What is Move Update?
Move Update is the term the USPS uses to refer to the process of updating mailing addresses with National Change of Address (NCOA) information. Basically, Move Update is verifying the person to whom you are sending mail still resides at the address you have on record.
The USPS is making this change to reduce the amount of undeliverable mail. In 2006 alone, over 9.7 billion pieces were sent out with addresses that could not be delivered. This cost the USPS $1.9 billion to process, forward, return or destroy.
How does NCOA work?
Whenever a person fills out a USPS Change of Address card, or goes to the USPS Change of Address website, a record is generated in the NCOA master database. By electronically comparing the address of those who have filed a change of address with your database, we can determine which addresses are no longer valid. Once we’ve identified those who have recently moved, we can update your mailing list with the new information.
On November 23, Move Update will be required for Standard Mail. Your mailing list must have been processed through a USPS approved NCOA update process within 95 days of the mailing date.
How will Integraphx help?
We will automatically run your mailing list against the NCOA database for every mailing.
What will be required from you?
We will need your signature on a one page postal form stating that we have your permission to use NCOA. Then sit back, relax and we’ll take care of the rest.
Wednesday
Immediacy Is Key to Marketing Automation
The technological innovations which most affect small businesses’ marketing automation are those which enhance and aid immediacy and relevance. In today’s marketplace, your product is relevant to your customer base now, not two months beforehand or afterwards. In order to successfully implement marketing automation within your business, you need to consider relevance and immediacy when developing a marketing and delivery plan. Keep the following tips in mind when you do so.
Keep Your Database Active.
In order to deliver immediate products, updates, and best practices to your clientele, you need to maintain an active customer information database. By integrating your marketing strategy with an such a database, you can deliver marketing materials that speak to customer needs of the moment. Being able to meet your customers’ immediate needs as well as their long-term needs makes you relevant in a way that helps to ensure loyalty and future sales.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
Now that your customer information database is an active, living part of your marketing strategy, you need to make sure that immediate needs are met immediately. The longer you wait to reach a prospect – or even a regular customer – the more likely it is that they will find an alternative. After all, if you’re a loyal Jack-in-the-Box patron but your local restaurant isn’t serving food right now, you’ll probably find another fast food option. You’re hungry now. So are prospects and customers.
Target and Focus
Today’s email and communications technology allow you to send targeted messages at specific times rather than generic mass-mailings on a periodic basis. With the proper database automation, you can pick and choose which marketing materials to send to which prospects and clients, and at the perfect time. Why send your entire catalog if you know that John Q. Customer wants a specific product within that catalog? Why not just send the item description? New technology makes it cost-effective to send out over a hundred pieces of material on Monday, less than a dozen on Tuesday, and more than 500 on Wednesday. At the same time, use your database research to alter the message based on what you know about each customer or prospect.
Automate and Walk Away
Many businesses make the mistake of continually fiddling with their marketing automation processes if results are not perfect instantaneously. The important thing is that you automate tasks which can be handled by a database solution more efficiently and effectively than by employees. This will free up man-hours, reduce costs and restore productivity. Once you’ve automated your database, walk away. Let it do the job you programmed it to do. Database programs self-update, so allow yours to do so. Modify it on a periodic basis in order to ensure effectiveness, and use your new resources – both temporal and financial – to grow your business.
Keep Your Database Active.
In order to deliver immediate products, updates, and best practices to your clientele, you need to maintain an active customer information database. By integrating your marketing strategy with an such a database, you can deliver marketing materials that speak to customer needs of the moment. Being able to meet your customers’ immediate needs as well as their long-term needs makes you relevant in a way that helps to ensure loyalty and future sales.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
Now that your customer information database is an active, living part of your marketing strategy, you need to make sure that immediate needs are met immediately. The longer you wait to reach a prospect – or even a regular customer – the more likely it is that they will find an alternative. After all, if you’re a loyal Jack-in-the-Box patron but your local restaurant isn’t serving food right now, you’ll probably find another fast food option. You’re hungry now. So are prospects and customers.
