Qwest Uses Mail to Sell B-to-B Online Service

So how would you market a high-speed Internet service? Online, right? Maybe a lavish direct mail package with a long letter, lift notes and high-gloss photos, all stuffed into a large, brightly colored envelope?

The answer is neither of the above. How about self-mailers?

Yep. Qwest Communications has launched a four-piece mail series aimed at small and midsized businesses, and the pieces are simple in the extreme. Anything more would be expensive overkill, according to Elizabeth Hudgings, a marketing director at Qwest who coordinates both mass and direct campaigns in this market.

“It depends on the product,” Hudgings says. “We don't have to spend a lot of time convincing small businesses they want fast Internet connections. We just have to let them know we have it, and explain why they should get it from us.”

Hudgings concedes this wouldn't work with offerings like Qwest's automatic data backup.

“That's a value-added service, a reason why you would want Qwest over cable,” she says. The marketing piece should have “a benefit lead, and it would probably be more of a mail package, with more explanation,” she continues. “That sort of message does better in an attention-grabbing letter format.”

Don't small business owners have questions about Internet service?

Sure. That's why Quest provides a toll-free telephone number as the primary response vehicle. Each version of the piece is assigned a unique number, allowing Qwest to track response. And when the mailings are finished, Qwest will, if necessary, turn to outbound telemarketing and its on-the-ground sales force.

The new series went out initially in mid-January. It targets non-customers, buyers of Qwest's other products, and subscribers to the firm's slower Internet services. While every piece includes a Web-site URL, the emphasis is on the toll-free numbers. That's partly because small business purchasers tend to react better when they can interact with a live person.

“Bakers love to bake, but they're not IT specialists, and they're not big enough to hire one,” Hudgings says. “In a small business, a single person may be wearing all the hats — janitor, marketing person, baker. And with high-tech products they might feel less comfortable making a purchase, and want to have that conversation.”

Here's another reason for including the phone numbers: Qwest's sales rate is 115% higher with respondents who call instead of logging on, Hudgings notes.

Qwest rolled out the high-speed service last April with a two-part self-mailer series. That pulled well, but the firm used fresh creative for the more recent campaign.

The rewards for signing up get richer with each consecutive mailing. The first piece touts the fastest version of the service and mentions the cost. The second introduces slower, lower-cost options. The third reiterates these, and introduces a “Qwest Reward Card valued at up to $255.” In the fourth, the reward card is central to the promotion.

Hudgings says Qwest is focusing heavily on acquisition: “At this point in the small business arena, [high-speed access] really is a subscriber game. Not that margin isn't important, but as long as it's positive, it's more about winning that connection and keeping the customer.”

How are prospects chosen? One way is to model companies by growth. This can be done using “firmagraphics” — business demographics — supplied by vendors like Dun & Bradstreet.

Qwest also uses external business databases to generate lists of prospects in regions where it has new capabilities like fiber optics or Internet lines.

“In a lot of our areas, we hadn't had feeds for high-speed Internet,” Hudgings says. “There are always people who want the highest speed, and we love them.”

In addition, Qwest targets users of rival high-speed services. And it mails to customers who subscribe to its own telephone or premium television products. It sends them collateral that prominently features the discounts available through bundling.

Qwest operates in 14 states, largely in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain region. This presents a challenge.

“In Portland, Oregon the thought process is different than in Omaha or Boise,” Hudgings says. “Even though they're all receiving solicitations for high-tech offerings, they're going to need a different spin. You can't just talk about how cool and innovative they are; they don't sell the same way. In the Pacific Northwest, prospects are small, tech-savvy businesses. But while targets in Midwestern cities like Minneapolis want to know about innovation, they are pragmatic. Side-by-side comparisons do better there.”