T-Mobile grants a licence to speak openly

by Sarah Johnson, Marketing Direct 01-May-08

LONDON - Engaging with B2B prospects to offer them a good deal on telecommunications packages can be an uphill struggle.

T-Mobile realised that the companies it was trying to reach were getting several calls a day from other service providers. So, if the brand was to stand out as having something interesting to say, a new approach to warm up leads and gather important information on what the customer wanted was needed.

T-Mobile came up with a fresh way to make contact with prospects - to listen to them, instead of just talking at them. "We wanted to open a dialogue between the account manager and decision maker within businesses, listening to their requirements before proposing a thought-out solution," says Claire Kavanagh, business acquisition campaign manager at T-Mobile.

The company's agency, Gyro International, came up with three concepts that it then tested in focus groups. "There was a lot of excitement about the prospect of one particular idea - which became the 'Tell Me About It' campaign - and the open channel of communication it presented," says Kavanagh.

The campaign was focused on a 'high value' direct mail pack, and this meant the audience needed to be closely targeted. Large businesses with 500 or more employees were sent a maximum of two packs each, one to the main decision maker and one to a contact with influence over communications decisions.

The personalised pack included a business card with direct contact details of an account manager at T-Mobile. A handwritten letter of introduction was also included, directing the recipient to a website where a short video of each account manager could be found.

"It can be confusing for customers when they are just given loads of information about offers that may not appeal to them," says Kavanagh. "We wanted to save time by creating an open dialogue that would skip straight to a tailored solution and almost a handshake introduction over the web."

Two-hundred-and-fifty packs were mailed, all including a USB microphone that could be used to record an online message. "When customers got the pack it gave them a licence to talk about their needs and offered a choice of how they could contact their account manager directly - either over the phone, via email or by leaving them an online voice message," says Kavanagh.

The campaign brought to light the specific needs of businesses. Some needed mobile broadband, others smart handsets and 'web 'n' walk' options. Nearly two-thirds of the target audience contacted T-Mobile and agreed to accept a follow-up call. Gyro believes this is an unprecedented response from such an audience, generating the prospect of £2m worth of sales.

Plans are under way for a follow-up campaign later in the year, targeting the same audience to further build on this success.

Brand: T-Mobile
Client: T-Mobile
Brief: To open up a dialogue between T-Mobile account managers and
corporate decision makers
Target audience: Large businesses with over 500 employees
Budget: Undisclosed
Agency: Gyro International

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