• Customer Portal
• Newsletter
• twitter.com/infopark
• Jobs and Careers

Thanks to Infopark Online Marketing Cockpits (OMC), SES ASTRA S.A. interacts with their customers through websites. The websites itself are build with the content management system Infopark Fiona. The focal points of the long lasting cooperation with Infopark are a multi-lingual website and the extranet.

The Company

SES ASTRA S.A. operates ASTRA’s satellite system and offers a wide range of broadcast and broadband solutions. The company’s headquarters are in Betzdorf, Luxemburg.

SES ASTRA has led the way on the field of direct satellite communications in Europe and quickly became the leader in the satellite broadcasting market. Their system is used by numerous broadcasting stations and multimedia companies, and supplies communications and broadband services to some 122 million households.

Why a CMS?

Formerly, SES ASTRA’s web pages were built using different systems which caused the layout and structure of the content to be fundamentally dissimilar. From an editorial point of view, these systems were not suited for working efficiently. Therefore, a CMS was to replace these systems to simplify the data structures, and to standardize editorial work.

The websites of the operating companies, of associated service companies, and of a digital marketing platform for satellite TV were to be maintained with a single CMS. The purpose of this was to technically standardize the IT infrastructure and to allow for multiple use of content and functionality.

Continuous Optimization of the Website by Means of a CMS and the OMC

Beginning in 2004, after the initial discussion and conception stage, Infopark CMS Fiona was introduced step by step at SES ASTRA.

Fiona helped to consolidate the systems and to standardize the infrastructure of the internet presences. The websites have been continuously adjusted and optimized to meet the requirements that have been changing in the course of time. The editors were given the possibility to decentrally maintain the multi-language websites in a convenient way. Because of its user-friendly interface, the CMS can also be operated without any knowledge of HTML.

The focus of many years of cooperation with Infopark has been on SES ASTRA’s web presence for which Neill Henderson as Web and E-Marketing Manager is responsible.

To meet SES ASTRA’s demand for target group-specific differentiation with regards to content, and for a consistent design, the website was relaunched in 2007. One year later, the extranet was realized with Fiona. Shortly after that, Infopark Online Marketing Cockpit was introduced.

Multi-Language Portal with Country Recognition

SES ASTRA’s website is an international portal offering country-specific content to different target groups. Since SES ASTRA operates in Europe and in Africa, the portal was equipped with a country recognition mechanism (GEO-IP) which automatically determines the country in which the user opens the page. Alternatively, the user can select one of 14 countries for which 15 languages are offered.

Individuality through Target Group-Specific Website Sections

SES ASTRA’s aim was to address the different target groups on the web individually. In website sections clearly separated from each other, SES ASTRA offers to business customers, dealers, and end customers the information required by these groups. Business customers such as representatives of broadcasting stations can inform themselves about the services available for stations, or the telecommunication or satellite industry.

Station Search in the Consumer’s Section

For the customers’ convenience, a country-specific dealer search was integrated. End customers can search for TV and radio channels available in their area. The search can be customized choosing criteria such as language, genre, or transmission type (analogue/digital). The available channels as well as information about satellite reach and signal strength are presented clearly on the website. Technically interested persons can find in-depth information about the location of satellites as well as their properties. With Infopark’s PDF generator, which was built into the website, visitors can download the station lists they have put together as PDF files.

Complete Solution Consisting of a CMS and Online Marketing Functions

As a global player, the satellite operating company wanted to add effective dialogue and customer support functions to their website. “We wanted to combine the website with a system that makes customer relationship management, online marketing, inquiry and event handling, and campain control easier. We were looking for a complete solution consisting of a CMS and a supporting system for web marketing purposes”, Neill Henderson says.

Dialogue on the Web Facilitates More Efficient Workflows

The requirements of Neill Henderson and his SES ASTRA team were fulfilled with Infopark Online Marketing Cockpit in combination with the web presence. Since 2008, SES ASTRA uses this system to handle registrations for website access, customer inquiries, or event registrations made on their website. In this way, SES ASTRA can interact with customers over the web, too, complementary to traditional communication channels.

The system reduces personnel expenses and the amount of time required for web marketing since staff members can rely on automatic processes in their online communications. Due to central keeping of data in the system, all data can be used for multiple purposes such as mailings. Targeted mailings can be created conveniently and fast, they are easy to personalize and can be sent to groups of people who match pre-defined criteria.

Neill Henderson is satisfied with this complete solution consisting of Infopark Online Marketing Cockpit and SES ASTRA’s web presence: “We can now care for our customers through the web, too. And we can provide personalized content. Also, the OMC lets us see the effects of our marketing measures and helps us to optimize our website.”

Satisfied Customers through High Quality of Service

Along with the analysis of marketing measures, inquiry handling is an important aspect of customer relationship management. With the OMC, inquiries can be handled in a clear and systematic manner, too. The current status as well as a complete history of every inquiry are available to all staff members at any time. Again, central data storage helps to track customer issues.

Another advantage of the system is that it prevents the multiple processing of inquiries. “The OMC structures our operational procedures and shortens our reaction times to inquiries, which leads to higher quality of service. As a result, customer satisfaction increases,” says Neill Henderson.

Event-Handling

At regular intervals SES ASTRA holds events for business customers to introduce new technologies. Event management is now done with the Online Marketing Cockpit. Due to the data held by the system, invitations can be sent to the customers in a straightforward way. Customers who wish to participate, then fill in a registration form in a protected section on the website and receive a confirmation.

The Online Marketing Cockpit automates many work steps required for processing registrations, making registration less time consuming for SES ASTRA. Furthermore, the system makes registrations as well as refusals accessible in a clear way. “Even if our sales staff have not met specific customers at an event, we can still make use of the data stored in the OMC. Based on this data, we can plan future activities to improve customer loyality,” Neill Henderson says.

The screenshots above illustrate the complete solution. After a customer has registered for an event on SES ASTRA’s website, the person’s data is displayed in the OMC’s corresponding account record. The user data can be analyzed and further processed. The number of persons who have registered for an event can be seen, too.

SMS Reminder for Event Participants

At congresses held by SES ASTRA, the participants are reminded via SMS of the next talk or presentation they have booked, including time and location specifications. This is a convenient method of orientation for the congress participants. The data required for this service originate from the OMC. The customer’s selection of congress talks is stored at the time she registers.

Long-Term Cooperation

Neill Henderson appreciates the many years of good cooperation with Infopark and the outstanding consulting support: “We have been using Infopark CMS Fiona for many years for our communication purposes. Even though our requirements changed in the course of time, the system was, due to its flexibility, always able to fulfill them and to continuously optimize our website. Additionally, the OMC lets us conduct a good deal of the dialogue with our customers on the web. Central data storage and the integration of the OMC with our website help us to carry out online marketing activities and to handle events and inquiries more efficiently.”

Related projects with this company

Numerous other web presences of subsidaries of SES Management Holding S.A. as well as the intranet of the holding are also maintained with Infopark CMS Fiona

Speech: Infopark Online Marketing Cockpit at SES ASTRA

Video: At Infopark Customer Day 2009 Neill Henderson, Web and E-Marketing Manager at SES ASTRA, reported on the use of Infopark Online Marketing Cockpit at SES ASTRA. (29 min)