SMEs · B2B manufacturing · Wholesale
Marketing automation for SMEs and B2B: address every customer individually – even with a small team
Your customer data is in Excel and the ERP, and one or two people work in marketing. The PBM Campaign Platform turns this into campaigns that keep running by themselves – by email, letter, landing page and SMS. The AI writes. You decide.
2 people in marketing
Customer: Beispiel Kunststoff GmbH, purchasing · maintenance contract ends in 90 days
Simply explained
What does “hyper-personalisation” mean for a mid-sized company?
Hyper-personalisation means addressing every customer individually. Unlike simple personalisation, it is not just the salutation that changes but the whole message – content, argument, channel, timing and sender.
You usually already have the data for this: machine type, contract end, contact person. Individual for every recipient – but only with data that has been approved for this purpose.
What questions do small marketing teams ask before they start?
“Can I manage this on top of everything else?”
One occasion first:
An ongoing campaign, built once, keeps running every month.
“Our data is an Excel export.”
AI mapping on import:
The AI assigns columns, you confirm. A re-import never deletes.
“We don’t have any copywriters.”
Suggestions with approval:
Template from your corporate identity, text variants, translations – as a draft.
“Sales shouldn’t be bypassed.”
Tasks instead of competition:
Warm contacts go to inside or field sales.
Example plan · 4 weeks
How does a small team get to its first automated campaign in 30 days?
With one occasion, one list and four weeks. This is what a realistic plan might look like:
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Week 1 – occasion and data. You choose a recurring occasion, for example expiring maintenance contracts. You upload the ERP export; the AI suggests the column mapping, you confirm. Consents per channel are adopted as an attribute.
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Week 2 – brand and templates. Store the logo, colours, fonts, legal notice and sender once. The AI creates a draft template from your corporate identity. With “Build your Campaign”, you describe your goal in one sentence and receive a campaign framework.
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Week 3 – journey and approval. Check waiting times, reminders and letter fallback, define text variants per customer group, set contact rules. Management approves as the second pair of eyes.
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Week 4 – launch and first look. The campaign goes live and picks up new contracts every month. Inside sales receives tasks for warm contacts. After one week, you see the first figures.
| Source column | assigned to | Attribute | AI confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| VERTR_ENDE | AI suggestion: wartungsvertrag_ende | 97 % | |
| ANSPR_INNENDIENST | AI suggestion: berater | 91 % | |
| EMAIL_WERBUNG_OK | AI suggestion: consent_email | 88 % | |
| ANL_ANZ | AI suggestion: anlagen_anzahl | 93 % | |
| KZ_SONDER | unclear – please assign | ||
Upsert via customer number · does not delete any contacts
“Customers whose maintenance contract ends in 90 days should renew – email if there is consent, otherwise letter; reminder after 10 days; inform inside sales if there is no response after 45 days.”
- SegmentMaintenance contract ends in 90 days
- Emailif consentLetterotherwise
- Reminderafter 10 days
- TaskInform inside sales after 45 days without response
- GoalRenewal ordered
- Segment
- 2 templates
- Goal “Renewal ordered”
Nothing goes live without approval.
Example plan. The actual duration depends on the data situation, approvals and occasion.
Journeys from practice · Examples
Which journeys deliver results fastest for B2B companies?
Four occasions that almost every manufacturer and wholesaler knows. All names and values are examples.
Journey 1
EmailLanding pageLetterRenewing a maintenance contract (example: Beispiel Kunststoff GmbH)
- Trigger / occasion
Periodic ongoing campaign: every month, contracts enter that end in 90 days.
- Segment
wartungsvertrag.ende in 90 daysandvertrag.status = aktiv.- Channels & steps
- Day 0 – email to purchasing, sender: inside sales, with a link to the landing page “Your maintenance contract”: machines, scope of services, two options.
- Wait for event: landing page visit, 10 days.
- No visit → letter to purchasing with a personal code.
