Volume 39, Number 08
Business
You Got Mail
WebSoftTT’s new marketing tools
by Ben Freeland
There has been much talk in recent years about the impending death of email, and with the recent explosion of instant messaging and sites like Twitter and Facebook, coupled with dissatisfaction over spamming, phishing and other email-related annoyances, this humble and now venerable mode of communication is indeed now seeming a touch passé. On closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that email is anything but obsolete, and anyone seeking evidence of this need look no further than at the veritable explosion of direct email marketing over the past decade. Far from being killed as a marketing vehicle by spam, opt–in email marketing is thriving like never before, with estimates showing that U.S. companies spent some $400 million on email marketing in 2006. Findings have consistently demonstrated its effectiveness. Research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association shows that email marketing generated an ROI of $51.58 for every dollar spent on it in 2006, and according to a Dec. 2007 survey of internet marketers by MarketingSherpa, email to house lists outperformed paid ads in terms of ROI, with 42% describing email as having “great ROI—outperforms other tactics.” Not bad for a supposedly dying mode of communication.
Providing for this growing business need in Tokyo and other Asia–Pacific markets is the Roppongi–based WebSoftTT (Technology Tools) Japan.
Established in 2002, WebSoftTT provides Japanese and foreign companies with a comprehensive range of bilingual web-based tools, with a focus on enhancing marketing power and efficiency through direct email marketing.
According to WebSoftTT Account Executive Michelle Miksell, the primary reasons for the popularity of email marketing include its effectiveness in creating brand awareness, fostering good relationships with customers and disseminating information and also its low cost. “It’s an inexpensive and very effective tool for companies, and one that is growing in popularity” states Miksell. The services provided by WebSoftTT, whereby companies manage and distribute their email lists by way of their ASP web-based services, which allows companies to send up to an astonishing 500,000 emails per hour, and also provides them with HTML ability. Furthermore, WebSoftTT also provides companies with a delivery- and readership-tracking platform (Track & Trace), allowing them to monitor email opening and click-through rates, and plan their follow up marketing campaigns accordingly.
As companies are naturally concerned about their direct mail being mistaken for spam, WebSoftTT takes care not only to ensure compliance with Japanese spam, privacy and black/white list requirements, but also makes allowances for the compliance requirements of other jurisdictions. Says Marketing Manager Makiko Miura, “We have a dedicated compliance officer focused on ensuring that our policies, both human and technical, follow best practices from a business standpoint.”
All of WebSoftTT’s online marketing tools are provided on either Japanese or English language platforms (with email sending ability of 10+ encoding languages), with a third platform in Mandarin Chinese forthcoming, coinciding with this year’s inauguration of WebSoftTT’s new Hong Kong office. Pricing is based on usage, and the company offers a 30-day free trial for its web-based marketing products.
For more information on WebSoftTT and their marketing tools call 03-3796-8131 or see www.websofttt.jp