News & Events

StrongMail Improves Deliverability for On-Demand CRM Software Provider Lasso Data Systems

Lasso Data Systems leverages StrongMail to increase effectiveness of client campaigns

Redwood City, Calif., July 21, 2008 – StrongMail Systems, Inc., the leading provider of on-premise solutions for marketing and transactional email, announced today that Lasso Data Systems, the leading designer and developer of on-demand CRM software for the real estate industry, has implemented StrongMail to power its clients’ email campaigns for more than 500 real estate projects. With StrongMail, Lasso has been able to improve its email sender reputation with the major ISPs, which has enabled it to achieve high deliverability for its clients.

“The number one feature of our web-based real estate software is its ability to handle large volumes of email for our clients’ email marketing campaigns, so ensuring deliverability is crucial to our business,” said Rick Talbot, vice president of client services for Lasso. “With StrongMail, we have complete control of our on-premise solution, allowing us to achieve full integration with Lasso software and provide our clients with the information and tools they need to be successful. Deployment was relatively easy, and the StrongMail support team has been very responsive.”

Prior to StrongMail, Lasso relied on an in-house developed mass mail solution that had limited reporting capabilities. Lasso's R&D team knew how many emails were sent, opened, and invalid, but they could not see why or how many emails were blocked or bounced.

Initially, Lasso thought outsourcing email delivery to a hosted email service provider (ESP) would be the best option. However, after contacting several of the top ESPs, Lasso discovered that they were unable to handle the number of projects, nor were they able to easily integrate with the Lasso software. The ineffectiveness of a hosted provider led Lasso to StrongMail.

“StrongMail is by far a better solution,” said Talbot. “From domain throttling to detailed reporting, we get everything we need, plus the ability to control the server in our data center, easily integrate with our software, and scale to meet our future needs. Now that StrongMail is implemented, the next step is to make all details generated by StrongMail directly available to our clients, and StrongMail will enable us to create new strategies and tools that will help all our clients continually improve their deliverability.”

The first phase of the Lasso deployment involved using StrongMail to deliver client email without developing separate campaigns. This allowed Lasso to gain new insight into deliverability issues, including an average bounce rate of 12.5%.. During the second phase of deployment, Lasso used StrongMail to throttle email to specific domains and developed a global hard-bounce suppression list, which ensures that an email address that bounces on one list, will be suppressed if that list is replicated and used for other campaigns. As a result, Lasso was able to reduce its bounce rate to 3.2% in the most recent month in which 1.1 million emails were successfully delivered.

“We’ve found that 80 percent of delivery is based on our email sender reputation, and much of this is based on blocks and hard bounces,” added Talbot. “With StrongMail, we can establish and maintain a positive reputation, which means more effective campaigns for our clients.”

“When business success is tied to email marketing success, companies need to ensure that they have the tools to create highly relevant campaigns and get them delivered, and that's where StrongMail's on-premise solutions and delivery services shine,” said Spencer Kollas, director of delivery services for StrongMail Systems. “StrongMail enables Lasso to take control of its email delivery while offering the performance, reliability, integration and tracking it needs to meet the heavy demands of its CRM clients now and in the future.”

About Lasso Data Systems
Lasso Data Systems Inc., is the leading designer, developer and marketer of innovative “on-demand” Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for the worldwide real estate market. The company’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) enables real estate developers, builders and sales & marketing companies to manage their potential homebuyers online from interest list to occupancy and to sell their developments faster and easier with controlled velocity. Lasso was designed and custom-built in collaboration with leading property developers and builders to address the daily business needs processes, challenges and opportunities of the industry. Lasso is a privately held company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

About StrongMail Systems, Inc.
StrongMail Systems provides businesses with commercial-grade, on-premise solutions for marketing and transactional email. StrongMail integrates its proven email delivery, tracking and campaign management software on high-performance servers that are optimized for maximum deliverability. In addition to providing superior control, security and integration capabilities, StrongMail's in-house approach offers companies a more powerful and cost-effective alternative to homegrown or outsourced solutions. Hundreds of companies worldwide rely on StrongMail's solutions to power their mission-critical customer communications. A Silicon Valley company, StrongMail is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, and is funded by Sequoia Capital, Evercore Partners, Globespan Capital Partners and DAG Ventures. To learn more about StrongMail Systems, visit www.strongmail.com.

Media Contact
Brigit Valencia
Eastwick Communications
650-480-4019