Tips for more targeted and effective marketing
Personalisation continues to be a trend in marketing. Not only are retailers sending offers addressed to their customers — now even our favourite dog food brand sends our pet personalised birthday greetings!
Why should you personalise your marketing strategy?
Because it works!
When people go through their mail, they immediately notice letters that are addressed to them and throw out the generic ones. A person is more likely to open, remember, and act on messages that are tailored just for them.
Just look at the following numbers:
- 86% of consumers make a buying decision based on personalised marketing
- 80% of consumers like to receive personalised suggestions from retailers
- 75% of consumers like to receive personalised offers from their favourite brands.
One of the best ways to personalise your marketing strategy is through variable data printing.
What is variable data printing?
Variable data printing is a process that involves printing customer data on marketing material.
With this technology, business owners like you can increase customer response rates through personalised marketing.
The primary benefit of VDP is that you can change the elements of printed material from one piece to another. This means you can personalise your message with:
- Customer name
- Address
- Age
- Gender
- Graphics
Without VDP, you would have to spend hours, days, and even weeks manually printing direct mail, including postcards, brochures, and flyers. Variable data printing allows you to print custom mailers in bulk – with minimal human intervention.
How does variable data printing work?
Variable data printing imports a digital spreadsheet containing customer data to produce targeted marketing campaigns.
Most businesses choose to add one to two dynamic elements to a static mail template – usually the name and address of the recipient. But for special occasions such as a store opening, retailers can send invitations with a personalised map of the location and even the best driving route.
Where is variable data printing used for?
Variable data printing can be applied to any digital printing process to produce:
- Business cards
- Postcards
- Mailers
- Catalogues
- Booklets
- Brochures
- Presentations
- Flyers
- Posters
- Letterheads
- Envelopes
- Greeting Cards
- Wedding Invitations
- Newsletters
- Coupons
- Invoices
- Billing statements
Creative ways to personalise your marketing materials with VDP
There are many ways to personalise direct mail campaigns and gain an edge over competitors. We list some of them below.
Personalise the headline.
For conservative businesses, marketing materials do not have to be flashy. Sometimes, simply adding the name of the recipient to the headline can be an effective way to connect with the target buyer.
When a potential client sees their name on the headline, it encourages them to read the rest of the mailer – further boosting the response rate.
For better engagement, mention the customer’s name a few more times within the body to make your message more personal.
Personalise the envelope.
If you do it right, the lowly envelope presents another opportunity to reach potential customers. So, instead of just adding the name and address of the recipient, why not print a custom message that includes discount offers, attractive teasers, or product images?
Customise the images.
Visual elements are a vital part of any printed marketing material. To make your direct mail a success, create a lasting impression with high-quality, personalised images.
Remember, the human brain can process visuals 60,000 times faster than written text. Thus, the image you choose can be the difference between recipients reading the rest of your mailer or throwing them out.
Personalise based on previous brand-customer interactions.
One of the best strategies to personalise your marketing materials is to base your approach on previous interactions with the customer. This is perfect for subscription products or services.
A good strategy, therefore, is to recommend new offers based on the customer’s previous orders. It is the perfect opportunity to upsell and cross-sell to your loyal customer base.
Personalise based on buying behaviour.
The best way to personalise your marketing strategy is to analyse your customers’ buying behaviour. What are they buying from you? What are they buying from your competitors? Which products are they currently using? All this data can be the basis of your next pitch, which can now feature the most ideal product or service for your target audience.
Personalise based on demographic.
Variable data printing can also be used to send direct mail that targets potential customers in a certain demographic. For example, a pet company can target households with cats and dogs within a particular zip code, or a grocery chain can target the same demographic with offers of dog food brands and pet supplies.
With variable data printing, you can form a personal connection with prospective buyers. You can mention not only their name but their job title as well, and even the car they drive.
Automate your marketing communication with help from Jennings Print.
Here at Jennings, we can assist you in customising every aspect of your marketing material, including headlines, images, CTAs, and your offer. You can choose as many variables as you want, add them to a spreadsheet, and we will produce these custom details in any volume that you require.
With our VDP services, each of your prospective buyers can receive an eye-catching offer that speaks to them personally. This is how you show them that you care enough to design a custom item based on their preferences.
Stop sending generic letters that do not deliver results. The old spray-and-pray method is not only unpredictable but expensive, leading to a lot of wasted material.
By automating your print and send process using variable data printing, we can help increase your response rate and ROI.
Contact us on 02 4933 5735 today or email admin@jenningsprint.com.au about your variable data printing needs for your next marketing campaign.