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Case Study:

IBM Software Premier Club

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Target audience:

Large Accounts – World Wide

1000+ Employees

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Issues

Defection of top accounts to competition

Irritation caused by untargeted, irrelevant communications

Lack of Loyalty to IBM Software Brand.

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Mainframe announcementsMVS announcementsVM announcementsVSE announcementsESO III mailing2nd ESO III mailingCompression updateDASD updateRAID announcement3rd ESO III mailingIBM Direct RAID mailingICC used equipmentIBM Support Family of SvcsAS/400 “Rightsizing”Printer announcementsClasses/seminars/conferencesRS/6000 Graphics announcementsClient/Server RoadshowsRightsizing RoadshowRS/6000 Application Development AidRS/6000 Communications SMP AnnouncementAS/400 AnnouncementsAdministrative SurveyLSCD SurveyArea 4 transaction surveyServices SurveyDouble-blind surveyMultimedia training announcementsMultimedia sales and merchandisingOffice/Workplace Software Network ManagementWide Area NetworksLocal Area NetworksDatabase Management

Actual IBM Touches

Director of Engineering- RS/6000- Graphics- Application Development

SMP AnnouncementsRS/6000 Application DevelopmentGraphics Announcements

Desired IBM Touches

Customer Profile

Source: IBM

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IBM Used VOC to Understand:

How customers define a Consensual / Opt-In relationship with IBM

What self-profiling information would be provided in exchange for value-added information.

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IBM Used VOC to Understand:

Who should be invited to participate in a members-only Club

What benefits, information and offers would be most relevant

Appropriate frequency of messages

Media preferences / aversions.

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VOC Based Strategies

Move from mass marketing to establishing opt-in driven dialogue

Involve customers in self-selecting their:

Interests in IBM software and solutions

Regional, industry and language preferences.

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Customer Profile Data

IBM Software Premier Club Profile: Collects demographics and reach

information:– IT areas of interest – Industry– Job level– Job area– Region / country

Manages language preference.

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Results

$310,000,000 in incremental revenue90% member satisfaction

Highest overall level of satisfaction (compared to 60% for competitors)

35% of members made purchases they would not have otherwise considered.

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Results

Opt-out less than 1% Double-digit average annual click through rate: 19.7% (versus B2B averages of 2% )21% increase in leads that Field Sales converted to sales.