In our partner spotlight series, our partners get their say! We want to give you first-hand insight into our partnerships and show you the benefits they can bring you.
Today’s interview partner is Thomas Kalinna, Senior Solution Consultant at Mapp.
What exactly does our partner Mapp do, and how can you benefit from the cooperation between trbo and Mapp? Learn more in today’s blog post.
1. First of all, tell us something about yourself and what you do at Mapp.
I am 49 years old, married and live in Langenfeld, a suburb of Düsseldorf. After many years as a professional soldier in the German Armed Forces, I was initially employed as a network administrator and ended up in marketing rather by chance. I have been working in online marketing for 15 years now. In the beginning, I was responsible for the implementation of web analysis solutions as a project manager. 10 years ago I moved to the pre-sales area, where I am now responsible for presenting our solution to prospects, customers and partners as a solution consultant. This primarily involves customized presentations and tool demos that demonstrate the added value that Mapp Cloud can bring our customers. Of course, it also includes developing solutions and strategies on how the Mapp Cloud can be integrated into existing system landscapes. The exchange of information between different data sources is essential for marketing today. There is enough data, but, unfortunately, it’s not always used.
2. What was the idea behind Mapp?
The Mapp Cloud was born from the merger of two marketing systems that have been successful on the market for over 20 years: Webtrekk, an industry-leading web analytics system from Berlin, and Mapp (formerly eCircle), an industry-leading multi-channel marketing solution from Munich. Webtrekk has always been very strong in evaluating and analyzing visitor behavior on websites and in mobile apps. However, it lacked native use of the insights gained in multi-channel campaigns. On the other hand, Mapp has always been very good at automated execution of multi-channel campaigns, but was missing customer insights, i.e. information about the interest and behavior of visitors on websites, in order to manage and personalize campaigns accordingly.
By linking the two solutions in the Mapp Cloud, the respective gaps were closed, so it was a win-win situation for both companies and, of course, for our customers.
3. What distinguishes Mapp, and what are your objectives?
We want our customers to be able to focus on developing big ideas and putting them into action easily and efficiently. Marketers should not have to rely on their gut feeling to address their customers at the right time, in the right channel and with the right message. We support the realization of individual, cross-channel marketing campaigns based on data and insights available in real time.
4. Does trbo play a role in achieving your goals?
You can’t have a cross-channel customer experience without onsite personalization, so trbo’s solution is the perfect complement to the Mapp Cloud.
5. What led you to partner with trbo?
trbo is the top dog in Germany when it comes to web personalization, which we’ve noticed time and again in discussions with interested parties and customers. We also got consistently positive feedback throughout. We were often asked whether there was a data exchange option and whether onsite and email campaigns could be linked. So the use cases were already there before our partner managers even talked to each other. We were immediately impressed by your team spirit, your focus on customer satisfaction, your vision, and the instant cooperative exchange.
6. How does the partnership with trbo work exactly? How do Mapp and trbo interact?
The goal is to offer our joint customers added value. That means our partner managers and account managers are in close contact with each other. The first joint marketing events have already taken place. At our Mapp Roadshow, trbo was on stage as a speaker at all events and actively supported us in the planning.
The technical focus is on the exchange of information, and we use various APIs to send information in both directions. We can deliver information about visitor behavior to the onsite personalization platform and receive information about the content displayed. This is used in reports, segments, and campaigns.
7. What do you see as the biggest benefits that come from working together?
A cross-channel customer experience. Consumers expect a consistent approach across channels and media, and that’s exactly what we’re implementing together. Onsite personalization as well as email, mobile, paid and social media campaigns are aligned. For example, product recommendations: the products displayed on the website will also be shown to the visitor in the next newsletter.
8. What piece of advice would you give to someone who is looking for the right partner?
Very important: the chemistry must be right. Both companies, but also the respective solutions, must fit together. That’s the only way to create added value for joint customers, and that’s what matters in the end.
9. Is there a particularly unique or fun experience you’ve had at Mapp that you would like to share?
I can remember the day of our Christmas party in 2022 very well. It was also the first day after the COVID-19 pandemic that I met many of my colleagues in person for the first time. I was on my way back to the office with some of them after lunch when suddenly, the elevator got stuck. 5 people in a 2×1 meter cabin without electricity, light, working emergency call or cell phone reception. It quickly turned out that this was not a planned team building event and there was no hidden camera to be found. Still, it gave us enough time to get to know each other until the fire department freed us 1.5 hours later. I still laugh about some of the stories that were told.
10. If you could step into the role of another (well-known) personality for one day, who would it be?
I would like to see the world from the perspective of an explorer, like Alexander von Humboldt or Jacques Cousteau. Thinking outside the box, staying curious and being open to new and unknown things — not only in your job but in every situation in life — is something you should never give up.
About our (interview-) partner
Thomas Kalinna, Senior Presales Consultant at Mapp
Thomas Kalinna has been working as a consultant and project manager in digital marketing for over 15 years. He has a long track record of implementing data-driven data and cross-channel marketing projects, as well as KPI frameworks for larger companies. He has great expertise in web analytics and in generating and leveraging insights. After working at Webtrends, Thomas has worked for Webtrekk since 2018. Following the Webtrekk acquisition by Mapp, he is now a Senior Solution Consultant for the entire group.