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and outdated information.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 clickable
options:
1. Interested
2. Already have
3. 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 Tuupola
tuupola@taevas.ee