| The
problems of one-to-one marketing are being solved by personalized
marketing. It used to be that these programs were plagued with logistical
issues and high costs. Companies struggled with internal database
challenges (capturing and accessing their prospect and customer information),
coordinating efforts among cross functional groups and paying for
high printing costs. Recent advances in digital printing technology,
combined with more efficient database marketing systems and the Internet
now make the delivery of personalized, relevant and targeted communication
easier and more cost-effective than ever.
Treating individuals as individuals, not a mass market, helps companies
build an ongoing, meaningful dialog with their prospects and customers
that result in higher revenue and loyalty. Thanks to new technologies
and techniques, the three keys to successful one-to-one marketing
can be found in digital printing, database marketing and the Internet.
1. Digital Printing
Digital printing technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Digital
printers can now print with exceptional image quality and color
accuracy on a variety of media, such as card stock and glossy paper.
These printers are dropping in cost, making them more common in
commercial print shops across the country. There are approximately
10,000 digital-ready print shops across the country today, such
as Pacific
Printing & Fulfillment in the Bay Area. This is nearly double
the number from just a few years ago. Costs are moving inversely
with this growth, with full four-color digital prices dropping by
more than 50% in the last three years.
Digital printing has many advantages over traditional offset printers.
You can print just what you need, when you need it (on demand),
thus reducing costs, storage issues and obsolete material. In addition,
digital printers can be combined with software to customize each
printed piece.
Variable printing on demand (VPOD) is the process of using software
and digital printers to customize each printed item to a specific
individual. Traditionally, the salutation was customized with the
recipient’s name. Now, with VPOD, the printed item can be customized
with copy, offers and graphical elements intended for that specific
person. By inserting the recipient’s name in the headline and
providing a personalized landing page URL, response rates have been
shown to increase by up to ten times over non-customized direct
mail.
For a list of digital printing companies by State, visit www.printaccess.com.
2. Database Marketing
With the increase in usage of on-demand sales force automation
(SFA) systems such as Salesforce.com, companies are doing a better
job at capturing and accessing prospect and customer information.
Companies such as Before
The Call provide tools to automatically enhance leads by adding
industry, revenue, employees, and additional executive-level contacts.
Integration vendors can create new views in SFA systems that pull
data from financial systems or customer support systems. This access
allows marketers to segment their prospects and customers in a variety
of ways. Prospect-nurturing campaigns can be created to deliver
appropriate content and offers to prospects as they move through
their buying cycle of awareness, interest, and consideration. Customer
purchase history and budget cycle can be used to trigger cross-sell
and up-sell programs.
3. The Internet
The Internet is the ultimate personalization vehicle. Companies
can easily send personalized emails or e-newsletters to prospects
and customers and invite them to click on their own individual landing
page to receive a relevant offer. Downloadable offers such as white
papers, podcasts or videos give the recipient instant gratification
and speed up the sales cycle.
The Internet also makes capturing and disseminating leads quick
and easy. Prospects qualify themselves by filling out short surveys
on landing pages prior to receiving their offer. Leads automatically
flow into SFA systems and the survey data helps inside sales reps
prioritize follow-up activity.
Web-based dashboards provide real-time data for analyzing response
rates, open rates, number of leads and in some cases, online purchases.
With this immediate information, marketers can test other offers,
copy and media to continue to optimize results.
Pulling it all together
One company at the forefront of the personalized marketing movement
is Naehas,
based in Menlo Park, CA. Naehas has developed an intelligent marketing
software platform, coupled with services and best practices to help
companies make marketing relevant and measurable. They have helped
companies such as Canon, Unisource and Charles Schwab plan and execute
personalized lead generation, prospect nurture and customer retention
programs.
In one lead generation campaign Naehas executed for Canon USA,
prospects received a personalized direct mail post card with content
and offers that varied based on their job title and firm size. Each
recipient was invited to their own individualized landing page to
download an offer. The program resulted in a 10 times increase in
response rate and a sales pipeline 35 times greater than in previous
campaigns.
Summary
The combination of variable digital printing technology, database
marketing and the Internet, make the delivery of personalized, targeted
communication easier and more cost-effective than ever. Now’s
the time to make personalized marketing work for you. Your competitors
may be doing this already, and your prospects and customers will
come to expect smart, relevant communications. And with experts
like Naehas, you don’t have to go it alone.
Mary Gospe (maryg@kickstartall.com)
is one of the founding members of the KickStart Alliance. The KickStart
Alliance (www.kickstartall.com)
is a team of senior marketing and sales leaders who assist startups
and emerging companies develop and execute a variety of marketing
and sales goals and objectives.
| 
