IBM Software Premiere Club

Audience

• Establishment-level membership criteria
  • Multiple Industries
  • 1000+ employees
• Account level membership selection criteria:
  • Largest establishments
  • Baseline Spend = $1 million+ spent on IBM Software
  • $2 million+ spent on IBM software to date
• Contact selection criteria:
  • IT Executives: CIO’s; IT Executives; Data Processing Managers
  • Influencers: DB Administrators; Project Managers; User Support; Network Managers

Issues

• Sharp declines in customer satisfaction by high value global (older CPU) accounts
  • 12 point decline in Customer Satisfaction over four quarters
  • Install base = 10% of overall customer base with 60% weighting on customer sat scoring
  • Accounts produce revenue streams of $100K+ per acct./per mo.
• Requirements:
  • Determine root cause
  • Reverse satisfaction trends
  • Regain trust with high value global account decision makers
  • Prevent defection to competition

Root Cause Analysis – Dissatisfaction with:

• Marketing Communications
  • Untargeted and Irrelevant Marketing Communications
    • “You’re treating me like an executive mailroom!“
• Account Coverage:
• Lack of Continuity
  • “I have this stack of IBM business cards but don’t know who to call when I have a problem.“
• Customer Relationship Management
• Sales Lacks knowledge of my Business & Direction
  • “I’m your customer, you should know me and my business!“
  • “I’m tired of training new IBM sales reps!”

Marketing Communications: Actual Versus Relevant

• Great disparity between what people were receiving vs what was relavent:

Voice of Customer Research

• What can IBM do to repair and strengthen its relationships with you?
  • Data from 32 countries
    • Europe / Middle East /Africa (EMEA)
    • North America
    • Latin America
    • Asia Pacific

Voice of Customer Guidance

• Information Overload: Clutter caused by the volume of untargeted communications was worse than we imagined. IBM messages fractured / irrelevant
• Need Targeted Information: Information needs are complex, varying by market & individual
• High-tech / High-touch: Help us evaluate optimal business solutions
• Peers: (internal & external) are the most credible sources of IT knowledge
• Business Department Heads: Important in decision making but don’t feel close relationship with IBM

Business Goal

1. Retain and grow existing high value software (SW) customers by delivering a consistent, cohesive strategy message:
   • Immediate 2% improvement in satisfaction with Communications / sustained positive trend
   • 1st year increase SW spend by member companies by 10% over customers in the general population
   • Zero defection to competition

Strategies

1. Use Relationship Marketing framework to ensure the retention of large enterprises as IBM’s SW customers:
   • Use targeted messaging based on Opt-In interest profile information
   • Establish and nurture relationships with business department heads
2. Establish inbound customer advocate channels
   • Special members-only route to technical assistance / by country
   • Direct contact with IBM executives through online forums / in language
3. Deliver an audience of qualified prospects to product groups via customer profiles / and a centralized marketing framework
   • Assist field in shortening sell cycle by 3 mos. - from 18 Mos. to 15 Mos.
4. Enable Peer-to-Peer knowledge sharing online
   • Enable social opportunities and knowledge sharing among customers
   • Self-help

Challenges

• Develop and sustain an effective, believable and cost effective:
  • Touch and Contact Strategy
  • Communications Plan
  • Account Coverage Framework
• Establish Effective 1:1 interactive dialogue with customers
• Keep the product groups from mailing outside the Relationship Marketing framework

Four Levels of Personalization

Customer Opt-In Profile Data Collection:

• IBM Software Premier Club Profile
  • Product / Solutions Interest Areas
  • Industry
  • Job Level
  • Job Area
  • Language
  • Region (calculated from Country values)
  • Premier Club e-Mail Subscription preference
• Periodic attitudinal questions

Integrated Media Strategies

• Where appropriate, used traditional methods to enhance those relationships:
  • Events
  • Direct Mail
  • Outbound Tele-relationship
    • For discovery / prospecting
  • Software Account Managers / Client Teams

Coverage Strategies

• Involve the field sales force in the contact management process
• Educate Product Groups regarding the value of the opt-in process in increasing sales
• Everyone accountable and rewarded for delivering outstanding service at point of contact
• Consistent and visible support from senior management

Content Relevance

• Delivery driven by the Opt-In Profiles
• To ensure relevance, content from the product groups was only presented to customers based on their Opt-In preferences
  • Editorial Calendar
• Enforcement of suppression rules
• Senior management support

Results:

• $310,000,000 in incremental revenue
  • Goal: $50K incremental per account target
  • Achieved: $300K per account
• 90% member satisfaction achieved over six quarters
  • Premier Club highest overall level of satisfaction compared to 60% for all competitors
• 35% of members said they made purchases of IBM software products they would not have otherwise considered
  • Up from 28% and 15% in two prior surveys
• 28% increase in Opt-In membership in 12-months
  • Opt-Out less than 1% against total audience
• Average annual click through rate: 19.7%
  • Against average B2B Email Click-through rate of 2.3% (per Opt-in News)
• Web traffic increase of 179% in 12-months

Results $310,000,000 in incremental revenue Goal: $50K incremental per account target Achieved: $300K per account 90% member satisfaction achieved over six quarters Premier Club highest overall level of satisfaction compared to 60% for all competitors 35% of members said they made purchases of IBM software products they would not have otherwise considered Up from 28% and 15% in two prior surveys 28% increase in Opt-In membership in 12-months Opt-Out less than 1% against total audience