Personalization: Why It Works

Everywhere you look, marketing content is personalized. From grocery store receipts to your Amazon recommendations to postcards in the mailbox, companies are personalizing their communications to address who their customers are and what their customers need. Are you capitalizing on those opportunities, too?
Let’s look at some of the reasons personalized marketing works so well (and why you should be using it, too).
First, personalized communications give your customers the feeling that you care about them. It takes more time and effort to talk to someone by name (“Hi, Jane! We have a special offer just for you!”). Targeting based on their needs and wants makes your customers feel noticed and valued.
Second, personalized mailings are more relevant to your customers. When you market based on their interests and needs, they are more likely to respond. The combination of more relevant communications and the customer’s greater sense of value is powerful.
Personalization can really pay off in your results. One study found the following lift for personalized over static mailing campaigns

• Lead generation: 6.9% lift over static mailings
• Direct orders: 6.2% lift over static mailings
• Traffic generation: 14.7% lift over static mailings

You do have to take different steps to personalize your documents than you do for traditional campaigns, but don’t be intimidated. It doesn’t need to be difficult. You don’t have to be an expert in databases or IT.
We are here to help. Talk to us about going from static marketing communications to making it personal.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

Your Customer: “Pay Attention to Me!”

Congratulations! You landed a new customer—and they love you. As long as you continue to provide good products, reasonable prices, and great customer service, they’ll stay loyal as long as you don’t mess things up. Right?
Not necessarily. In today’s competitive world, you cannot take your customers for granted. You’ve worked hard to win them, but just like any relationship, you have to put in effort to make it last. This is one of the areas where sending regular personalized print and email communications pays off.
Here are five ideas for keeping customers happy and retaining them over the long term.

• Keep them up to date. Send a monthly print or email newsletter. Tell customer stories. Talk about new products. Provide insight they wouldn’t otherwise get. Speak to them by name and customize the content to be more interesting and relevant to them.
•  Ask their opinion. Ask them how you are doing. It’s a great way to let people know you value their opinion . . . and their business. Use personalized URLs to make this easy and append the data back into your marketing database automatically.
• Send a card. Do you know your customers’ birthdays? How about the date they first became customers? Send them personalized “thank you’ notes and cards as a way to let them know you appreciate them.
• Offer advice. Once in a while, offer some free advice. If you’re a landscaping company, you might suggest the easiest care perennials for the upcoming season. If you’re a real estate office, you might alert them to the latest trends in front porch décor.
• Discounts galore! Send a coupon for a discount or a freebie “just because.” It continually re-engages your customers and helps them see the value in their relationship with you.

Client retention is critical to your bottom-line success. Be a company that does this well, and you’ll reap the benefits of great brand recognition and long-term customer relationships.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

Pantone’s Color of the Year: Living Coral

It’s here! Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2019. It’s Living Coral, Pantone 16-1546. After considering trends in everything from fashion to décor, Pantone announced this vibrant, yet warm color as it top pick.

In a world filled with uncertainty, Pantone chose Living Coral for its warmth and optimism. After all, what better to represent hope than the beauty of the coral reef, a coastal community teaming with life?

Notes Pantone:

In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we [as human beings] are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.[1]

How can you tap into the opportunity?

• Use Living Coral for borders, backgrounds, and even text.
• Select images that contain color(s) similar to Living Coral (or that are complementary to it) and incorporate them into your design.
• Even consider using Living Coral for envelopes. Bring your audience a sense of optimism and cheer as soon as they take the mailer out of the mailbox!

Pantone’s announcement lets you capitalize on this fun and meaningful color that we’ll be seeing a lot of this coming year. So engage your creativity. How will you use Living Coral?

[1] https://www.pantone.com/color-intelligence/color-of-the-year/color-of-the-year-2019


Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

NEW POSTAL PRICES TO TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 27, 2019

The US Postal service has announced new rates for both Market Dominant and Competitive products that will take effect on January 27, 2019.  While the overall average increase is 2.5%, this percentage varies widely by class of type of sortation used to prepare the mail.

For example, retail rates for Market Dominant First-Class mail:

                First-Class stamp currently $.50 will be $.55, a 7.5% increase

                Additional ounces decrease from $.21 to $.15, a reduction of 28.5%

                Metered letter increases from $.47 to $.50, or 6.4%

First-Class Mail Rates

While Single-Piece Letters and Postcards increase by 7.5%, Presort rates for these pieces increases by only 1.0%.  

On the other hand, Flat-sized First Class mail decreases by 11%.

Priority Mail rates will increase for most packages by an average of 6.2% and Priority Mail Express will increase by an average of 3.9%. Priority Mail Commercial will only increase by an average of 3.2%.

In an effort to standardize its package services, the USPS plans to price First Class Packages based on weight and zone. First Class Packages were previously priced based on weight alone. This means First Class Package services will be more comparable to other USPS shipping products such as Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express.

In 2018, a 12 oz. First Class Commercial Parcel was $3.82, regardless of where it was being sent. In 2019, that same 12 oz. package could be $3.82 to $4.33, depending on the zone where it’s being sent.

Marketing Mail Rates

The average impact for Letter and Flats mailers is about the same, 2.4% and 2.6% respectively.   Parcels increase an average of 2.7%.  

Mailers of High-density/Saturation letters realize a larger increase of 3.8%, while HD/Saturation flats mailers see a similar increase of 3.6%.  

Standard Carrier Route rates increase .7%, while EDDM Every Door Direct Mail retail rates increase 5%. 

Periodicals

The overall average increase is 2.5% for Periodical mailers; 2.5% for outside-county rates, while Inside-country rates increase an average of 2.0%.

