Speaking the Same Language

A leader in the asset and vehicle tracking industry, US Fleet Tracking is a GPS tracking manufacturer providing Internet-based access to vehicle tracking and asset management.

As a savvy marketer, US Fleet Tracking‘s Sam Sims knows the value of capturing actionable data for targeted lead generation. But as he began searching for a marketing automation solution, he knew he would have to find a product that could not only track information, but also communicate across multiple systems in widespread markets.

Act-On’s service stands on its own merits, like ours. I was able to track what clients were doing from product to product, that insight led me to additional marketing campaigns.

Sam Sims

Digital Marketer

Finding the Best Match

In Act-On, he found the answer. The Black Friday campaign he designed and implemented using Act-On proved a resounding success, earning $30,000 from a single campaign. 

Sims couldn’t be more impressed with the streamlined simplicity of Act-On’s point-to-click integrations or the way it delivers the required communications across multiple systems. 

Because the solution is accessible from both desktop and mobile devices, Sims says the company is able to respond directly and quickly to its client base, with clear communication among teams. After reviewing competitive technologies, US Fleet Tracking narrowed its choices down to two. 

He says the decision to select Act-On was clear after talking to Act-On representatives and finding they listened carefully to his business objectives, asked questions that revealed a “partners in the solution” approach and brainstormed solutions optimized for US Fleet Tracking, rather than standard, off-the-shelf designs. Sims also likes Act-On’s month-to- month service model, which is similar to US Fleet Tracking’s.

Immediate Success

Sims said he was surprised at how quickly the Black Friday campaign showed results. In real time, within the Act-On dashboard, he was able to see which clients received the email he sent, whether they clicked on it, and whether they went to the website to research the products in the promotion. 

He was even able to see whether clients did research on similar products. “I was able to track what clients were doing from product to product. That insight has led me to additional marketing campaigns – all because Act-On showed me this data,” he said.

At every level, the campaign was a success, according to Sims, who launched the promotion on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Not only was the response from clients enthusiastic, but an estimated 25% of the clients who participated in the campaign filled out a call-back form that enabled enhanced data capture and alerts for his sales team. 

Another pleasant surprise for Sims was how quickly he was able to deploy Act-On. All told, he spent about two weeks on implementation. In two months he was running the company’s biggest campaign through Act-On.

Unfolding the Solution

One of US Fleet Tracking’s biggest problems prior to implementing Act-On was a lack of transparency and integration between software solutions in different departments. This caused a disconnect, making people unable or reluctant to read or understand the data marketing provided.

Now, Act-On ties marketing directly to the Salesforce system used by the sales team, providing information in the exact format with which they are already familiar. 

As a result, the sales team sees the immediate benefits of getting information into the Salesforce database: potential and current clients can be included in marketing promotions. Integration was so seamless that sales and marketing communication has been streamlined and strengthened without additional effort or training.

Communication with accounting is also simpler and more effective with Act-On. After deploying Act-On, Sims was able to generate reports that provided measurements and analysis of campaign performance. He sent those reports to the accounting team, so the two departments can compare numbers. Further, Sims is now able to furnish quantifiable results that demonstrate how marketing programs impact the bottom line.

Act-On more than paid for itself right off the bat. It paid for service; it paid for time – and we still made additional money. We’re able to pull more triggers more quickly. With Act-On we’re more nimble.

Sam Sims

Digital Marketer

Highlights

  • Customer since 2012
  • Act-On is “the tech that ties sales & marketing together"
  • Chose Act-On because "they were partners in the solution"
  • Completely setup Act-On in under two weeks
  • Quantifiable results that demonstrate how marketing programs perform
  • Ties marketing directly to Salesforce

We put the Black Friday campaign on Act-On in about a week. lot of that time was in adding the imagery. When all was said and done, it was just a matter of about two days for me to build the form, launch the form, build the email, launch the email and tie in the back end data. And I didn’t have to involve the IT department.

Sam Sims

Digital Marketer

With Act-On, I’m able to show directly that this software and its integration into our systems makes us money. I’m able to show the accounting and executive teams the exact amount.

Sam Sims

Digital Marketer

Business Problems Solved

US Fleet Tracking recognized that its clients often used search engines to research solutions before they ever picked up the phone to discuss a purchase. This made it important to get as much customer information as possible from the searches to generate actionable intelligence. While the company’s website analytics program supplied some data, it wasn’t designed to deliver the type of information that can generate qualified leads. With the information Act-On provides, Sims says US Fleet Tracking is able to provide better service to its clients. “We are now tailoring our message based on our clients’ needs as identified through Act-On,” he said.

Implementing Act-On has resulted in procedural changes too. Gone are the days of the cold call. “Act-On gathers the information for us more efficiently than a cold call team would be able to, freeing our representatives to spend their time responding to qualified leads,” said Sims.

The practice has already started to pay off. After visitors viewed a whitepaper on the company’s site and filled out a form, a representative followed up with each. One representative was able to get three appointments in his first five calls, closing an $8500 deal with one. “That was with a lead we wouldn’t even have known about prior to adopting Act-On,” Sims commented.

The success US Fleet Tracking has experienced in the four months since it’s been live on Act-On has motivated the company to consider developing future campaigns that employ even more sophisticated features. Sims says Act-On software has changed the company’s approach to marketing campaigns from “shotgun” to “rifle,” thanks to the focus it’s helped them develop.