Informz Success Story

Like many associations today, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA, was facing its challenges. Email marketing efforts were inefficient, time consuming, and cumbersome, and membership numbers were falling. GCSAA switched to integrated email marketing with Informz and everything changed for them. No more uploading lists. No more IT intervention. No more template issues. So far, they’ve eliminated over 300+ staff hours and saved $38,000. 

Let’s see how they did it.

The Challenge

GCSAA was spending a substantial amount of time each week to get enewsletters out the door. Countless hours of IT staff time was required to create and modify templates, manage vendor relationships, and fix deliverability issues. On top of that, member retention had nosedived.

The Strategy

To streamline the email creation process and cut down on IT staff intervention, GCSAA partnered with Informz because of its integration with their member database and easy-to-use email marketing features.

The Results

To date, GCSAA has eliminated over 300 hours of staff time and saved $38,000 in costs using email marketing integrated with their database. Tools like user-managed preferences and mobile and social optimization are creating a better experience for members, while advertising analytics keep advertisers happy because they’re receiving a clearer picture of advertisement performance.

GCSAA’s Quest for Efficient Email Marketing

One year ago, GCSAA hit their breaking point with their email marketing process. It was taking five people to get one enewsletter done. IT staff was repeatedly being called in to create or fix templates, manage multiple vendor relationships, and was drowning in bounces and list management. Member retention was plummeting as well. They knew they had to make a change.

GCSAA selected the Informz email marketing platform, which would integrate with their member database, to eliminate some of the manual work that was costing them valuable man hours. They also wanted to take advantage of sophisticated features in Informz to better communicate with members and improve member retention.

With the integration, GCSAA immediately removed manual tasks from the email creation process. Subscriber lists were pulled into Informz directly based on queries setup in their database, eliminating the need for IT assistance in list pulling for every email send. Preference management forms were created in Informz allowing GSCAA members to update and modify email preferences on their own, which in turn enabled the association to better segment their communications.

GCSAA also made progress to improve member engagement by refining their mobile and social strategies. The Informz Social Posting feature allows members to easily share GCSAA emails with their social networks, enabling the association to see the top social networks where content is being shared, who is sharing it, and how it performs on those networks. Mobile reporting has helped GCSAA identify how members are using mobile devices to view their email so they can adjust their mobile strategy.

“The integration has given us our IT staff back with the efficiencies its created, easy-to-use template management, and visibility into deliverability issues,” said Lambert Tomeldan from GCSAA.

As a result of their integrated email marketing strategy, GCSAA eliminated more than 300 IT staff hours and over $38,000 from their budget. The time and money savings have inspired the association to take on an even more advanced approach to targeted email marketing going forward.

Inside Informz

Integrated Email Marketing

Utilizing a real-time integration with Informz and their database, GCSAA eliminated manual tasks that they used to spend hours working on. Uploading lists, running queries, managing bad email addresses and unsubscribes are no longer a part of their routine when prepping for an email send. Email activity is written back to their database, so they’re always aware of member activity.

Simplified Template Creation

The Informz template area makes it easy for GCSAA users to manage template creation and modification, so IT can step back and focus on other initiatives. If issues arise, GCSAA works with one vendor – their dedicated eMarketing Advisor at Informz – not multiple vendors.

Creating a Better Experience for Members and Advertisers

The Informz reporting suite has shed light on the mobile audience GCSAA communicates with. GCSAA is in the process of adapting to a 50% mobile audience, and mobile features in Informz are getting them there. The integration has also empowered the association to allow members to customize their mailing preferences, creating a better experience for members, and increasing renewals. Informz reports have boosted the relationship between GCSAA and their advertisers. Corporate supporters can see the direct reach of their enewsletter advertisements, demonstrating the value of their partnership with GCSAA.

To download a copy of the full case study, click here.

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