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Email supplement
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For more on email marketing go to www.b2bm.biz/digital
Accountable marketing
Grant Thornton has come to rely on email as a cornerstone of its marketing strategy, as
Alex Blyth learned from its head of marketing services Victoria Coe
A
t the start of 2007 Grant the carbon emissions involved in the example, on a recent event email we
Thornton was running roughly production and delivery of that direct mail. achieved a 93 per cent delivery rate and a
half a dozen email marketing Secondly, email allows us to be much more 51 per cent view rate. We’d be very happy
campaigns every month. By nimble in our marketing. We can respond if we got near that for a paper invite.”
June of that year the firm had to developments in the tax regime or the She adds, “It can also work very well to
increased this to around 48 a month, and economy generally, sending out emails in a integrate email with other channels. A good
now email marketing is a firmly established fraction of the time it would take us to example of this was our ‘Explore your
and highly successful component of its generate a piece of direct mail.” options’ campaign in which we were
marketing mix. She continues, “The third reason we encouraging mid-tier corporates to come in
Victoria Coe, Grant Thornton’s head of started to look at email was that it allows and talk to us about their financial options.
marketing services, reports that in the past us a good level of segmentation. We have We began by sending an initial direct
18 months the firm has had to invest a wide ranging client base, and so very mailer, then emails which were tailored to
resources in getting to grips with the often we want to send a message to all of individual sectors, and we followed up with
intricacies of this potent, but difficult, them, but to vary it slightly by sector. phone calls. We were aiming to get in front
medium, and has learnt that external Finally, email is very trackable. We know of 25 decision makers, but managed more
suppliers can play an invaluable role in who opens our emails, who reads them, than 35 in the end.”
getting it all right. There is much for every what they find interesting and what
B2B marketer to learn from her response the emails generate. This is Clarity in communications
experiences. great for justifying expenditure, and it These ad hoc campaigns run on top of
Grant Thornton UK LLP is a financial really helps us to continually improve Grant Thornton’s regular e-newsletters
and business advisory firm with offices in what we’re sending.” and e-newsflashes. The e-newsletters are
30 locations nationwide, more than Most of the firm’s email campaigns are sector specific, with varying frequency,
25,000 employees and 15,000 corporate aimed at financial directors of FTSE 350 and content tends to be primarily issues-
and institutional clients. It is the UK companies, CEOs of mid-size corporates based thought-pieces that serve to
member of Grant Thornton International, and occasionally MDs of smaller firms. demonstrate the firm’s thought leadership
which provides advisory services from Many of the emails are topical and news- in a particular area. The e-newsflashes
around 520 offices in over 110 countries related. There is a significant peak in provide clients and prospects with up-to-
worldwide. On 1 July 2007 Grant activity around the Budget. Coe reports the-minute information on relevant
Thornton merged with RSM Robson that sending invitations to events is changes to the fiscal situation.
Rhodes, and it now claims to offer a new especially successful through this Since it began its serious involvement
approach to business advisory services, channel. in email marketing, Grant Thornton has
one that is uniquely flexible and “We almost always get a better used Concep’s Campaigner email
responsive to client requirements. response from email invites than we do marketing tool. Coe says, “We started
In her role as head of marketing from postal ones. This is mainly because using Concep’s system in September
services, Victoria Coe is responsible for we can see who’s opened what and so 2006, and chose it because it’s Internet-
Grant Thornton’s brand and the central tailor our follow-up more effectively. For based and so doesn’t take up valuable
delivery of marketing campaigns. The space on our system, because it’s easy for
firm also has marketing teams for each of
the individual business areas, and so
About Grant Thornton
us to integrate our brand and because it
has a strong reporting element.”
Coe’s remit is a wide one, encompassing Having used Campaigner for over 18
advertising, marketing, online activity and Grant Thornton LLP is the UK arm of the global months she reports that it has delivered
events. Coe has been at Grant Thornton finance and advisory firm, and its boasts 30 according to all expectations, was easy to
for three years and prior to this offices and 25,000 staff. set up and use and has been an important
appointment spent much of her career The UK company’s range of services includes factor in the success of Grant Thornton’s
marketing financial services in Canada. audit, tax, HR consultancy, project finance, email marketing activity.
private equity and regulatory outsourcing. It is In that time Coe has learnt many
Carbon-friendly marketing currently active in a range of sectors including: valuable lessons about how to use email
There were four factors that led Grant food, not for profit, property, construction, marketing effectively. She says, “By far
Thornton to look into email marketing. technology, industrial, tourism and financial the most important thing is to have a very
Coe outlines them: “As a socially services. clearly defined message. Businesspeople
responsible business we’re doing all we are busy and receive hundreds of emails
can to reduce our carbon footprint, and every day. You need to capture their
replacing our printed marketing materials attention in the first line and a half. If you
with email is a key part of that. It reduces can’t do this you’ll see your response
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