Target and Focus
Today’s email and communications technology allow you to send targeted messages at specific times rather than generic mass-mailings on a periodic basis. With the proper database automation, you can pick and choose which marketing materials to send to which prospects and clients, and at the perfect time. Why send your entire catalog if you know that John Q. Customer wants a specific product within that catalog? Why not just send the item description? New technology makes it cost-effective to send out over a hundred pieces of material on Monday, less than a dozen on Tuesday, and more than 500 on Wednesday. At the same time, use your database research to alter the message based on what you know about each customer or prospect.
Automate and Walk Away
Many businesses make the mistake of continually fiddling with their marketing automation processes if results are not perfect instantaneously. The important thing is that you automate tasks which can be handled by a database solution more efficiently and effectively than by employees. This will free up man-hours, reduce costs and restore productivity. Once you’ve automated your database, walk away. Let it do the job you programmed it to do. Database programs self-update, so allow yours to do so. Modify it on a periodic basis in order to ensure effectiveness, and use your new resources – both temporal and financial – to grow your business.
Thursday
Marketing to your current customers boosts sales and builds loyalty
One of your most important business assets is your customer list. You have established a level of trust with current customers, making it easier to secure additional business from them. But notice that I said easier not effortless; you must make the commitment to market to your current customers in order for them to decide to purchase from you again.
Marketing to your current customers has two valuable results: It boosts sales and builds loyalty.
Maintaining meaningful contact with customers is important to your marketing success. It keeps you in the forefront of their minds so that when they are ready to buy, or when their colleagues need a referral, they think of you, your business, your product or your service.
So where do you start?
Know your customers. First you need to know your customers. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are obvious pieces of information you must gather. What have they purchased from you in the past and what is the average dollar amount of those purchases? By integrating your marketing systems with other internal systems such as accounting, point-of sale, and customer relationship management systems, you can track what they purchased in the past and project what they may need in the future. Additionally, information regarding individual customer buying preferences, favorite radio stations and magazines, sports team loyalties and other data are extremely helpful in marketing to your current customers. So capture as much information as possible in a system that allows you to access it easily.
Meaningful contact. Use the information you have about current customers to send them relevant messages to keep them coming back. What messages are relevant? The answer may be different for each customer but the key is to use the data that you have gathered to respond to their specific product and service needs. Every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. The closer you come to addressing those needs in your communications, the greater the likelihood that you will get additional business from those customers.
Build loyalty. Another way to market to your current customers is via a rewards-based customer loyalty program. One of the best-known and longest running loyalty programs is the airlines’ frequent flyer program. The theory behind these programs is that customers will want to spend more money with your company in anticipation of earning their rewards. Your business will benefit most from a loyalty program that entices repeat purchases from customers and encourages them to tell others about your product or service. An added benefit to loyalty programs is that they give you the opportunity to gather additional information about your customers’ buying preferences and specific needs, allowing you to further target your marketing efforts.
Marketing to your current customers has two valuable results: It boosts sales and builds loyalty.
Maintaining meaningful contact with customers is important to your marketing success. It keeps you in the forefront of their minds so that when they are ready to buy, or when their colleagues need a referral, they think of you, your business, your product or your service.
So where do you start?
Know your customers. First you need to know your customers. Names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are obvious pieces of information you must gather. What have they purchased from you in the past and what is the average dollar amount of those purchases? By integrating your marketing systems with other internal systems such as accounting, point-of sale, and customer relationship management systems, you can track what they purchased in the past and project what they may need in the future. Additionally, information regarding individual customer buying preferences, favorite radio stations and magazines, sports team loyalties and other data are extremely helpful in marketing to your current customers. So capture as much information as possible in a system that allows you to access it easily.
Meaningful contact. Use the information you have about current customers to send them relevant messages to keep them coming back. What messages are relevant? The answer may be different for each customer but the key is to use the data that you have gathered to respond to their specific product and service needs. Every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. The closer you come to addressing those needs in your communications, the greater the likelihood that you will get additional business from those customers.
Build loyalty. Another way to market to your current customers is via a rewards-based customer loyalty program. One of the best-known and longest running loyalty programs is the airlines’ frequent flyer program. The theory behind these programs is that customers will want to spend more money with your company in anticipation of earning their rewards. Your business will benefit most from a loyalty program that entices repeat purchases from customers and encourages them to tell others about your product or service. An added benefit to loyalty programs is that they give you the opportunity to gather additional information about your customers’ buying preferences and specific needs, allowing you to further target your marketing efforts.
