A Brighton-based company has designed email marketing software to ensure people's replies come back as quickly as possible.

Sigmer Technologies, based at the Sussex Innovation Centre, launched its Boomerang product at the Email Marketing Show 2002 at Olympia 2 in London.

It claims the software can help cut time-consuming administration and produce cost savings for businesses.

Online questionnaires the software produces dispense with paperwork, postage costs and the need for manual analysis of the market research.

They enable companies to compile questionnaires, which recipients can reply to their direct from their email browser and provide instant access to results and statistical analysis.

Sigmer claims companies will be able to save more than 75 per cent of their market research budgets with Boomerang.

Managing director Niall McCrae said: "Boomerang makes sending out a questionnaire quick and easy.

Because it handles all the returns and delivers processed data back to the researcher, it could change the way people conduct surveys. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to set up and can save hours of work."

Customers include British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce and Sussex University.

Louise Young, BSkyB marketing communications manager, said: "With 8,000 call centre staff to communicate with, it will form part of our ongoing plans to collate vital information as quickly and accurately as possible and maximise the success of our call centre initiatives."

The Email Marketing Show was the first event of its kind. It follows forecasts of a massive growth in email marketing.

NetValue has said 80 per cent of the UK's online population receives direct email, which is swiftly overtaking the traditional direct mail through people's doors.

Last December, Ebay and Amazon each sent more than five million marketing emails to UK users.

www.sigmer.com
www.boomerang.uk.com
www.emailevent.com
uk.netvalue.com