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Marketing and Communications

SASSETA INTRA MARKETING 1

"The Marketing and Communications Department is responsible for continued enhancement of Corporate Reputation through measureable Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) programmes and campaigns that grow corporate awareness, build brand equity, synergise return and address organisational objectives. Measureable marketing tactics include events, advertising, PR and publicity, E Marketing, branding, printing and corporate and promotional gifts. In classical marketing terms all programmes and campaigns focus on the enhancement of service elements that streamline work flow and increase customer relationship management (CRM)."

Part of the newly established Corporate Services Department, Marketing and Communications strive to constantly improve the productivity and efficiency of the department so that internal and external customers can be served quickly and professionally while driving down costs.

To improve customer relations and ease event logistics, digital marketing was first introduced in the weeks leading up the 2009 Annual General Meeting. Since then the concept and practical implementation of digital marketing of subsequent Annual General Meetings, the National SASSETA Road Shows, and other key events result in targeted pre and post event stakeholder communication. Digital marketing is also used to increase market response to newspaper advertisements (Mandatory Grants, WSP deadlines) as it is a cost effective, personal (direct mobile phone and email) communication with our target markets. This corporate reputation and CRM enhancement tool is now an accepted, and even expected, method of communication with our various target markets.

  • The SASSETA Call Centre is now positioned as the customer care hub of the organisation. It delivers customer call resolution in a ‘one call’ procedure or within one working day – a significant improvement over the seven day turnaround of previous years. To further enhance customer satisfaction call centre consultants freely share the knowledge gained through their area of organisational specialisation (ETQA, Skills Development and Administration, Projects and Learning Programmes) thus facilitating faster and more professional query resolution while improving overall company efficiency. The call centre has a new inter-departmental role of outbound calling on projects of strategic importance such as WSP, ATR and Grant filing and query resolution – a task that increases the productivity of other departments and ensures centralised customer call resolution.
  • The development and implementation of the Extranet is an electronic customer document filing tool that tracks document processing timelines across all departments. . Implemented to decrease departmental turn-around times, the Extranet promises to add real-time customer value through automatic mobile phone and email messaging on the progress and problems with each application. Customers will log in with a unique password to ensure confidentiality and those customers who as yet do not have access to the internet will be assisted in-house or may elect to continue to deliver paper based documentation. Marketing and Communication is also responsible for the initiation and development of this new website that we believe offers an improved customer engagement experience. Developed concurrently with the Extranet, the Website allows for new features such as online video streaming, when applicable, daily site updates, measurable marketing campaigns and rapid downloads of e-Brochures and larger publications. Additional services (links to service providers, local and national Government sites, financial institutions, industry experts, etc.); will, in future, build positive corporate reputation at each contact point. Many thanks at this juncture to our website developer, Intoweb for their initiative, patience and expertise.
 

Display advertising and paid for editorials


To drive down costs the marketing team have rationalised frequency and scope of print display advertising and paid editorials to concentrate expenditure on the publications that directly communicate with key target areas.

Radio commercials is an effective method of reaching the a desired target group which was (ensure that sentences wrap) demonstrated by the increase in national public response to key events such as the Annual General Meeting, the SASSETA Road Shows, A national radio campaign to promote brand awareness is planned for 2011.

The focus on improving media has paid dividends in that major events and pertinent corporate messages are mirrored in the media virtually verbatim (unchallenged) and that sector specific journalists (safety, security, government) are positive in their comments and opinions of the organisation.

Marketing and Communications is responsible for the production and distribution of a variety of publications such as the quarterly newsletter Montwedi, Annual Report, Skills Development Facilitators’ Guide, the SASSETA Handbook and several ad hoc and event specific leaflets and flyers. We work closely with the client departments to produce the publications that will help them to communicate their specific messages to the intended target markets.

Building corporate awareness with its various public markets, the organisation participated in a number of industry specific exhibitions that addressed national corporate objectives. Events vary between ISOE (write out) to Graduations, Workshops, Annual General Meetings, Certifications, Conferences, Road Shows and the support of those events initiated by our stakeholders such as SAPS Pass Out Parades, Key Point events, etc.