COMBINING TRADITIONAL MAIL AND INTERNET IN B2B MARKETING

SCENARIO

• Client has customer database but it is inside legacy software with no external access.

• Excel dump of customer database is possible.

• Database has some missing and outdated information.

• Client has variety different products and services to sell.

GOALS

• Primary goal is to deliver usefull data about possible customers for sales department to use.

• Secondary goal is high pull. High pull rate alone looks good only as a number.

SOLUTION

• Traditional direct mail campaign sent to addresses in customer database.

• Campaign website with series of questions asking whether people are interested in services or not.

• Same website used for making sure contact info is up to date.

WHAT MUST HAPPEN?

ATTENTION• We must be noticed.

FEEDBACK• We must activate people to

go to the website to answer the questions.

• We must activate people to update their contact info.

FOREWARNING

• Keep it simple!• It is all about creative ideas.• Build visuals first. After that

start to think about software.• It can be all done with simple

tools.

HOW TO GET ATTENTION?

PROBLEM WITH EMAIL

• People change jobs or get promoted. We do not always know the exact person who to contact.

• We might only have company postal address but nothing else.

• Email inbox is already full of spam.

HOW TO GET ATTENTION?

EMAIL IS NOT ALL BAD

• It is dead cheap.• It still seems to work pretty

well in Estonia.• With really good ideas it can

work elsewhere too.

HOW TO GET ATTENTION?

GOOD OLD SNAILMAIL

• Can be sent even if we don’t know the actual person.

• Visually well designed letter grabs attention.

• Does not get lost during vacation time so easily.

HOW TO GET FEEDBACK

PROBLEM WITH SNAILMAIL

• Receiver has to physically take the reply to closest mailbox. People are lazy.

• Someone must read and type the responses to database.

• Someone must pay for the postage.

• No possibility for instant feedback.

HOW TO GET FEEDBACK

USE INTERNET

• None of the problems with traditional mail.

• Instant feedback to lead possible: “congratulations, you have won x”.

• Real time statistics

HOW TO KNOW WHO REACTS?

• Add a special code to each person in customer database.

• Keep it short. Five characters is good “AH86C”.

• Print the same code to each letter you are sending out.

• People use this code to enter the campaign site.

• Now we know who reacted.• Now we can calculate pull.

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS?

• Avoid big complicated forms• People like to click• Create series of pages with

short description of the product. In the end of the page give three clickableoptions:

1. Interested2. Already have3. Not interested

DATA FOR SALES DEPARTMENT

GOOD DATA

• List of people with correct contact information.

• List of services these people are interested in.

• Sales people already know what to offer when making a call!

THANK YOU!

Mika Tuupolatuupola@taevas.ee