Overview
As digital communication grew, our healthcare client needed a more flexible, cost-effective way to reach patients—especially high-value groups. Their Salesforce-based email workflows were overbuilt for some campaigns and lacked the agility the marketing team needed. i-ology partnered with this client to build a streamlined solution demonstrating that SQL could run targeted, measurable campaigns outside of Salesforce.
The Challenge
Salesforce licensing and campaign execution costs were higher than value delivered for certain touchpoints.
Marketing lacked flexible segmentation tools, leading to ineffective outreach.
No centralized visibility existed for open, click, bounce, or funnel performance.
SQL needed a solution to lower operational expense, improve segmentation accuracy, and enhance insight into campaign outcomes.
Leadership wanted a scalable, low-code mechanism for future non-Salesforce campaigns.
The Approach
i-ology collaborated with client to validate a flexible, cost-efficient alternative to Salesforce-driven email campaigns, focusing on segmentation accuracy, delivery performance, and measurable results.
Discovery and Strategy
Evaluated SQL’s existing Salesforce-based marketing workflows, identifying cost inefficiencies and gaps in segmentation.
Identified priority audiences (e.g., lapsed MLR users) and defined measurable campaign performance KPIs.
Established a testing framework to validate deliverability, engagement, and performance reporting.
Segmentation and Targeting Design
Built custom segmentation rules using SQL’s patient datasets to isolate high-value outreach populations.
Ensured future reuse by designing modular segmentation logic adaptable to new campaign types.
Aligned segmentation with SQL’s compliance and communication requirements.
Template Development and Message Delivery
Created an SQL-branded HTML template optimized for clarity, accessibility, and cross-device compatibility.
Integrated Amazon SES to support high-volume, low-cost, compliant email delivery.
Implemented bounce, complaint, and delivery event capture to reduce risk and maintain sender reputation.
Engagement Tracking and Reporting
Built a tracking layer to capture opens, clicks, and bounces with precision.
Stored all engagement data in Azure SQL for central analysis across campaigns.
Designed a Power BI dashboard to visualize performance trends, message effectiveness, and segmentation accuracy.
The Outcome
The solution demonstrated that the healthcare client could confidently run independent, cost-efficient marketing campaigns. The marketing team gained improved visibility into results and a flexible foundation for future outreach programs—without increasing reliance on Salesforce.
Technology Stack
Umbraco, Amazon SES, Azure SQL, HTML Templates, Power BI