Tuesday
Integrate Sales and Marketing for Increased Revenues
We hear a lot about how marketing and sales should work hand-in-hand. But what does it mean to integrate sales and marketing efforts in your business? And is it really worth the effort?
The average business uses several different marketing tools such as participation in trade shows, e-mail, direct mail, company Web sites and so on. Similarly, businesses utilize various sales tools including telephone calls, personal visits and contact management or customer relationship management software. The use of multiple tools often results in valuable information that is useful to both marketing and sales but is separated and not shared efficiently or effectively.
Integration occurs when the data collected through these marketing efforts becomes part of the sales tools being utilized and the data collected through the sales tools is fed back to your marketing machine. This cross-pollination of data enables sales and marketing to work in harmony towards a common goal – increased revenues.
Several studies, including one by the Aberdeen Group (The Convergence of Sales and Marketing, December 2007) show double-digit increases in bid-to-win ratio, lead conversion, average revenue per account and return on marketing investment as a direct result of integration between marketing and sales technologies. The challenge is figuring out how to accomplish integration in a way that is relevant and easy for people in marketing and sales to use.
Meeting the challenge: tips for successful integration
Decide what you want to accomplish. Do you want to increase qualified leads and reduce the time it takes to close a sale? Whatever your objectives, list them and prioritize them so you can eventually measure the success of your integration efforts.
Identify the data to be shared. What marketing information does your sales force need to meet stated objectives. What sales data should be entered into the marketing system to better target your audience?
Automate wherever possible. Automatic communication systems that tie in to your current customer relationship management (CRM) system are designed react to pre-defined triggers by sending appropriate marketing material to the potential customer. This is done by establishing a set of business rules that act on pre-assigned criteria to push out a desired piece of mail, e-mail or telesales call to the prospect, in many cases within days of the trigger. Lead prioritization tools can automate the flow of leads from marketing to sales. The biggest gains from automation are seen in improved return on marketing investment that is driven by better response rates to marketing campaigns. More efficient prospecting is achieved as automated processes provide a vehicle for continuously gathering, testing and refining data increasingly accurate customer information.
The average business uses several different marketing tools such as participation in trade shows, e-mail, direct mail, company Web sites and so on. Similarly, businesses utilize various sales tools including telephone calls, personal visits and contact management or customer relationship management software. The use of multiple tools often results in valuable information that is useful to both marketing and sales but is separated and not shared efficiently or effectively.
Integration occurs when the data collected through these marketing efforts becomes part of the sales tools being utilized and the data collected through the sales tools is fed back to your marketing machine. This cross-pollination of data enables sales and marketing to work in harmony towards a common goal – increased revenues.
Several studies, including one by the Aberdeen Group (The Convergence of Sales and Marketing, December 2007) show double-digit increases in bid-to-win ratio, lead conversion, average revenue per account and return on marketing investment as a direct result of integration between marketing and sales technologies. The challenge is figuring out how to accomplish integration in a way that is relevant and easy for people in marketing and sales to use.
Meeting the challenge: tips for successful integration
Decide what you want to accomplish. Do you want to increase qualified leads and reduce the time it takes to close a sale? Whatever your objectives, list them and prioritize them so you can eventually measure the success of your integration efforts.
Identify the data to be shared. What marketing information does your sales force need to meet stated objectives. What sales data should be entered into the marketing system to better target your audience?
Automate wherever possible. Automatic communication systems that tie in to your current customer relationship management (CRM) system are designed react to pre-defined triggers by sending appropriate marketing material to the potential customer. This is done by establishing a set of business rules that act on pre-assigned criteria to push out a desired piece of mail, e-mail or telesales call to the prospect, in many cases within days of the trigger. Lead prioritization tools can automate the flow of leads from marketing to sales. The biggest gains from automation are seen in improved return on marketing investment that is driven by better response rates to marketing campaigns. More efficient prospecting is achieved as automated processes provide a vehicle for continuously gathering, testing and refining data increasingly accurate customer information.