Package Services

Package Services increase by an average of 2.5%; BPM Flats increase 2.5%, BPM Parcels increase 2.2% and Media and Library Mail increase almost 3%. 

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606 for more information.

Share on LinkedIn

Digitally ENHANCED Direct Mail: Direct Mail, But Better

Direct mail has been the foundation of great marketing programs since the days of the Pony Express. From cheerful birthday cards to heart-tugging nonprofit appeals, there is something about a printed piece that’s special. Now there is something that makes it even better. We call it Enhanced Direct Mail.

Digital marketing channels like email, social media, telemarketing, and online ads all compete for your customers’ attention. What if you could combine the power of direct mail with the cost effectiveness of digital channels so that instead of competing with one another, they work together?

You can. With Enhanced Direct Mail, we can match your target audience in your mailing and email lists to their social media and IP addresses (matching at a rate of about 70%). We integrate them into a single program so that your direct mail piece can be automatically followed up with a reminder email, a phone call, or online ad. One mail piece triggers multiple touches, each reinforcing your message and working to dramatically increase your response rate.

• Direct mail
• Email
• Online advertising
• Social media advertising
• Telemarketing

But wait—it gets better. Every piece of mail that leaves our shop is also tracked. We know where it is going, when it hits, and soon will even know the time of day it hits. This allows you to combine your channels in the right order at exactly the right time.

What does this look like in action? Say you are a charity benefiting underprivileged children. The donor comes home, opens his or her mail, and sees your end-of-year fundraising appeal. Later that night, they check Facebook and see an online ad with the same message. This triggers them to go back to the mail piece. Or, since they’ve already seen the appeal, they might decide to make a donation right then and there.  You could also follow up with an email or phone call.

Regardless of the channel (or channels) you use, the important thing is that one piece of mail generates multiple, integrated touches. The more marketing touches a prospect receives, the more likely they are turn to into a customer. It’s no wonder that Enhanced Direct Mail clients are seeing returns of 20%, 30%, and even 40%.  

This works for reward programs, too. Let’s say you have both postal and email addresses, so you set up a program with direct mail to be followed by reminder emails. The day after the loyalty member receives the mailer with their updated loyalty information, they might get an email that says, “Did you get our postcard? Don’t forget to redeem your points!” Or you can set it up the other way around. Send the email before the postcard hits. “Your rewards points are on their way! Don’t miss them!”

No matter how you use Enhanced Direct Mail, you can’t beat the ROI. Like any great team, marketing channels work better together. So check it out — one program, multiple channels, and integrated touches. It’s only pennies on the dollar, and you cannot beat the results. 

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn

Why Some Personalized Mailings Just Work Better

When it comes to increasing response and conversion rates, personalized communications are a powerful tool. However, don’t think that all personalization is equal. It isn’t. To get great results, you must use the right variables with the right audience in the right way.

Response rates for personalized mailings can vary widely. One study found response rates ranging from 6% to 75%, with an average of 21%. These are some eye-catching numbers, but why is the range so wide? To understand the variation and set realistic expectations for your own campaigns, it’s helpful to ask specific questions.

•    What type of campaign was it? Customer acquisition? Customer retention?

•    What kind of list did you use? Highly targeted, moderately targeted, or undifferentiated lists will yield different results.

•    Did recipients have a previous relationship with your company?  Or are you using a prospect list? 

•    What is the value of the product? Are you marketing a webinar or selling a Tesla? 

•    Did per-order value go up with personalization, and if so, by how much?  A “low” response rate combined with a high per-order value will often net you better ROI than a high response rate with low per-order value.

•    How are you measuring success? Response rates? Conversion rates? Cost per lead? Average sale? Each measurement tells a different story.

The answers to such questions can have a dramatic impact on understanding ROI. So before setting your expectations for your next personalized mailing, talk to us about your goals, expectations, and the data you are working with. Setting realistic expectations is a critical component to making your 1:1 print program a success.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.



Share on LinkedIn

Want to Keep Customers? Ask Their Opinion (Then Act on It)

Want to keep your customers loyal and continuing to shop from you? Ask their opinion . . . then act on what you learn.

One of the most important ways you can value someone is to ask their opinion. When you ask what they think, it makes them feel important. From a marketing perspective, this deepens customer engagement and solidifies their loyalty.  If you actually act on what you learn from those customers, so much the better.

Let’s look at an example. A regional grocery store chain was experiencing increased competitive pressure from a large national chain and wanted to preserve its most valuable customer relationships. The chain sent two personalized surveys to its top 400 customers: one in the fall and one in the spring.

The first survey included six survey questions and a letter addressed to the shopper, signed by the store manager. The second was a follow-up to find out how well the chain had addressed the concerns raised in the first survey. Recipients of the second mailer also received a personalized cover letter from the store manager.

The surveys received a 52% response rate. While specific data on customer retention was not provided, a research study conducted by Rice University and published in Harvard Business Review found that, over the course of a year, customers who received similar customer surveys were twice as likely to continue their relationship with the company than those who did not.[1] We can assume a similar result here.

Once people have made a purchase from you, they are your customers to lose. Show them that you care what they think, that their opinions are valuable, and that you will act on information they share with you. They will reward you with their loyalty.

Need help designing a customer survey to incorporate into your next mailing? Let us help!

---

[1] “Sending out a Survey to Customers Can Double Sales,” by Vivek Bhaskaran, www.questionpro.com.

Please give us a call at 440-946-0606
Or visit our website here for more information.


Share on LinkedIn