Touchpoint Makes Contacts a Snap For Hanimex
Digital cameras: the market research says that if you don’t have one already, you’ve thought about it. When it comes
time to replace or upgrade your faithful snapshot point-and-shoot, many New Zealanders are choosing to go digital.
Consequently, the digital camera market in New Zealand is fast moving and very competitive. As more Kiwis travel
internationally and buy over the internet or from parallel importers, New Zealand retailers and distributors need new
ways of delivering value to their customers.
Hanimex New Zealand Limited realised that, possibly more than anything else, consumers want the security of service and
support in New Zealand for their digital camera. To achieve this, Hanimex decided to develop a database of Fujifilm
digital camera customers who purchased their product from the network of retailers who support and stock the products in
New Zealand.
“We set out to take an educational approach for consumers,” says Christine Harper, Market Manager – Electronic Imaging
at Hanimex.
“People can and do purchase Fujifilm digital cameras anywhere in the world and if they qualify for warranty service in
New Zealand we provide that; if not they can receive that service for a fee. The database makes it easier for us to
identify customers so we can provide better levels of support.”
Consumers go online to www.fujifilm.co.nz to lodge their purchase details. The warranty database is self-managing, so
people can lodge their information directly and receive immediate acknowledgement, and they can update their own
information anytime. Naturally, customers can still send warranties in by post, and some retailers will register
warranties online, directly into the database while the customer is purchasing the digital camera.
Consumers can also elect to receive occasional emails from Hanimex. “When a customer joins our digital camera database,
they have a direct experience of our brand,” says Christine.
“So we also wanted to reinforce this with occasional direct communication relevant to their camera model or specified
interests, with the customer’s permission of course. With the accelerated pace of innovation in digital photography, we
can keep customers up to date with new techniques and technology.”
Hanimex’s direct communication with the growing database of Fujifilm digital camera users is designed specifically to
drive the consumer back to the retailer or reseller where they made their digital camera purchase, which means the
entire channel can grow their business and improve their customer relationships.
Almost universal connectivity means that it is possible to have entirely digital relationships between companies who
provide products, retailers who sell and support them, and the end consumer. This is why more and more marketers are
using digital channels as part of their marketing mix.
A key enabler is moving the marketing database to where it can be integrated into these communications and
relationships, and always up-to-date. That’s why Hanimex turned to Touchpoint to power and host its warranty database
and backend.
The database gives Hanimex staff a single view of all warranties regardless of which communications channel delivers the
information (mail, web or retailer entry), as well as the ability to access and maintain the database from any office.
Hanimex benefits by receiving monthly reporting on the warranty registration programme and can report and search on
warranties by a wide variety of information types. “When you’re dealing with a variety of customers whose relationships
have different contact points and layers of entitlement, a combination of web and email based communication is the most
flexible tool,” says Touchpoint Director Steve Shearman. “By building an opt-in database, Hanimex can deal with
individual situations as well as developing broad permission-based marketing programmes from a single source.”
About Touchpoint
Touchpoint is the leading edge New Zealand provider of multi-channel marketing systems used by marketers and
professional direct marketing agencies. The Touchpoint software suite helps businesses build closer, more profitable
customer relationships by taking advantage of traditional and emerging digital channels, including email, direct mail,
telemarketing, SMS text-messaging, fax, and the web. Touchpoint solutions provide direct access for marketers, agencies,
and customer service staff to set up, manage and track integrated marketing programmes and campaigns across multiple
channels in real-time. About Hanimex
Hanimex New Zealand Limited is the official importer and distributor of Fujifilm products manufactured by Fuji Photo
Film Co. of Tokyo Japan. Hanimex is a part of the Photo Holdings Group which also owns the country’s largest wholesale
photofinisher, Viko Laboratories and leading photographic retailer Camera House. Hanimex operates from an Auckland head
office and national distribution facility and has sales and technical support staff in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Wellington
and Christchurch.