Chain switches to commercial system to improve efficiency

The nation's largest Christian retail chain has converted its e-mail platform in order to better serve customers.

Family Christian Stores recently standardized all of its marketing and transactional e-mail on StrongMail Systems' commercial-grade e-mail platform.

Family Christian previously relied on an e-mail service provider, but switched to StrongMail to improve the relevancy, reliability and cost of its e-mail campaigns, company officials said.

In addition to its 300 stores, the chain also sells products and church supplies through its Web site. To keep its customers informed, Family Christian relies heavily on e-mail, resulting in multiple campaigns and millions of e-mails sent each month.

"With StrongMail, we now have the control and data integration necessary to respond quickly to market changes with personalized messages that drive results and customer satisfaction," said Keith Watkins, chief information officer of Family Christian Stores. "By offering us a complete solution at the right value, StrongMail will enable us to deliver more relevant and cost effective e-mail communications across our multi channel environment."

With the new e-mail platform, Family will be able to better handle customer data and control the timing of the chain's e-mails.

Redwood City, Calif.-based StrongMail's clients include eHarmony, FoxSports.com and Ticketmaster.