Using Personalized Print to Enhance Your Campaign: Doing More with Direct Mail (Part 2)

Personalized print in direct mail has revolutionized the way businesses connect with their target audience. This strategy involves tailoring printed materials to cater specifically to individual recipients, addressing their unique preferences, behaviors, and needs. This allows for the creation of customized direct mail pieces that resonate on a personal level.

This shift from generic mass mailings to personalized print not only enhances the overall impact of the communication but also allows for a deeper and more meaningful connection between businesses and their customers. Let's get into understanding how you can begin implementing personalized print, the science behind it, and how you can measure success.

The Science Behind Personalization

Personalized print is only possible with data. This involves collecting data from your customers, like age, demographic, location, and more. These key factors will help you decide how you target someone. This is important because the way you target a customer who is between the ages of 55-70 and is retired should be different than how you target a customer who is between the ages of 18-25 and is a college student. You need to meet each customer (or potential customer) where they're at. So, how do you collect this data?

This involves in-depth work like customer surveys, looking at purchase history, social media insights, website analytics, CRM system data, and can even include purchasing lists. If you want a better breakdown of getting started with collecting customer data for personalization, check out our blog ‘A Guide to Direct Mail Data: Doing More with Direct Mail (Part 1).' We provide insight into what data is, how you can collect it, and why it’s beneficial.

Another important aspect of personalized print is equipment. This means finding a printing company that has the proper equipment to make your product come to life. To implement personalized print in direct mail, you'll need a combination of hardware, software, and data management tools. Here's an overview of the essential equipment:

Data Management Software

You’ve collected data to get started, now you need somewhere to organize it. That’s where Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software comes into play. To gather and manage customer data effectively, a robust CRM system is essential. It should store information such as customer preferences, purchase history, and other relevant details.

Variable Data Printing (VDP) Equipment

This requires high-quality digital printing equipment capable of handling variable data is crucial. Digital printers allow for on-the-fly changes in text, images, and other elements during the printing process.

At Aradius Group we’ve recently added the Canon Prostream 3133 to our arsenal. This printer can do 62 million pages per month or 114,000 per hour. So, there’s no questioning how quick and efficient we can get your pieces done.

Variable Data Printing Software

A printing company will also need software that integrates with their digital printer to manage variable data elements within the print job. This software ensures the accurate merging of personalized information onto each printed piece.

Security Measures

Personalized print involves handling sensitive customer information, implementing robust data security measures to protect customer privacy, and complying with data protection regulations.

Understanding Personalized Print

Incorporating personalized print into campaigns can provide several benefits that contribute to the overall success and effectiveness of marketing efforts. Here are some key advantages:

Increased Engagement

Personalized print materials grab the attention of recipients by addressing them directly. Personalization makes the content more relevant to the individual, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

Improved Response Rates

Personalized print has been shown to generate higher response rates compared to generic, non-personalized materials. When recipients feel a connection to the content, they are more likely to respond positively.

Higher Conversion Rates

Personalized print campaigns often lead to higher conversion rates as the tailored content resonates with the target audience. Customers are more likely to take desired actions when the message speaks directly to their needs and interests.

Brand Loyalty

Personalization contributes to a positive customer experience, fostering a sense of loyalty. When customers feel recognized and valued, they are more likely to remain loyal to a brand and recommend it to others. If you're interested in learning more, check out our blog 'What Is Brand Loyalty and How Does It Benefit Your Company.'

Now that you know what goes into creating personalized print pieces and how they can benefit your business, it’s time to make sure you know what materials you should be utilizing in your campaigns. Let’s take a quick look at a few options that are easy to create and incorporate into your next project:

Brochures

Brochures are versatile and informative folded documents that provide an excellent platform for companies to showcase their brand, products, or services. With their ability to include images, text, and graphics, brochures offer a visually appealing and engaging way to communicate key information to potential clients or customers.

Packaging

Packaging plays a crucial role in product marketing, and printed materials on packaging are a powerful tool to convey branding, product information, and other essential details. Printed packaging materials, such as labels, boxes, and wrappers, offer a unique opportunity for companies to showcase their creativity and capture the attention of potential customers..

Postcards

Postcards are versatile print materials that are commonly used for mailing purposes. They are single-sheet cards that typically feature an eye-catching image or design on one side, while the other side provides space for a personalized message and the recipient's address.

By finding a printing company with these tools and equipment, you’ll be able to guarantee your process for personalized printing will be streamlined and done efficiently. If you’re interested in seeing how personalized print can help you, check out our Personalized Print Campaign Example! We break down everything from the goal, the data, the design, and the results.

In summary, incorporating personalized print into campaigns contributes to a more targeted, engaging, and efficient marketing strategy, ultimately leading to improved customer relationships and better campaign outcomes.

Measuring Success and ROI

Before implementing something new to a campaign, it’s important to know how you’ll measure the success. Adding in personalized print is no different, and it’s easy to track and measure success and ROI.

First, you’ll want to make sure you have defined clear objectives for your campaign. Do you want to enhance sales, enhance customer engagement, or drive brand awareness? Having specific goals will guide your measurement efforts.

It’s also important to use a unique tracking code or personalized URLs to each direct mail piece. This allows you to attribute responses and conversions directly to the personalized print campaign.

If you need help figuring out campaign objectives and ways to track success, we've got you covered! We've created a guide filled with tips on understanding ROI, selecting the right Key Performance Indicators for your business, and more. Download your free copy now!

Now, track response rates! You’ll want to monitor the response rates to your personalized print materials. Track the number of recipients who take the desired action, such as making a purchase, visiting a website, or responding to a call-to-action.

Another way to see how your campaign is performing is to compare the sales and revenue generated during the personalized print campaign with the baseline or non-personalized control group.

Finally, engage with customers! This can be done by gathering customer feedback through surveys or direct communication. Understand the impact of personalized print on customer satisfaction, brand perception, and overall experience. Regularly reviewing these metrics and adjusting your strategies based on the insights gained will help optimize future personalized print campaigns and improve overall ROI.

The Takeaway

If you’re looking for a way to enhance your next direct mail campaign, personalized print is for you. In a world that’s digital-heavy, it’s nice to see well-thought-out and personalized pieces showing up in mailboxes. As a brand over time, you’ll see an increase in brand loyalty and improved response rates.

If you’re ready to get started with personalized print, reach out! Aradius Group is here to help answer any questions you may have and bring your next campaign to life.