ExactTarget and American Data Company Develop Mash-up Application Combining ExactTarget Email with salesforce.com data

July 20, 2006; 06:05 AM
American Data Company and ExactTarget announced that they developed a fully automated CRM application using a new technique called mashup, a web application that combines data from more than one source for Los Angeles-based Lactagen. Lactagen is the leader in lactose intolerance solutions, and has developed a solution for lactose intolerance, or the inability to digest the sugar in milk, which affects nearly 70 million Americans.

Unlike the traditional therapy--stay away from milk--Lactagen offers a one-time, 38-day program that results in the ability to enjoy dairy again. The company needed a way to educate prospective customers about the product and to provide customer support during the 38-day program.

"The challenge for Lactagen was that all customer information was stored in salesforce.com, yet customer emails would need to be sent through the ExactTarget email system," said Josh Holtzman, president and CEO of American Data Company. "To perform such a process manually would be error prone and require hiring additional staff."

American Data Company created an automated system that would reliably and automatically send emails through an email service provider. Both Lactagen and American Data agreed that ExactTarget provided both ease of use and the integration capabilities required to enable the system to mashup. ExactTarget's application programming interface (API) provided a seamless link between data in salesforce.com and the ExactTarget email application.

"ExactTarget leads the industry in processing more than 4.5 million API calls each month," said Scott McCorkle, vice president of technology and product at ExactTarget. "The ExactTarget software is built from the ground-up on an open API architecture, which makes mashups, such as this with Lactagen, easy to put together." ExactTarget was recently named one of the world's 25 leading ASP Service Providers by ASPNews.com, the premier source of news and analysis for and about the ASP and Web services industry.

The Automated Mailing System (AMS) goes to work each evening when the AMS server in Los Angeles gathers customer data from salesforce.com servers and builds more than 30 targeted recipient lists. The lists are imported into ExactTarget's servers in the Midwest and emails are automatically created from pre-made templates then sent to prospects and customers. The emails are customized based on where the prospects or customers are in the education process or 38-day program. Lactagen receives one email report in the morning that details all emails sent, delivered and opened.

The AMS system has been in place since July 2005. Since then, the system has automatically sent out several hundred thousand target emails and has a 99.46 percent success rate.

"The Lactagen program is a different approach to lactose intolerance and as such requires customer education at the beginning and customer support throughout the 38-day program. We've found that sales have increased by 47 percent since starting this email program, and customer satisfaction from those that purchase Lactagen has increased significantly since we are able to communicate with them more directly and clearly," said Andrew Ritter, president and CEO of Lactagen. "Our customers really like the personal connection they get in the emails we send them. For instance we send an email half way through the program to find out how they are doing. This helps us discover any problems or questions and is a good reminder that we are there for them. The automated email program developed by American Data Company and ExactTarget has been a key element of our success."

About ExactTarget

ExactTarget is the market leader in on-demand email software solutions for permission-based email marketing. More than 5,000 organizations worldwide, including Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, The Home Depot, Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Delta Faucet, CareerBuilder.com and Encyclopedia Britannica, rely on ExactTarget email solutions to strengthen their customer relationships and to control email throughout the enterprise. ExactTarget is a recognized technology leader. ASPnews, the world's premier source of news and analysis for and about the Application Service Provider (ASP) and Web services industry, ranks ExactTarget as one of world's 25 leading service providers for the ASP, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Web Services, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Utility Computing industries. ExactTarget ranked highest in business suitability by JupiterResearch in 2004 and 2005 based on the solution's usability, strong feature set and dynamic content tool. ExactTarget solutions meet the needs of all industry verticals and all size organizations, including SMB, corporate divisions, not-for-profits, large retail/direct marketers, agencies and enterprises. Privately owned and headquartered in Indianapolis, USA, the company has more than 30 offices spanning North America, Europe and Australia. To learn more, go to http://www.exacttarget.com.

American Data Company

American Data Company goes beyond providing online technology. The company builds online business solutions to meet the needs of its diverse customers by providing custom solutions that are easy to use, effective, secure, and reliable. American Data Company develops solutions for customers across a variety of industries including the automotive, financial, retail, real estate, non-profit, and manufacturing sectors. As an IBM Business Partner and a Sun Microsystems iForce Partner, American Data Company provides comprehensive application planning, architecture, development, integration, and assessment services. The company is privately held and headquartered in Los Angeles, USA with an office in Toronto, Canada. To learn more, please visit http://www.americandatacompany.com