Constant Contact Really Knows Their Customers

I had the pleasure of speaking with the folks at Constant Contact last week about their new Event Marketing tool. It sounded pretty cool. So I tried to push them about how it could be useful to mid-size and larger companies whose marketers get stuck in the IT queue, waiting for their stuff to get posted. The timeline is horrific.

I pushed about customized templates, about integration, about a lot of ideas that occurred to me.

You know what they told me? That's not our market.

Bravo!

They then went on to share with me just how well they know who they are and who they serve.

"Constant Contact helps small businesses and organizations grow customer relationships and succeed by delivering professional, easy-to-use online services and coaching at a reasonable cost."

Because they stick to their guns, they successfully serve over 300,000 customers. And they do it by helping their customers (most with less than 10 employees) have access to professional tools and coaching that helps them look professional and be more successful without investing a lot of time. They know their customers really well.

Then they gave me a demo of their new Event Management tool (launched today) and I was suitably impressed. They've obviously put a lot of time into making it as "click and go" as they can. The interface is slick and the process intuitive. And the integration with PayPal makes it easy to launch paid-attendance events.

They told me that they do so well because they solicit feedback from their customers and then actually listen to it to drive product innovation.

I know - refreshing, huh!

So, why add Event Management to their already successful Email Marketing and Online Survey offerings? Because they learned that, "66% of their customers hold 6 events or more a year, with an average of 20 - 100 attendees at each event."

That's a pretty good reason. Built in demand from people they already have a high level of credibility with and loyalty from!

Their customers wanted:

• To convey a professional image
• Easy to use tool
• To be more productive with automated technology
• Consolidate their marketing efforts
• Great value with predictable pricing

So that's exactly what Constant Contact gave them with the new Event Marketing hosted solution that includes:

• registration form
• payment collection
• an event homepage
• public events calendar
• email invitations and notifications (with automated scheduling, confirmation emails, reminders, etc.)
• tracking and reporting
• $15 per month for up to 5 events (pricing per event, not per attendee)

I'd say that's exactly on target for their market.

I write a lot about the need for segmentation and for knowing your buyers as intimately as possible. What I usually hear is "we're okay with just using demographics" or that it's too hard to do more than that.

But, just look at what happens when it's not.

Go ask yourself if you've got your stake firmly planted in the ground when it comes to not just defining your markets, but knowing them.

I wish the best of luck to Constant Contact with their new product. I can't wait to see what they come up with next! Oh, and if you're in need of some cool tools as an SMB, go check them out.

Comments

[twitter.com/fearlesscomp]

I know Gail Goodman, Constant Contact's CEO. I'm glad to hear they listen closely to their well-defined target market. Sounds like they are doing a great job. Kudos to them!

Jeff Ogden, President
Find New Customers
http://www.findnewcustomers.net
http://www.fearlesscompetitor.com