Siemens break through the clutter (rather than being part of it)

How did Siemens get in touch with customers and get away from the anonymity of mass‑produced print? They talked to us.

Siemens Enterprise Communications, makers of high‑end voice and data products, needed to connect with customers in a more meaningful way; a) their product‑led printed marketing materials didn't cater for the individual customer, b) they found printing stacks of brochures wasteful and logistically challenging, and c) mass‑produced print couldn't be dynamically altered as new products came on line.

Siemens also wanted to understand their customers better, but needed a mechanism to do so. Help was needed to engage people in a real way.

The marketing bods at Siemens liked bda's work in online, 'on‑demand', customisable materials, and that set the creative ball rolling.

Listening to Siemens staff at all levels led us to come up with e‑collateral ‑ a way for the company to generate bespoke materials on demand, that's also entirely customer and channel‑focussed.

Here's how it works. Call‑to‑actions on Siemens advertising and DM drive potential customers to the www.siemens.co.uk/e‑collateral site; there, they access areas colour‑coded to different Siemens solutions. After completing (friendly) enquiry forms based on personal details and specific requirements, the customer is sent an individually‑tailored (and consistently colour‑coded) brochure in either downloadable PDF form ‑ or ‑ a printed version to be printed and posted out, if they wish to have it.

Content, from case studies to illustrative items, is entirely variable, and included according to customer input.

There's plenty.

• Data gathered on each customer can be uploaded straight into Siemens' CRM.
• Potentially huge savings in print runs, postage and brochure storage costs.
• Reduced print runs mean less waste and environmentally‑friendly practices.
• Much neater logistics ‑ brochures don't have to be shipped in from far and wide.
• Better, more relevant customer relationships develop, with resulting improved return on investment.
• Measurability ‑ Siemens can track what's effective and what isn't, as well as what's selling.
• Personalised communications (in the medium that suits) make the individual feel valued.
• Brochures always up to date.