A steady drip can result in a flood of new business
You receive a personalized postcard from a local office supply company, glance at it and put it aside. A couple of weeks later, you receive an email from that same company notifying you of special pricing on copy paper. You just purchased enough paper for six months so you forget about it. A personalized brochure arrives in the mail the following month inviting you to view additional information on the office supply company Web site via a Personalized URL. You decide to check it out. After you view the site, a representative of the company calls you to thank you for visiting the site and leaves her contact information should you decide you’d like to purchase office supplies from them. An informative electronic newsletter arrives from the office supply company two months later, followed by another postcard with a coupon for a 25 percent discount on copy paper. Your paper supply is running low and so you purchase from the office supply company that has been continually touching base with you over the past dozen or so weeks.
This method of sending out planned and sequenced marketing messages over an extended period of time is affectionately known as “drip” marketing. The theory behind drip marketing is that repetition and a slow building of brand awareness is a powerful way to build sales.
A prospect might not be considering purchasing life insurance on the day he receives your first postcard. But if a second, fourth or tenth communication happens to hit at a time when the prospect is planning for his financial future, chances are good that he will take action and call you. A combination of direct mail, emails, newsletters, telephone calls, blogs, podcasts and video clips can effectively reach a prospect in a meaningful way about a product or service they need at any particular point in time.
Planning a drip campaign requires understanding your audience and how to best reach it. Decide who will receive communications, which communications channels you will use, in what sequence and frequency as well as specific messaging for each communication.
Be creative and deliver value. Relevant messages delivered in a creative way will work best to capture the attention of your audience. Varying your offers and messaging will also spur interest but be sure your brand is consistent throughout the drip campaign.
Stick with it! Drip marketing works when you use consistent messages distributed on a regular schedule. Consider using an automated marketing system that is simple to execute to ensure the drip continues regardless of how busy you get.
Tracking response to your communications is critical. Be sure to invest in appropriate customer relationship management (CRM) and Web site traffic tracking programs or engage an external marketing services firm to track and report on results.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit www.integraphx.com
This method of sending out planned and sequenced marketing messages over an extended period of time is affectionately known as “drip” marketing. The theory behind drip marketing is that repetition and a slow building of brand awareness is a powerful way to build sales.
A prospect might not be considering purchasing life insurance on the day he receives your first postcard. But if a second, fourth or tenth communication happens to hit at a time when the prospect is planning for his financial future, chances are good that he will take action and call you. A combination of direct mail, emails, newsletters, telephone calls, blogs, podcasts and video clips can effectively reach a prospect in a meaningful way about a product or service they need at any particular point in time.
Planning a drip campaign requires understanding your audience and how to best reach it. Decide who will receive communications, which communications channels you will use, in what sequence and frequency as well as specific messaging for each communication.
Be creative and deliver value. Relevant messages delivered in a creative way will work best to capture the attention of your audience. Varying your offers and messaging will also spur interest but be sure your brand is consistent throughout the drip campaign.
Stick with it! Drip marketing works when you use consistent messages distributed on a regular schedule. Consider using an automated marketing system that is simple to execute to ensure the drip continues regardless of how busy you get.
Tracking response to your communications is critical. Be sure to invest in appropriate customer relationship management (CRM) and Web site traffic tracking programs or engage an external marketing services firm to track and report on results.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit www.integraphx.com
Wednesday
When less is more: efficient marketing campaigns that are highly effective
A highly targeted contact list combined with well-written and well-designed direct mail pieces that are complemented with relevant e-mail marketing messages are three of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to get the job done. Together they give you the ability to be dynamic in reaching potential customers, generating a high quality response and delivering marketing thrust to your campaign.
Target your best prospects
Who is most likely to buy your product or service? The answer is in your current customer base.
Make a list of your top customers and identify common attributes and preferences. Then use this information to put together a list of contacts that are similar to your top customers. The greater the number of common characteristics, the smaller, but more highly targeted the list will become. And the more targeted the list, the better your response rate will be in terms of qualified leads.
Create direct mail pieces that are read and saved
Consider the look. People tend to scan their mail to see what is worth reading. Postcards designed with complementary colors that stand out from the rest of the mail and with short, simple text that flows in a Z-pattern from top left to the bottom right are more likely to be read by the recipient. Once again, less is more; a few high impact words will yield a great return.
