We had the pleasure of catching up with Dylan von Kleist, the Marketing Manager for RUPES USA, INC. As a 2018 All Star winner, it means Dylan and RUPES USA, INC. are in the top 10% of customers that meet a certain set of criteria . We were excited to get to know Dylan and the work he's been doing with RUPES and how email marketing has impacted their business.    Constant Contact: For our readers not in the know, tell us what RUPES is all about!   RUPES USA, INC: RUPES is a family owned Italian company founded in 1947 that specializes in pneumatic and electric tools and dust extraction systems for a variety of industries. The company, still headquartered globally in Milan, has been innovating for over 70 years and was actually the very first company ever (1961-62) to use plastic polymer housings for their power tools to improve weight and provide better insulation (safety) against electric shock. This is a very common thing today, but at the time no one had ever used a plastic housing for power tools. In more recent years RUPES has become known as the industry leader for polishing systems expanding our manufacturing capability to include polishing pads and even blending our own polishing compounds.   In 2015 RUPES acquired Colorado-based Cyclo Toolmakers and formed RUPES USA, which is the North American headquarters. In 2017 we completed construction of a state of the art 40,000 sq ft facility that now houses our US administrative offices, manufacturing, sales, support, and training center known as the BigFoot Detailing Academy. It is widely recognized as the premier training facility in North America and we conduct multiple classes a month where students travel from around the world to get technical training from our internationally recognized training staff.   At our core, RUPES is an education based company. We firmly believe that if we can teach our customers a better way to do things, either more efficiently or producing a superior result, then the sales will follow. Our polishing systems are easily the most popular for automotive detailers around the world and we continue to innovate and push new technology into the market, but even the best advances in tools are nothing if you don’t show the operators how to use them properly. That is why we place such a huge premium on education as ultimately it is tied to the success of our product and the people who use it.   CTCT: As their Marketing Manager, you’re responsible for bringing attention to the company. What do you feel are the most important principles to convey when marketing the business?   RUPES: I have a delicate balancing act to conduct – respect 70+ years of history in Europe, continue to introduce the brand into the US conscious, and keep the message cutting edge. Luckily we’ve been able to blend those various aspects and have a unique message out there. We have a legacy, but we’re never propping ourselves up on what we have done. We are innovating new products and processes, but we never forget to remember where we came from. Probably most challenging, is to reconcile that at our core we are an Italian company with a long, proud, legacy of family ownership while still presenting a uniquely American spin on our channels here in the USA. What many people may not realize is how differently technicians in our various industries approach and prioritize things in the US vs. Europe. European countries have a much larger priority on health and safety for their operators, so things like vibration and noise levels are key selling features. Here in the states, we tend to care less about the health and safety aspects, wanting things with more power that work faster. Balancing those mentalities and target customer expectations is challenging, but fun!   CTCT: What place do you see email in your marketing efforts?   RUPES: Our communication is 2 fold – we do not sell directly to the public so we maintain a network of over 500 independent distributors in the USA (and growing). We use email to communicate at least once a month to them in a newsletter we call the RUPES Distributor Update. In each edition, we feature product updates, upcoming events, important news, and even short features on some of our distribution partners. It has been wildly successful and we’re regularly told by our distributors that none of the other brands they do business with take that much time to communicate things to them   The second end of the communication is to end users, or the people who buy the products from our distributors. For them, we need to have interesting content about what we’re working on, new and upcoming products, technical tips and tricks, announcements of events, and other things. We even sub-segment those consumers into those seeking general info and those interested in traveling to our facility for training and send the latter regular updates on new training opportunities. Ultimately the goal of these emails is to educate our consumers and then drive them to the authorized distributors for purchasing the product or drive them to our website to sign up for training events.   Email is a very important part of our overall marketing effort and ties in with our social media and live events. We use the other channels to drive email list growth, either by opt-in forms on social media or sign up at live events. Each part of our marketing approach feeds another, but email certainly plays a huge role in that process.   CTCT: How has email communication benefitted your company?   