Case study · KEYENCE

Direct mail that reached buyers email could not.

Nine campaigns in eight European markets, with a 380% return.

Direct Mail is a printed letter, sent by post to a named person at work. It reaches people who do not answer email and whose phone number you do not have.

A direct mail postcard in Dutch, held in a hand at a desk — A campaign postcard in Dutch: the product, three ways to reply, and a gift for answering.

The Challenge

Much of the database had no email address and no phone number: engineers, quality managers and buyers at factories across Europe. Digital channels could not reach them. Direct Mail could.

The Goal

The first was to show the product quickly. The second was to learn about each contact: their needs, their current challenges, who makes the decision, whether budget is available, and when their financial year ends. Every reply added a verified contact to the database, and gave sales what they needed for the next step.

380%

ROI across 9 campaigns.

3,800+

leads.

European countries.

1,390%

ROI on the strongest campaign.

The approach

Planned the targets. I agreed with each regional sales manager which companies and job roles to target, and how many letters to send per country.
Chose the products and message. For each campaign I picked the product (microscopes, measuring systems or laser markers) and three or four features that matter to the reader's job.
Localised every piece. Each letter was in the reader's language. Belgium got Dutch and French, and Switzerland got German and French. Every letter carried the person's name, department and company.

Execution

Creative. I wrote the content and had it translated in house. A design agency finished the layout.
The gift. It was small, low cost and useful at work or in the reader's industry. The small size kept postage low, and because it was useful, people answered the survey.
Replies. Readers could reply by post, fax, email photo or QR code.
Follow-up. The answers showed each customer's interest, who makes the decision and where they are in the buying process. I used them to enrich the database and tell sales which contacts to follow up first.

The reply card

What customers told us, and how sales used it.

Question

What sales learned

Which device do you use today?

Their current equipment and competitors

What do you use it for?

Their needs, and which product to offer

How large are your parts?

Which model fits

What would you like to receive?

How far along they are in buying

When do you plan to buy?

How urgently to follow up

Is budget available?

Whether the project is funded

Who makes the decision?

Who to contact

When does your financial year end?

When the budget must be spent

The answers showed each customer's needs, budget and decision process. Sales knew who to contact and how urgently. The financial year end told us when to send the next mailer, so it arrived while budget was still open.

Sample materials

Different products, one format.

German microscope mailer with a notebook gift — Microscope mailer, German. Gift: notebook with memory stick.

German reply card with questions and reply options — The reply card: questions, contact details, reply options.

German launch mailer for a digital microscope — Product launch mailer, German.

English mailer for a 3D measuring system — 3D measuring system, English.

German laser microscope mailer with a survey question on the front — Laser microscope, German. Survey question on the front.

English microscope mailer panel with three features — Three features, each shown, not described.

Where does your European presence stand today?

A readiness score per stage of the European buyer journey, and one prioritised next step.

14 questions, about 2 minutes, free

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