Be persuasive and personal. People receiving your direct mail piece are not interested in who you are or what your company does. They are thinking "How does this help me?" So make the message all about them and the benefits they will derive from your product or service. If you speak directly to their needs, wants and desires, you will create an emotional response from the reader that will be quite persuasive. Then call the reader to action with specific instructions about what they must do and when they must do it in order to take advantage of your offer.
Keep contact via welcome email
Coupling email marketing with direct mail is more effective than either tactic alone. Email marketing generates an immediate response. The call to action is clear: "Click here to take advantage of this offer" or "to learn more about this service" or to "attend this event." Initial campaign response generally occurs within 48 hours of the time the email campaign is sent.
Overall, email communications with relevant messages sent to targeted prospect and customer lists can improve lead generation and customer retention dramatically. But the key to success is delivering a message that is truly relevant to the prospect. So design your email message to speak directly to your highly targeted contact, and help them connect the email with the direct mail piece so as to establish relevance in the mind of the recipient. Keep the message short, simple and focused on the person receiving the email for best results.
Less time, more leads
Perhaps you're thinking that you don't have time for all this. If that's the case, then automate your marketing system so that it runs itself. You can turn your business into an automatic marketing machine with the right system that includes scheduled communications via direct mail, email and even by telephone.
For example, once you have met with a prospect, your automated marketing system will automatically send the prospect a thank-you email followed by a personalized brochure sent by U.S. Mail inviting the prospect to view additional information on the company Web site via a Personalized URL (PURL). This can be followed by an email generated by the prospect's visit to the PURL that contains the appropriate salesperson's contact information and a personalized printed direct mail piece via U.S. Mail promoting a new customer discount.
With a little planning and the right marketing tools, you can truly get more with less. The right messages can be sent to the right customers exactly when they need your company's products and services, increasing the overall effectiveness of your efforts and those of the entire sales force.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit http://www.integraphx.com/
Target your best prospects
Who is most likely to buy your product or service? The answer is in your current customer base.
Make a list of your top customers and identify common attributes and preferences. Then use this information to put together a list of contacts that are similar to your top customers. The greater the number of common characteristics, the smaller, but more highly targeted the list will become. And the more targeted the list, the better your response rate will be in terms of qualified leads.
Create direct mail pieces that are read and saved
Consider the look. People tend to scan their mail to see what is worth reading. Postcards designed with complementary colors that stand out from the rest of the mail and with short, simple text that flows in a Z-pattern from top left to the bottom right are more likely to be read by the recipient. Once again, less is more; a few high impact words will yield a great return.
Be persuasive and personal. People receiving your direct mail piece are not interested in who you are or what your company does. They are thinking "How does this help me?" So make the message all about them and the benefits they will derive from your product or service. If you speak directly to their needs, wants and desires, you will create an emotional response from the reader that will be quite persuasive. Then call the reader to action with specific instructions about what they must do and when they must do it in order to take advantage of your offer.
Keep contact via welcome email
Coupling email marketing with direct mail is more effective than either tactic alone. Email marketing generates an immediate response. The call to action is clear: "Click here to take advantage of this offer" or "to learn more about this service" or to "attend this event." Initial campaign response generally occurs within 48 hours of the time the email campaign is sent.
Overall, email communications with relevant messages sent to targeted prospect and customer lists can improve lead generation and customer retention dramatically. But the key to success is delivering a message that is truly relevant to the prospect. So design your email message to speak directly to your highly targeted contact, and help them connect the email with the direct mail piece so as to establish relevance in the mind of the recipient. Keep the message short, simple and focused on the person receiving the email for best results.
Less time, more leads
Perhaps you're thinking that you don't have time for all this. If that's the case, then automate your marketing system so that it runs itself. You can turn your business into an automatic marketing machine with the right system that includes scheduled communications via direct mail, email and even by telephone.
For example, once you have met with a prospect, your automated marketing system will automatically send the prospect a thank-you email followed by a personalized brochure sent by U.S. Mail inviting the prospect to view additional information on the company Web site via a Personalized URL (PURL). This can be followed by an email generated by the prospect's visit to the PURL that contains the appropriate salesperson's contact information and a personalized printed direct mail piece via U.S. Mail promoting a new customer discount.
