadcaster client, received a $16,000 foundation grant as a direct result of a recent email campaign. After less than a year, Russian Ministries email marketing program has provided some pretty impressive results, and has been far easier and more cost efficent than traditional communication channels. “It allows us to stay in contact with a broader audience with more timely information”, Lorraine Triggs of Russian Ministries reports.