AI as a CRM optimizer: MEGABAD shows how it’s done in the SME sector
A DMEXCO column by Robin Heintze about MEGABAD – and how a medium-sized company is not just experimenting with AI and CRM, but achieving real, measurable impact.A DMEXCO column by Robin Heintze about MEGABAD – and how a medium-sized company is not just experimenting with AI and CRM, but achieving real, measurable impact.
Reactivation in CRM: Megabad demonstrates what AI can really achieve in midsize companies
In many marketing departments – especially in midsize and B2B companies – there’s still a lot of hesitancy and uncertainty surrounding the use of artificial intelligence.
It’s a bit like teenagers in the schoolyard when it comes to explicit topics. A lot of curiosity but little practical experience.
And it’s the practical experience that is the fun part.
The rule of thumb with AI is: If you are familiar with the right tools and know what to use them for, you can achieve an incredibly large impact with just a modest effort.
The online sanitary ware retailer MEGABAD provides an exciting example: the long-established Cologne-based company has shown how artificial intelligence and CRM can be used pragmatically and measurably to successfully reactivate customers – with over 1.2 million euros in additional sales.
The untapped potential in MEGABAD’s CRM
MEGABAD’s target group includes both end customers and other businesses. But it was facing a typical challenge for many B2B companies: MEGABAD’s CRM contained many inactive contacts. An enormous asset, but – despite intensive SEA and SEO activities – these customers no longer responded to conventional mailings.
Instead of muscling into their inboxes with yet another voucher newsletter, the team asked themselves a clear question: How can we appeal to these people individually and prompt them to react – without our costs and our workload spiraling out of control?
Here’s the technique behind them: a master video with placeholders, which was then automatically populated with individual customer data using AI. This produced more than 21,000 personalized videos – without Ralf Hänichen having to appear before the camera 21,000 times.
The campaign was sent via e-mail – a channel that is often underestimated in B2B. But the results were impressive:
Open rate: 46%
Click-through rate: 3%
Orders: 3,900
Total revenue: over €1.2 million
What the work really went into: understanding the data, not the technology
The technology was available and affordable, and worked reliably. The campaign’s real lever was elsewhere: preparing the data. Which customers were inactive, and how long had they been dormant? Which types of products had they purchased most recently? And how often? This cohort analysis was the cornerstone of the campaign – not the AI.
This shows that AI is not an end in itself and won’t make a good campaign on its own. AI’s value emerges only when it has a good data basis and is applied with a clear objective.
The conclusion: AI isn’t a (corporate) toy
The MEGABAD case is particularly relevant to SMEs and startups because it shows that AI does not have to be complicated. There was no machine learning model, no in-house team of developers. Instead: smart ideas, the right tools, and clean data.
And that’s the key point: The crucial skill for modern marketers is not (just) knowing how to use tools – it’s knowing what to use them for. Find the right use case and you can achieve a big impact with just a modest investment of time and energy.
What can B2B marketers learn from this?
- Focus on reactivating instead of winning new customers: Existing customers are often more valuable than new leads – you’ve just got to appeal to them intelligently.
- Personalization goes beyond the written word: A video hits different. And when it mentions the recipient by name and shows a real person – even better.
- E-mail lives: The channel works especially well in B2B if the content and timing are right.
- Data is the foundation: Segmentation and relevance beat frequency.
AI is not a monolith: If you’re familiar with the tools, you can use them flexibly – be that for content, video, analysis, or automation.
The takeaway: The courage to embrace simplicity
MEGABAD didn’t reinvent the wheel. But you don’t need to in order to be effective. And the best ideas are often the most obvious. MEGABAD was able to regain the trust of former customers through the campaign – with a clever idea, a good team, and the courage to forge new paths.
AI is not a topic for a far-distant future anymore. It’s a tool. And like any tool, it’s useful only when it’s used strategically. For us, that means being curious and creative. And brave enough to tread new paths – including (and especially) in B2B.
