New Research Backs Electronic Calendars As A New Direct Marketing Channel

With consumers growing weary of receiving endless sales emails, new research shows that marketers are better off complementing email campaigns by targeting customers via a new method - their PC and personal digital assistant (PDA) calendars.

A survey of a thousand people shows that 46% of internet-users are constantly deleting emails without even reading them. In comparison, results show that 93% of PDA users and 80% of PC users are more likely to read information if someone places it in their electronic calendar. 86% of those questioned said that they are more likely to attend an upcoming event or appointment if information is placed in their electronic calendar.

The research was commissioned by internet services company, on board info, which has developed a permission based marketing tool called Infuzer which enables marketers to place marketing messages directly into users' electronic calendars. Be it events, deadlines or special offer periods, marketers can then use Infuzer's alert service to send messages and reminders to users informing them of date changes and supporting information that can convert into in e-commerce transactions.

For example when booking a holiday on the Web, a customer's travel itinerary will be automatically placed into their electronic calendar containing links for a 1-click purchase of related services such as hotel accommodation and car rental. The travel company will then be able to send reminders and special offers for related services direct to the calendar as well as being able to alert travellers to changes in travel details.

Ray Eitel-Porter, CEO, on board info said, "With 58% of users checking their diaries over five times a day this is an ideal way to market to customers and for marketers to get the results they are after. Used creatively, Infuzer can tackle some of the primary business objectives of commercial Web sites - helping to convert visitors into sales and driving repeat traffic."

Between five and ten percent of visitors to on board info's customers' sites use Infuzer to record events in their calendars. This ultimately will see an increase in the number of people attending their events or purchasing their services, and will reduce marketing costs. Wharton Business School has commented that conversion rates of between five and ten percent are remarkable in the current climate, where usual conversion rates are between two and five percent. (Peter Fader, Professor of Marketing at Wharton Business School)

Implementing Infuzer on a web site is a simple, fast process, as Infuzer is URL based: no software needs to be installed on a company's Web servers. It is extremely easy to add Infuzer to Web sites or emails - customers can learn how to apply it in less than an hour.

"A sure way to make your customers more loyal and valuable is to make their interactions with you absolutely as simple and relevant as possible. And that's exactly what Infuzer is designed to do." (Don Peppers, Founding Partner, Peppers and Rogers Group and author of "One-to-One Marketing)

The Infuzer technology is rapidly being adopted by a growing list of high profile customers, including, ZDNet UK; The Direct Marketing Association of America; Reed Exhibitions; Net Imperative; Macmillan Publishing, The Sporting News and Financial Conferences.

About on board info

on board info specialises in enabling Web site and email marketers to communicate with their customers via PC and PDA based electronic calendars. The company's core product is Infuzer, a one-click service that enables users to download date related information - events, deadlines, special offer periods - from Web sites and emails, directly into their electronic calendars

on board info was founded in 1996 by Ray Eitel-Porter, where he spearheaded the company from its head office in London, UK. Since 1996 the company has expanded and saw the opening of a US office in 2000 in New York. The company is funded by venture capital from a consortium including Nat West IT Fund (now managed by Royal Bank Ventures), Cambridge Research and Innovation Ltd. and Interregnum (www.interregnum.com), the pioneering IT venture marketeer and investor, working with high potential IT entrepreneurs to develop, resource and implement value building strategies and to 'transform technology into wealth'.

Further information about Infuzer can be found at http://www.infuzer.com

 Enquiries: 

Chris Marjara
Chief Marketing Officer
on board info
Tel: +44 (0)870 736 6700
chris.marjara@onboardinfo.com