BeeCell’s Customer Acquisition Strategy
The Irish telecommunications market was deregulated in 2004. Up to the time of deregulation, VCOM was the
only telecommunications service provider operating in the Irish market. It was state owned company that
enjoyed a
competition. One competitor that immediately entered the Irish market was BeeCell.
When BeeCell decided to enter the Irish market, it knew that it would have faced stiff competition from VCOM.
However, BeeCell like VCOM had the capability to provide a full range of telecommunication solutions to the
market through its data, mobile, Internet and voice products to both business and consumer markets in Ireland.
But rather than seeking to go for a head-to-head competition with VCOM in multiply segments, BeeCell
decided to look for a segment of the market telecommunication market that was under served. This segment
consisted of Call Centres, which needed cost effective telecommunication solutions. Recognizing the value of
this segment, BeeCell started working to exploit this segment through some carefully crafted marketing
strategies.
One contract with a Call Centre can be worth millions in revenue to a telecommunications company. In
addition, Call Centre executives who make the final decision as to which service provider to use are very busy
professionals. Plus, there was the added challenge of how to capture the attention of these executives and have
them take notice of your offer. Still another hurdle that BeeCell needed to overcome, was the issue of inertia
due in part to the expected resistance of existing VCOM customers to changing to a new telecommunications
company.
Marketing Programme Objectives
In order to make a serious impression in this segment, BeeCell set itself the objective of securing meetings with
20 per cent of the Call Centres in Ireland. They wanted to develop generate new business from this segment to
grow revenue in line with their strategic marketing plan and establish a platform from which to enter other
segments in the Irish Telecommunication market.
Segmentation & Target Market
In advance of their entry to the Irish market, BeeCell carefully segmented the market and meticulously targeted
and profiled senior decision makers in the Call Centre segment of the market. The company wanted to ensure
that their telecommunication solutions fit the individual needs of Call Centres and of course were effective as
well.
BeeCell’s objectives were to targeted 400 executives of major Call Centres based in Ireland using a direct mail
campaign and utilizing the strategy detailed below.
Campaign Strategy
Communications Strategy
· Between July and August 2005 BeeCell initiated a direct mail campaign. The personalized letter was the
call to action and a brochure was also included. The mailing was phased over a seven-week period to allow
each lead to be followed up with a personal sales call from BeeCell’s Sales Department.
Creative strategy
· Because of the difficulty of gaining the attention of Call Centre executives, BeeCell had to communicate to
the managers in an impactful way and to pave the way for follow-up meetings, if required to clinch a deal.
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· A box containing a hand carved African drum, a personalized letter and a brochure was sent to each
potential Call Centre executive. The drum was selected to represent the original form of communications
as well as demonstrating how communications and telecommunications have evolved.
· Each drum was hand crafted and unique, reflecting BeeCell’s strategy of providing individual
communications solutions to each company. The size of the drum, the method of delivery to the executive
(by courier) and the uniqueness of content succeeded in gaining the attention of the Call Centre executives.
Results
· 50% of the target market responded requesting follow up meetings.
· 220 orders were achieved, providing a return on investment of over 100%
These results were considered quite spectacular and BeeCell was anxious to leverage this strategy to other
market segments in the Telecommunication industry.
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Discussion Questions
What do you consider to be the key factors underlying the success of BeeCell’s direct mail campaign?
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