1. We designed a relational database with contact and response history.2. We recruited qualified addresses only via a standard questionnaire measuring the frequency of use of each of the 13 sub-brands. Acquisition via offer in welcome pack to young mothers and new seniors3. We increased both magazines by from five to eight mailings per year, with targeted messages and tailor-made offers to specific customer segments.4. We developed an easy to manage segmentation and scoring model with nine customer segments, based on lifetime value (weighing the13 sub-brands in terms of marketing potential, margin and width of range).

By the end of 2002 the NIVEA database contained 178,158 qualified addresses.As much as 81.8% of the addresses use five and more product categories. This means we reach 145,733 of the heavy users, which is 28% of NIVEA's heavy users in Belgium. The top three segments spend 30 to 50% more than the reference group that did not receive the mailing programme. Total product spending of the database grew 50% in 2 years'.