With a little planning and the right marketing tools, you can truly get more with less. The right messages can be sent to the right customers exactly when they need your company's products and services, increasing the overall effectiveness of your efforts and those of the entire sales force.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit http://www.integraphx.com/
Triggering better results from your marketing
Are you currently timing your marketing campaigns so they send the right messages to customers exactly when they need your product or service? If not, it's time that you started to explore trigger-based marketing.
Based on data mining, testing and a focus on helping customers, triggers have become an integral part of successful marketing campaigns. Trigger-based marketing programs take advantage of opportunities by capturing data and converting it into executable campaigns in a timely manner.
So what exactly is a "trigger"? Triggers are specific moments in time that are relevant to potential customers and bring to light a need for a particular product or service. It is about identifying the most opportune time to interact with or proposition your customers based on analysis of customer data, factoring in the customer’s historical and most recent behavior. Some examples include:
· External triggers such as economic conditions or mergers and acquisitions.
· Customer life triggers such as the birth of a child or a home relocation.
· Behavioral triggers such as a change in purchasing patterns.
Trigger-based marketing is typically executed through automatic communication systems that will react to pre-defined triggers by sending appropriate marketing material to the potential customer. This is done by establishing a set of business rules that act on pre-assigned criteria to push out a desired piece of mail, e-mail or telesales call to the prospect, in many cases within days of the trigger.
However, trigger-based marketing works only when the message is relevant. Every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. The closer you come to addressing the uniquely triggered needs in your marketing communications, the greater the likelihood that you will convert prospects into customers.
The benefits of automated, trigger-based marketing are significant. The biggest gains are seen in improved return on marketing investment that is driven by better response rates to marketing campaigns. More efficient prospecting is achieved as automated processes provide a vehicle for continuously gathering, testing and refining data increasingly accurate customer information. Trigger-based marketing programs are also an integral part of effective customer relationship management, offering personalized communications and service to existing customers.The profitability potential of trigger-based marketing extends far beyond simply sending personalized birthday cards to customers and prospects. The value comes when you take full advantage of triggers to increase revenues or decrease costs while enhancing overall profitability.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit http://www.integraphx.com/
Based on data mining, testing and a focus on helping customers, triggers have become an integral part of successful marketing campaigns. Trigger-based marketing programs take advantage of opportunities by capturing data and converting it into executable campaigns in a timely manner.
So what exactly is a "trigger"? Triggers are specific moments in time that are relevant to potential customers and bring to light a need for a particular product or service. It is about identifying the most opportune time to interact with or proposition your customers based on analysis of customer data, factoring in the customer’s historical and most recent behavior. Some examples include:
· External triggers such as economic conditions or mergers and acquisitions.
· Customer life triggers such as the birth of a child or a home relocation.
· Behavioral triggers such as a change in purchasing patterns.
Trigger-based marketing is typically executed through automatic communication systems that will react to pre-defined triggers by sending appropriate marketing material to the potential customer. This is done by establishing a set of business rules that act on pre-assigned criteria to push out a desired piece of mail, e-mail or telesales call to the prospect, in many cases within days of the trigger.
However, trigger-based marketing works only when the message is relevant. Every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. The closer you come to addressing the uniquely triggered needs in your marketing communications, the greater the likelihood that you will convert prospects into customers.
The benefits of automated, trigger-based marketing are significant. The biggest gains are seen in improved return on marketing investment that is driven by better response rates to marketing campaigns. More efficient prospecting is achieved as automated processes provide a vehicle for continuously gathering, testing and refining data increasingly accurate customer information. Trigger-based marketing programs are also an integral part of effective customer relationship management, offering personalized communications and service to existing customers.The profitability potential of trigger-based marketing extends far beyond simply sending personalized birthday cards to customers and prospects. The value comes when you take full advantage of triggers to increase revenues or decrease costs while enhancing overall profitability.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit http://www.integraphx.com/
Tuesday
Getting personal
Getting personal: variable-data printing makes customized messaging fast, easy and effective
Every prospect and every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. Savvy marketers know that the closer you come to addressing these unique needs in your marketing communications, the greater the likelihood that you will convert prospects into customers.
One way to accomplish this type of highly targeted marketing is with variable-data printing.