- Day 45 without response → task for inside sales: call.
- Option chosen → confirmation, exit “converted”.
- Fallback
Without email consent, the journey starts with the letter.
- Personalisation levers
Number and type of machines, age of the machine → argument (availability, predictable costs, modernisation), responsible inside sales person as sender.
- Compliance specifics
Calls to business customers only with at least presumed consent (Section 7(2) No. 1 UWG).
- Goal
Micro – landing page visited · Macro – renewal ordered (event from the ERP via API or re-import).
- Metrics
Renewal rate, days to decision, share via landing page vs. call.
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Entry
Segment: contract ends in 90 days
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Gate
Consent per channel
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Channel branch
Email
Options
Letter
Options
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Wait for event
LP visit (10 days)
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Yes
Goal · Macro, primary
Renewal ordered
No
Reminder
Reminder letter
Wait
35 days
Task
Call inside sales
Fields
- [Template fields]
- Argument
Field · argument · 3 variants
AvailabilityActive in preview
contact.anlagen_anzahl >= 3[Text of the ‘Availability’ variant]
Predictable costs
contact.einkauf_fokus == "kosten" Modernisation
contact.anlage_baujahr < 2016 Preview as
Beispiel Kunststoff GmbH – Purchasing
[Preview start]
[Text of the ‘Availability’ variant]
Journey 2
EmailLetterLanding pageFollow up trade fair leads until sales can take over
- Trigger / occasion
After the trade fair, the contacts are imported from the lead scanner; the journey starts the following day.
- Segment
quelle = messe_2026and documented email consent.- Channels & steps
- Day 1 – thank-you email from the contact person at the stand, covering the topic discussed.
- Day 7 – expert content matching the interest (e.g. an application report on automation).
- Day 21 – invitation to a factory visit or webinar.
- Lead score ≥ 60 → task for the field sales team with a summary of activities.
- No response after day 45 → exit ‘completed’, re-entry only at the next trade fair.
- Fallback
Without consent, a letter with a personal code for the landing page, where consent can be given.
- Personalisation levers
Area of interest from the scanner, contact person as sender, language (translation as an AI suggestion, approval for each language version).
- Compliance specifics
Whether handing over a business card counts as consent to email advertising is disputed. An expressly documented consent is the safe option.
- Goal
Micro – content opened, landing page visited · Macro – quote requested.
- Metrics
Score history, handovers to sales, quote requests per trade fair.
Journey 3
LetterLanding pageEmailReactivate wholesale customers who no longer order
- Trigger / occasion
Weekly: customers whose last order was more than 180 days ago.
- Segment
letzte_bestellung > 180 Tageandkundenkonto = aktiv.- Channels & steps
- Letter from the responsible field sales rep with a personal code: landing page with new products from the product groups ordered so far.
- After 14 days – email reminder to existing customers (requirements of Section 7(3) UWG).
- After a further 14 days → task for inside sales.
- New order → exit ‘goal achieved’.
- Fallback
If the field sales rep has changed, the fallback chain passes to inside sales.
- Personalisation levers
previous product groups, region, sender, argument (new product in range, availability, delivery time).
- Compliance specifics
An objection to advertising stops everything immediately; field sales can remove individual customers from the campaign, for example during ongoing negotiations.
- Goal
Micro – landing page visited · Macro – order within 60 days.
- Metrics
Reactivated customers, orders per channel, removed customers.
Journey 4
EmailLetterReorder spare parts and consumables in good time
- Trigger / occasion
The ERP calculates the next requirement from the last delivery and typical consumption; the platform adopts the date as an attribute.
- Segment
naechster_bedarf in 14 Tagen.- Channels & steps
- Email: ‘Filter cartridges for your system – reorder prepared’, with a link to the ordering process.
- Wait for event: order, 5 days.
- No order → task for inside sales.
- Fallback
Without email consent, a letter or a task for inside sales.
- Personalisation levers
System, item, quantity of the last delivery, date.
