In November 1994, Beyond.com began selling software over the Internet. At the time the company was comprised of three employees working above a barbershop in Menlo Park, Calif. They thought the Net would be a great place to set up a software store.
Beyond.com [http://www.beyond.com] was an instant success, but, as with any successful endeavor, it spawned a horde of competitors. Beyond.com needed a marketing campaign to acquire customers and to maintain its growth rate and success. In addition, the company wanted the campaign to be cost-effective and be able to reach individuals who the company knew were interested in its products.
Beyond.com turned to MatchLogic [http://www.matchlogic.com], an online digital marketing company, for help. Beyond.com decided to go with MatchLogic’s DeliverE service, which sends sales and branding messages to e-mail audiences that have opted-in to receive the messages.
MatchLogic ran a test by developing three separate e-mail product offers and sending them to the appropriate opt-in list. Based on the results of these offers, MatchLogic was able to gather behavioral data of the e-mail recipients, such as which of the offers they responded to the most. Using this test data, MatchLogic developed a targeted model for the selection of potentially profitable customers. MatchLogic then edited the e-mail messages and, along with targeted consumer groups, was able to help Beyond.com maximize the effectiveness of its e-mail offer.
The changes to the e-mail message that MatchLogic made for Beyond.com resulted in a 2 percent increase in the response rate, greater sales growth and a better understanding of Beyond.com’s customers.
