MarketFirst is a business software product for use in marketing, offered by Avolin.
History
editFounded by Anurag Khemka [1] in 1997 in Mountain View, California,[2] MarketFirst Software was acquired by Pivotal Corporation in 2002,[3] itself later acquired by CDC Software (then called china.com).[4] MarketFirst Software’s core product was MarketFirst, a marketing automation and lead management tool that complemented the rest of the Pivotal CRM (customer relationship management) suite.[5]
In 2012, CDC Software merged with Consona Corporation, to form Aptean.[6]
In October 2018, ESW Capital, LLC completed the acquisition of the Vertical Business Applications Group of Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical software solutions[buzzword], via a newly formed subsidiary.[7] The Vertical Business Applications Group (which includes MarketFirst) will join ESW Capital under the newly formed Avolin portfolio of companies, which will continue to operate the enterprise software solutions[buzzword] across Customer Relationship Management, Knowledge Management, IT Support and Supply Chain Management. The portfolio of solutions[buzzword] currently addresses issues for over 1,400 customers in more than 50 countries.[8]
Product details
editMarketFirst is a marketing automation and lead management software system. The suite gives companies the ability to segment their databases and profile contacts, then program and launch electronic marketing campaigns to communicate with target audiences. Content within these communications (which can be delivered by e-mail, SMS, fax, etc.) can be personalized based on available database information. MarketFirst also enables users to capture leads from these marketing campaigns by tracking click-throughs and directing message recipients to registration pages. The system can also be used to manage event registrations, nurture leads, and develop event-triggered campaigns.[9] Its visual campaign design tools allow for the development of complex automated campaigns — for example, to send one kind of automated follow-up message based on the recipient’s response to a prior campaign.[citation needed]
The product’s capabilities include:[10]
- Segmentation and profiling
- E-mail streams
- Lead generation
- Event marketing
- Literature fulfillment
- Lead scoring and nurturing
- Surveying
- Map analytics[11]
MarketFirst claims to be distinguished by its ability to support multichannel, multilingual, multi-wave campaigns that can be run perpetually and are adaptive to recipient behavior.[12][13]
Effectiveness
editA 2007 analysis by Forrester Research[14] of the MarketFirst implementation at Sharp Electronics determined that the company was able to increase the number of qualified leads tenfold, reduce cost per lead by 85%, and cut advertising costs by 28% using CDC MarketFirst.[15] CDC Software reported that Sharp had saved more than $1.6 million in operating costs through its use of MarketFirst.[16]
Customers
editCustomers include companies such as Harvey Nichols, the UK-based luxury retailer;[17] Softrax Corporation, a provider of enterprise billing and revenue management;[18] online job website Careerbuilder; and luxury home builder Toll Brothers, among others.[19]
References
edit- ^ Anurag Khemka at LinkedIn
- ^ Internet alchemy 26 May 1999, Forbes
- ^ Pivotal to Acquire MarketFirst; Warns of Losses 3 October 2002, DestinationCRM.com
- ^ Chinadotcom completes Pivotal acquisition 1 March 2004, Computer Weekly
- ^ Pivotal Addresses Product Gap 4 October 2002, InformationWeek
- ^ "CDC Software and Consona Corporation Merge to Form a Comprehensive Enterprise Application Software Company". www.businesswire.com. 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Inc, Aptean (2018-10-30). "ESW Capital Acquires Aptean Vertical Business Applications Group". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2022-02-23.
{{cite press release}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "ESW Capital Acquires Aptean Vertical Business Applications Group". Aptean.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ CDC MarketFirst Retrieved 31 March 2010
- ^ CDC MarketFirst website Retrieved 20 November 2009
- ^ CDC MarketFirst Map Analytics Retrieved 20 November 2009 Linxoft Solutions
- ^ The CDC MarketFirst Advantage Retrieved 20 November 2009
- ^ Campaign Automation Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine 1 August 2007, Database Marketing
- ^ "Forrester". Forrester. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
- ^ Five Ways Large Enterprises Take Advantage of CRM Solutions Retrieved 20 November 2009, Vendor Guru
- ^ Sharp Electronics Saves More Than $1.6 Million in Operating Costs With Pivotal Marketfirst Applications From CDC Software 21 February 2007, CustomerThink
- ^ Harvey Nichols has ab fab integrated CRM and analysis solutions 26 November 2007, Computer Weekly
- ^ Softrax Dramatically Increases Marketing Campaign Responses and Revenue with CDC Software's Pivotal MarketFirst Retrieved 20 November 2009, CRM2Day Archived June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ CDC MarketFirst Customers List Retrieved 20 November 2009