Variable-data printing (VDP) takes information from a database and uses it to change elements such as text, graphics and images from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the printing process. VDP enables the mass customization of documents via digital print technology, as opposed to the mass-production of a single document using offset lithography. So instead of producing 10,000 copies of a single document that delivers the same message to 10,000 customers, variable data printing can print 10,000 unique documents with customized messages for each customer.
Imagine a greeting card with an image of your name written in icing on the top of a birthday cake. Now imagine that you're going to create thousands of these personalized cards, each with a different prospect's name on the cake -- and they're printed in the same amount of time as a standard piece with static messaging. That's variable-data printing in its simplest form.
In addition to direct mail pieces, variable-data printing can be used in brochures, newsletters, Web sites, emails, CD-ROMs, DVDs and streaming video.
Let's suppose that you not only want to deliver customized messages to recipients, you want to drive prospects to their own personal Web pages to get information specific to their needs and to encourage them to reveal their buying preferences. This is possible with personal URLs or "PURLs." An offshoot of variable-data printing, PURLs are domain names containing the recipient's first and last name and are dynamically created right from your prospect list. They can include personal images and text specific to individual needs and preferences.
The functionality of PURLs to track customer behavior offers value in sales conversion, relationship management, service levels, new business opportunities and models, control testing and real-time analytics. They are a great resource for surveys, customer acquisition, fund raising, political campaigns and recruitment. For example, you can use PURLs to pre-populate an order form with the person's details to help increase the likelihood they will purchase from you. PURLs can also track interest by individual by allowing you to see who is viewing your message and for how long. If the individual does not make a purchase immediately, you have the power to continue the dialogue and convert the prospect into a happy customer.
The returns for variable-data printing and PURLs vary depending on content and the relevancy of that content, but the technique presents an effective tool for increasing return on investment on marketing campaigns. By individualizing the message and effectively tracking customer behavior, marketers can print and distribute fewer pieces while realizing better results.
Every prospect and every customer has a distinctive combination of preferences, interests and demands that make them unique. Savvy marketers know that the closer you come to addressing these unique needs in your marketing communications, the greater the likelihood that you will convert prospects into customers.
One way to accomplish this type of highly targeted marketing is with variable-data printing.
Variable-data printing (VDP) takes information from a database and uses it to change elements such as text, graphics and images from one printed piece to the next without stopping or slowing down the printing process. VDP enables the mass customization of documents via digital print technology, as opposed to the mass-production of a single document using offset lithography. So instead of producing 10,000 copies of a single document that delivers the same message to 10,000 customers, variable data printing can print 10,000 unique documents with customized messages for each customer.
Imagine a greeting card with an image of your name written in icing on the top of a birthday cake. Now imagine that you're going to create thousands of these personalized cards, each with a different prospect's name on the cake -- and they're printed in the same amount of time as a standard piece with static messaging. That's variable-data printing in its simplest form.
In addition to direct mail pieces, variable-data printing can be used in brochures, newsletters, Web sites, emails, CD-ROMs, DVDs and streaming video.
Let's suppose that you not only want to deliver customized messages to recipients, you want to drive prospects to their own personal Web pages to get information specific to their needs and to encourage them to reveal their buying preferences. This is possible with personal URLs or "PURLs." An offshoot of variable-data printing, PURLs are domain names containing the recipient's first and last name and are dynamically created right from your prospect list. They can include personal images and text specific to individual needs and preferences.
The functionality of PURLs to track customer behavior offers value in sales conversion, relationship management, service levels, new business opportunities and models, control testing and real-time analytics. They are a great resource for surveys, customer acquisition, fund raising, political campaigns and recruitment. For example, you can use PURLs to pre-populate an order form with the person's details to help increase the likelihood they will purchase from you. PURLs can also track interest by individual by allowing you to see who is viewing your message and for how long. If the individual does not make a purchase immediately, you have the power to continue the dialogue and convert the prospect into a happy customer.
The returns for variable-data printing and PURLs vary depending on content and the relevancy of that content, but the technique presents an effective tool for increasing return on investment on marketing campaigns. By individualizing the message and effectively tracking customer behavior, marketers can print and distribute fewer pieces while realizing better results.
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