MASG.com, an online database of manufacturing and enterprise software, is launching a significant business-to-business marketing campaign to introduce chief technology officers, information technology managers and other decision makers to its searchable database of 950 vendors of financial, customer relationship management and e-business software.
The multifaceted campaign, featuring the tagline “MASG.com. Search, Evaluate and Compare,” involves direct mail, e-mail marketing, print ads, radio and trade show participation as well as a public relations push.
The first stage of the campaign is a direct mail drop of 200,000 postcards to mid-level managers who play a major role in searching out software tools. A mailing is going out next week.
The site plans to send out 200,000 pieces to different lists every six to eight weeks. It is purchasing its lists from Penton Media, CIO magazine and other trade publications.
The postcard includes an offer for a 30-day free trial of the site's software search and comparison service. The service allows users to list their software requirements. It then ranks the available software according to the user's criteria and creates a request for proposal that is sent to the software's manufacturer. The service costs $495 for one year.
The first mailing went out last month and yielded above-average response rates. “We're concentrating heavily on direct mail because we've been getting 3 [percent] and 3.5 percent response rates,” said Patrick Yanahan, CEO of USA Chicago, a BTB communications firm that created the campaign. The mailings have been successful, Yanahan said, because “it's not like doing consumer direct mail. We're really segmenting markets and industries.”
To coincide with the site's relaunch in July, MASG will send out bundles of 50,000 to 60,000 e-mails with the same offer. Using e-mail marketing for its target audience is difficult since good lists are hard to find, said Mary Connors, publisher of MASG.com, New York.
The site began a print campaign at the end of last month targeting corporate management teams. The ads are appearing in 12 magazines. Also in the works are online deals with a number of business magazines.
After Labor Day, MASG will begin running radio spots in manufacturing-heavy cities such as Cleveland, Chicago and Milwaukee. The purpose of the spots is twofold, according to Connors. “We would like to attract visitors, but more importantly, we want vendors to be aware of the tools we have to offer and how it will impact their businesses,” she said.
Trade show attendance is also an important part of the mix. The site will appear at a number of shows focusing on vertical markets, such as HP World, ERP World and the IBM Supply Chain Group. Additionally, the site will begin a public relations tour next month.
Although the site has been functional for more than a year, “we've been taking baby steps the last year in terms of promoting the site and bringing users to it,” said Connors. The site is now ready to be unveiled since it has reworked its technology and compiled a significant number of vendors, she said.
