Overview
This case study documents a consultancy engagement for a fast-growing online retailer of premium wines. The business wanted a practical, low-friction way to centralise customer and prospect data, then use that data to run consistent monthly newsletters and structured follow-up sequences.
Like many e-commerce teams, they were balancing customer experience with operational workload. Their priority was to reduce repetition, remove manual list handling, and improve visibility across marketing, events, and order fulfilment, without adding unnecessary tooling.
What SME Software Help delivered
A joined-up CRM and email marketing setup designed to keep data accurate, automate routine work, and improve customer engagement.
- CRM structure built around consistent tags and custom fields for segmentation and reporting.
- Website newsletter sign-up automation into the CRM and marketing list, with correct tagging on entry.
- Conditional follow-up sequences for hot, warm, and cold leads, with tailored messaging.
- List hygiene processes, including invalid address removal and a 120-day inactivity prune to protect domain reputation.
- Operational workflows using CRM projects for marketing planning, events, and order fulfilment visibility.
Initial challenges
Before implementation, customer and prospect data was distributed across tools and processes. That made it difficult to segment audiences reliably, measure campaign performance, and follow up consistently. Manual list management also increased the risk of deliverability issues caused by invalid or unengaged contacts.
Phase 1: CRM consolidation and segmentation
The first step was to create a single source of truth for customers and prospects. We introduced a simple, repeatable data model: tags to capture key attributes, and custom fields to capture detail that needed to be reported on or used in automation rules.
This created a consistent foundation for marketing and sales activity, including lead temperature classification. It also reduced duplicate records and helped the team move faster with less uncertainty.
Phase 2: Email marketing automation and campaigns
Automated newsletter sign-ups
Website form submissions were automated so new subscribers were created in the CRM and added to the newsletter audience without manual handling. Contacts were tagged at the point of entry, which ensured permissions were clear and segmentation was immediate.
Conditional follow-up for lead temperature
We implemented conditional automations to tailor follow-up based on whether a lead was hot, warm, or cold. This helped the team stay responsive with high-intent leads while maintaining a lighter-touch nurture approach for early-stage prospects.
List hygiene to protect deliverability
Deliverability was treated as a commercial safeguard. We ran list cleaning to remove invalid email addresses and introduced a self-pruning automation: contacts who did not engage with any email in the previous 120 days were removed from ongoing sends.
This reduced wasted send volume, improved reporting accuracy, and protected domain reputation over time.
Phase 3: Multi-channel execution and operational visibility
Alongside email campaigns, the marketing team used the platform to schedule social posts and send SMS reminders in the lead-up to events. For planning and coordination, we used CRM projects to organise activities and provide visibility across marketing, events, and fulfilment.
Results and impact
- Customer and prospect data centralised, with consistent segmentation for targeting and reporting.
- Monthly newsletters delivered reliably, with significantly less manual work.
- Improved engagement through relevant follow-up sequences aligned to lead intent.
- Reduced marketing waste and cost by removing invalid addresses and pruning inactivity.
- Clearer coordination of campaigns, events, and fulfilment through structured project workflows.
Key takeaways for e-commerce and premium retail teams
- Start with a clean data model. Automation is only as effective as the data driving it.
- Use segmentation to improve relevance, not to increase complexity.
- Automate capture and tagging at the point of entry to remove manual administration.
- Build list hygiene into your operating rhythm to protect deliverability and reduce costs.
- Use lightweight project workflows to coordinate marketing and operations in one place.
If you want similar outcomes
SME Software Help designs CRM, email marketing, and automation systems that reduce repetition and give you clearer visibility across sales and marketing. If your data is spread across tools, or your newsletters depend on manual work, we can help you simplify the setup and make it scalable.
Achieving similar results on other platforms
The approach in this case study is platform-agnostic. The same outcomes can be achieved using other tools when the underlying data, segmentation, and hygiene practices are implemented properly.
HubSpot
Use HubSpot workflows to automate lead routing, nurture sequences, and list management. See HubSpot’s guidance on creating workflows. (Create workflows in HubSpot)
Zoho Bigin
Use Bigin for lightweight CRM structure and combine it with a dedicated marketing tool for newsletters and segmentation. (Bigin by Zoho CRM)
Mailchimp
Use marketing automation flows for sign-ups, segmentation, and nurture journeys, then maintain list health using engagement-based audience management. (Mailchimp marketing automation flows)
ActiveCampaign
Use conditional automations with tagging and engagement tracking to run segmented follow-up and maintain deliverability over time. (ActiveCampaign marketing automation)
Note: platform features vary by plan. The most reliable route is to define your segmentation and processes first, then choose the toolset that supports them cleanly.