RUPES: When I took over this position in 2015 there was really no structure, consistency, or plan to email communication. We had a constant contact account, but it wasn’t being effectively used. Since structuring the process and using it to a larger degree we have seen a huge improvement in our engagement both with distributors and end users. For communication with distributors, it ensures that they are up to speed on everything we’re doing, when they can start to order a new product, what trends we’re seeing from the consumers, and activities we have going to promote the brand. It really helps them feel connected to us and what we’re doing. For end users, it drives engagement with our classes here at the BigFoot Academy and it steers them to their local authorized distributor if they need to buy the product or get technical help.   CTCT: And of course, what does winning the Constant Contact All Star recognition mean for RUPES? RUPES: It was a huge honor! We have worked really hard to refine our email campaigns to make them as effective as possible and the All Star recognition is great confirmation that our efforts are producing results. Sometimes you are too close to things to realize how far you’ve come. After receiving the notice we were being recognized I went back and sorted through our older campaigns and the contrast of how much things have changed (for the better) is amazing and we certainly wouldn’t have invested as much energy into it if it wasn’t producing results, so it is obvious Constant Contact has been a huge tool for us. ... View more

Back in November, we ran a contest in the Community  highlighting our Third Generation Editor. We garnered a lot of participation and some great feedback! Community VNA ended up being our Grand Prize winner. We thought it would be fun to learn a bit more about what Community VNA does and how email marketing fits in with their organization and communication needs. Without further ado, I catch up with Jeffrey LaValley, their Community Relations and Fund Development Manager, to learn more!   Constant Contact: What is Community VNA and what services does the organization provide?   Community VNA: Community VNA is a private, non-profit family of healthcare services located in southeastern Massachusetts, providing skilled nursing care, social services, and rehabilitative therapies to individuals in their homes living throughout the 13 cities and towns of the greater Attleboro, Massachusetts region.   Since 1911, we have been dedicated to enhancing health, wellness, and quality of life for individuals and their families, providing a range of services, including Home Health Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Private Care, Adult Day Health Care, Alzheimer’s Assistance Program, as well as Lifeline Services and Annual Elder Dental Clinics.   Community VNA has been recognized as a 2017 HomeCare Elite Top 500 (ranked among the top 5% of home health care agencies nationwide). This recognition is based on publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice implementing patient experience, quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance.   CTCT: Walk me through the general day-to-day as the Community Relations Manager.     Community VNA: As the Community Relations Manager I am responsible for corporate identity programs, marketing, public relations and communications for all affiliates and programs. Additionally, I oversee the agency’s resource development program, including fundraising efforts from individuals, foundations, and corporations.   One of the things I enjoy most about my job is that no day is the same. One minute I could be working on a grant proposal, and the next, implementing a social media campaign or planning an event. I consider myself a “generalist” so I am able to use both my analytical skills and my creative energy.   CTCT: How does Community VNA utilize email marketing?   Community VNA: We use email marketing as one tool in our communications portfolio to keep friends of Community VNA informed about educational opportunities, news, current events, and targeted agency announcements (based on an area of interest).   CTCT: What other marketing channels do you use to reach your audience?   Community VNA: We use a variety of marketing channels from traditional print media (letters, postcards, etc.) to digital/electronic (website, social media – Facebook & Twitter).   CTCT: What advice would you have for others that might operate in a similar industry and are looking to use Constant Contact, or just in general?   Community VNA: At the end of the day, fundraising, regardless of the type of organization you work for, is about your ability to tell a good story. Email marketing gives you an opportunity to do that in a cost-effective way in a place where most people already spend a great deal of their time – on their electronic devices.   Telling your story also involves knowing your audience, how often they want to hear from you, and finding a way to personalize the story for them. Constant Contact allows us to do all of these things based on the information we have gathered.   Keep in mind, there is no “silver bullet” when it comes to communicating with friends and donors. Email marketing will not solve all of your communication problems. You have to use a variety of channels and be certain your branding and messaging are consistent.   CTCT: Has the organization thought about how they would like to spend the grand prize?   Community VNA: We are very grateful for this very generous prize/award and have decided to support clients at each of our three Adult Day Health Centers. We will make purchases for items that fall outside of their (Activities Fund) budgets — such as therapeutic toys, games, fidget and multi-sensory objects, books, and electronics. -- Thank you Jeffrey LaValley for talking with us and providing great insights into how Community VNA serves and communicates with their clients. ... View more