Varma
Customer focus first. Multichannel reach, swift action and solid metrics keep Varma’s marketing engine running.
A long-term, results-driven partnership that advances through testing
Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company secures earnings-related pensions for work done in Finland. Because the field is complex, customer focus is paramount: Varma’s work to support their clients, meeting them wherever they are.
Co-operation with SDM began in 2020, when Varma’s marketing team saw untapped potential in multichannel digital marketing and wanted to expand. Drivers were the need to adapt to changes in buying behaviour and to squeeze more efficiency from marketing.
Team resources, however, were limited. SDM was first chosen to help with SEO and CRO needs tied to a website-revamp project.
After that project went well, the partnership continued and expanded. SDM now delivers site analytics, social advertising, Google Ads acquisition and content marketing under the MRACE® model. The relationship has grown into a long-standing, productive collaboration.
About Varma
Provides statutory earnings-related pension cover for private entrepreneurs and employees
The largest private investor and the second largest insurance company in Finland
Over 59 billion euros in investments and over 5,5 billion euros in annual insurance premiums
I call SDM’s experts members of our team. Their skills complement our in-house resources, and together we’re a well-oiled unit. SDM adds value with deep, channel-specific expertise—and, as icing on the cake, their genuine enthusiasm is motivating.
Tuomas Salomaa
Digital Marketing Manager, Varma
Services provided
Results
With MRACE® we speak the same language
“The model breaks a big cake into manageable slices that can be optimised per channel. It keeps the focus sharp and gives the whole team a shared vocabulary. Everything is rooted in data, which sparks new customer-centric insights,” explains Tuomas Salomaa, Varma’s Digital Marketing Manager
SEO work runs continuously; social and Google campaigns are refined by data and constant testing, fixing one piece at a time.
“High-quality measurement is at the heart of customer-centric work. Leadership starts with metrics. We’re always looking for improvements—and SDM lets us act quickly and tactically,” Salomaa continues.
Our MRACE® setup is holistic: we even built the metrics and dashboard around it,” adds Ilari Tervonen, Chief Sales Officer & Partner, SDM.
SDM’s approach and models break a big cake into manageable slices that can be optimised per channel. It keeps the focus sharp and gives the whole team a shared vocabulary. Everything is rooted in data, which sparks new customer-centric insights.
Tuomas Salomaa
Digital Marketing Manager
Summary
The aim was to expand marketing step by step, test and track results.
Varma and SDM have launched new channels, improved measurement and compared data across platforms, all under the MRACE® framework. Marketing is strongly sales-oriented; efficiency and agility have been key. Fast communication gives Varma instant access to channel experts, and SDM supplies extra project muscle when needed.
“We’ve hit the multichannel goals we set,” says Varma’s Tuomas Salomaa.
Long cooperation has produced excellent results. Many firms cheer rising traffic but forget the purchase path. Varma grasped its importance from day one and invested in SEO-CRO during the site revamp. Working across the entire funnel makes testing, measuring and improvement truly agile.
Ilari Tervonen
Chief Sales Officer & Partner, SDM