- Compliance specifics
Low priority: if the maintenance contract journey is running at the same time, the reorder waits. Contact rules prevent too many messages.
- Goal
Macro – reorder received.
- Metrics
Reorder rate, days before requirement, tasks for inside sales.
What sets the PBM Campaign Platform apart for SMEs?
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The AI writes. You decide.
Mapping, template, campaign framework and copy as suggestions – can be switched off.
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The letter is not an afterthought. It is a channel.
In B2B in particular, it reliably reaches purchasing.
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Email, letter, landing page and SMS – in one journey, not in four tools.
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Sales stays in the game.
Tasks for warm contacts, customer card, removing customers.
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Multilingual.
Translations as suggestions, approval for each language version – for customers abroad.
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Your own installation.
Single-tenant, hosting in Germany.
“Customers whose maintenance contract ends in 90 days should renew – email if there is consent, otherwise letter; reminder after 10 days; inform inside sales if there is no response after 45 days.”
- Segment
- 2 templates
- Goal “Renewal ordered”
Nothing goes live without approval.
Law · As of: September 2026
What applies to advertising to business customers?
Even in B2B, email advertising generally requires express consent. For telephone, presumed consent is sufficient. The letter is usually the most straightforward form.
- Email: advertising without prior express consent is not permitted – including towards companies (Section 7(2) No. 2 UWG).
- Existing customers: exception for your own customer relationship, similar own goods or services, no objection and a clear notice at collection and every use (Section 7(3) UWG).
- Telephone: for business customers, at least presumed consent is sufficient (Section 7(2) No. 1 UWG).
- Contact persons are individuals: anyone can object to direct marketing at any time (Art. 21 GDPR). In the platform, a withdrawal immediately stops all journeys.
What the platform contributes: consent per channel checked before every send · letter fallback · audit log · hosting in Germany.
As of: September 2026. This overview does not replace legal advice.
Where would you like to go next?
- Hyper-personalisation
- Journey Builder
- AI with approval
- Multichannel: email, letter, landing page, SMS
- Use case: B2B lead nurturing
- Use case: reactivation
- Use case: contract renewal
- Glossary
- Playbook: [BLOG: From Excel lists to an automated campaign in 30 days]
- Playbook: [BLOG: B2B lead nurturing in long sales cycles]
- Playbook: [BLOG: SMEs: hyper-personalisation without a data science team]
Frequently asked questions from SMEs and B2B
Is marketing automation worthwhile for a team of one or two people?
Yes, if you start with an occasion that recurs regularly – such as expiring maintenance contracts. Once built, an always-on campaign then runs by itself every month. The AI in the PBM Campaign Platform suggests column mapping, templates and a campaign framework; you review and approve.
What does hyper-personalisation mean for a mid-sized company?
Hyper-personalisation means addressing every customer individually. Not only the salutation changes, but content, argument, channel, timing and sender – matched to what you know about the customer, such as system type, contract end or most recently ordered product group.
How do our Excel and ERP data get into the PBM Campaign Platform?
By file import or via API. During import, the AI suggests which column belongs to which attribute; you confirm. A repeat import updates existing contacts and never deletes. You define attributes such as system type or contract end yourself.
May we contact business customers by email?
Even in B2B, email advertising generally requires express consent (Section 7(2) No. 2 UWG). Exception: existing customers, similar own products, no objection and a clear notice (Section 7(3) UWG). The letter is a good alternative. As of: September 2026, not a substitute for legal advice.
Does the AI write our campaigns on its own?
No. The AI drafts. You decide. Suggestions appear as drafts, a compliance and tone check runs before approval, and nothing goes live without approval. The AI can also be switched off entirely.
Is the PBM Campaign Platform suitable for long B2B sales cycles?
Yes. Journeys can run for months, wait for events and work with an explainable lead score. When a contact reaches the threshold, sales receives a task. That way, field sales gets in touch when there is interest – not according to the calendar.