Best use of data in a B2B marketing campaign
Runner up: Tees Valley Regeneration and Northumbrian Water
Agency: Rocket Science
Campaign: Inward Investment
TVR needed to identify a unique selling proposition for the area and then to target specific company types whose business would be made easier and more profitable if they relocated to the Tees Valley and could have a serious impact on their business if they stayed where they were. The USP identified was the area’s abundant and sustainable water supply and waste water infrastructure.
New legislation was making extraction and disposal of water increasing difficult for companies in areas where water tables and rainfall were low. In addition global warming has moved water-supply issues up the agenda. The good water supply meant that there were many other companies from high-water usage industries already in the area. New entrants to the region could therefore be confident of finding suitable skills, suppliers and infrastructure which would make relocation easier and more appealing.
Working with the local water utility, Northumbrian Water, and using its business database, Rocket Science built a profile of high water users incorporating size and types of business as determined by bill size. The profile produced was overlaid on target areas identified as having existing or potential problems due to low water levels and/or new legislation.
Three additional criteria were added to enhance the targeting:
1. Businesses located within half a mile of rivers or canals were identified and included as legislation has made it more difficult for companies extract water from and discharge water back into such waterways.
2. Businesses near reservoirs with low water levels.
3. Expanding companies with failed planning permission who were too big for their current site and so could consider relocation.
This created a database of 15,000 high water users who had a significant likelihood of water supply problems.
Rocket Science then classified businesses into four groups according to water usage:
1. Product, i.e. businesses which need water as an ingredient, e.g. bread-making
2. Process, i.e. businesses which use water as part of the process of making a product and which will then be discarded
3. Safety, i.e. businesses which use water as part of an essential safety process, e.g. power station cooling
4. Hygiene, i.e. businesses which use water for cleanliness, e.g. hospitals or large offices suffering hygiene problems if unable to flush the toilet.
The groupings enabled Rocket Science to create a propensity risk model based on the business impact of water problems, for example, a retailer would have hygiene risks but be less concerned about lack of water than a baker having to stop production.
By applying the model to the database it was possible to identify and target 5000 business prospects. Each of these was then called to confirm their water usage and understanding of water legislation. The resulting core of 2000 companies were re-called to identify contact details of decision makers/influencers involved in relocation decisions.
Once the named contacts were identified a mailpack was sent to them with a tailored letter and brochure providing information on water issues and the strong related benefits of moving to the region. As a direct result of the campaign, TVR received responses from 13 organisations with a strong interest in relocating.
Taking this highly targeted route was a leap of faith for TVR as it is a first in the public sector/utilities industries. Previous advertising campaigns had attracted one or two responses. With a budget of £24,000, the highly targeted direct campaign improved both the quality and the quantity of responses.
Catherine Gordon, marketing manager of TVR was delighted. “One or two responses has always been viewed as great, as one company relocating can be worth millions of pounds to the region. So it’s fantastic that the campaign generated nearly ten times the response and all from companies of the right size, in the right kind of industries and with a real potential to relocate.”
Endorsing the success Ernst and Young, which audited TVR’s marketing during the year the campaign ran, selected the initiative as being the model the company should apply across all its marketing activity. Ernst and Young identified that the targeted direct approach demonstrated significant ROI benefits and applauded TVR’s innovative approach in a highly competitive marketplace.
