FuturumShop - Direct Mail

Increase sales with targeted direct mail campaigns

FuturumShop has more than 700,000 customers and is the largest online shop for cyclists, mountain bikers and triathletes in Benelux with a large range of innovative products.

The challenge

FuturumShop was founded in 1999 as an online business. More recently it has expanded to include physical locations, ‘Futurum Clubs’. These provide customers with services rather than product sales. Customers can use the locations for ‘click and collect’ and for personalised advice. Marketing Manager Menno Kamp says ““We have 15,000 unique products in our range online. We wouldn't be able to put them in a physical shop. So sales still take place online. However the way we showcase our range to active athletes has changed in recent years.”

“For a long time we invested a considerable budget in TV advertising. This allowed us to reach a lot of people, but the majority of them have nothing to do with cycling and mountain biking. We therefore had the idea that activating loyal customers would benefit us more than trying to find new ones.” Two years ago they broke new ground with Direct Mail campaigns…and found success.

The solution

“Two years ago we made the conscious choice to start communicating in a very targeted way via Direct Mail. Over the years we had already built up a large database of customers and data about these customers was also getting richer. Because we know who they are and what they find interesting, we can now personally provide them with good information and offers via Direct Mail campaigns. ”

“We had already thought that the use of Direct Mail would have an effect, but it scored above expectations. A letter or card on the doormat really stands out. The response we receive to Direct Mail campaigns is many times greater than that to e-mail, for example, and that is why we have continued to expand them in recent times. ”

“Now we mainly focus on even better segmentation, on creativity and sustainability. Paragon Customer Communications is exploring all kinds of print purchasing options for us. They also advise on sustainability in production materials, such as FSC-certified paper and Direct Mail seals of biodegradable foil,  how we offer the best packaging solution with reusable material. The great thing about Paragon Customer Communications is that when we come up with an idea, they really spend time exploring suitable production methods and materials. We are on the right track together. ”

The result

“We have more than 700,000 unique customers in our database and I think we reach about 200,000 of them per year with a Direct Mail campaign. In total, this involves more than a million items of mail per year. We tackled this together with Paragon Customer Communications. Paragon Customer Communications is also very competitive in terms of service and price.”