MARKETING BRIEF ISSURE ONE
Macon
FEBRUARY 2011
Hidden Treasures: More ways to make an impression with print
In this issue: Print smart! • Database Marketing • Lumpy mail?
From Print to Smart Print! If you have noticed your mailbox filling up again, there’s a reason. After a long period of decline, marketers are starting to mail again.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
With data-driven print (also called 1:1 printing, variable data, or personalized printing),
Print works. It might not twist and
marketers can provide the same
spin and play interactive games like
kind of personalized attention in
online media, but it’s effective. In
direct mail or any other printed piece.
spite of the many predictions that
You can talk to each person by name and
print would continue to decline in
personalize messaging or offers based on what you know about them.
favor of online media—even after the recession—as the U.S. economy
í˘ł
recovers, marketers are now flocking
Last year, J.C. Penney shocked the
back to print.
marketing world when it announced
It’s multi-channel.
that it would stop printing its “Big Book� It’s Not Yesterday’s Print But if you’ve noticed, it’s not yesterday’s print. Today’s print marketing looks very different from the “spray and pray� method traditionally used in the marketing world. This is smart print.
What makes it smarter?
í˘ą
It’s targeted.
Today’s print is being segmented into shorter but more targeted runs. Marketers are segmenting their mailings based on any variety of factors, whether age, interest, ethnicity, or other demographic. They may be marketing the same or similar products to each demographic group, but they are speaking to them on a more targeted basis. This automatically makes the mailings more effective for very little additional cost.
í˘˛
It’s personalized.
We’re living in the “age of me.� Consumers are used to personalized recommendations online and personalized discounts at the cash register. They have come to expect marketers to cater to them
photos Šdreamstime.com
on an individual basis.
catalog in favor of slimmer, more targeted specialty catalogs. And there has been yet another collective marketing gasp as the
It’s time to smart print: print that is targeted, personalized, and part of a larger multi-channel marketing campaign. Alphagraphics can help you create a data-driven market strategy that combines, print, email, social networking and internet response.
giant retailer has announced that it will cease printing its specialty catalogs, too. Multichannel Merchant called the move “nuts.� In fact, the retailing magazine reports that, after shutting down the Big Book last year, J.C. Penney has admitted that “ceasing [production] hurt total sales more than it had expected in the second quarter of 2010� (MCM, November 2010). Now the cataloger wants to stop mail order altogether? Consistently, research shows that print and online media have a symbiotic effect. When print and online channels (email, social media, Web) are used together, sales go up. When print is dropped in favor of online channels alone, sales go down. This is why print should always be part of any serious marketing strategy.
In September 2010, commercial printing shipments were $7.58 billion, up 3.4% from one year earlier. According to Dr. Joe Webb, director of WhatTheyThink's Economics and Research Center, this continues the consecutive gain in current dollar shipments for six months.
So forget about old print. It’s time to smart print: print that is targeted, personalized, and part of a larger multi-channel marketing campaign. Talk to us about making your print smarter!
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One of the biggest misconceptions about 1:1 (personalized) printing is that marketers don’t have the data to drive it. This might be true in some cases, but it also can be more perception than reality. Often, marketers have more data than they realize. Maybe their data is not in great shape. Maybe they don’t know how
Putting Data to Work
Places Where Data Hides
Pellow suggests three ways you can put
Before you can leverage data, you have to
your data to work right away:
find it. Where is your data hiding? In more
• Resuscitate a dormant customer
places than you might think. Here are some
relationship. If a retail customer hasn’t
places to start:
ordered from you in a period of time,
• Transactional data (both brick-and-
send him a personalized postcard with a coupon encouraging him to come back into the store. • Proactively cross sell and upsell. If
mortar and from the online store) • Web contact forms • Customer care (found in your CRM system)
to access it. Maybe the data preparation
you are an auto dealer and know a
process seems too overwhelming. Whatever
customer’s lease is about to expire on a
the reason, marketers can have trouble
Toyota Corolla, send her a personalized
getting started.
brochure trying to upgrade her to a
• Responses to e-mail campaigns
Toyota Camry.
• Trade shows/events (get those “card
The first step is understanding that finding, accessing and preparing your data
• Create continuity of purchases through
• Business reply cards • SMS/cell phone marketing contacts
swipe” responses back into your system
are all worth the effort. In a What They
a loyalty program. If you are a local
after post-show follow-up)
Think Webinar, Barbara A. Pellow, group
winery, before visitors leave following a
• Customer and prospect surveys
director for InfoTrends, observed:
facility tour, ask them to sign up for a
The business market today is changing
wine club. Try to obtain birthdates and
rapidly. Those who properly understand
anniversaries of their family and friends
how, what and why customers make
so you can use the information to trigger
purchases, and those [marketers] who
personalized reminders for gifts for
influence buying decisions with highly
special occasions later.
targeted marketing efforts, are those who will come out on top. . . The ultimate goal is to identify the best prospects and use strategic direct marketing campaigns to cross sell, upsell and resell.
Any good database house can combine these elements into a comprehensive marketing tool. If you require additional data, you can append it with external sources, such as lists from Acxiom, Experian or InfoUSA to get a more holistic picture of your audience. Need help getting started? AlphaGraphics will be glad to schedule a meeting to help you assess your database
photos ©dreamstime.com
marketing capabilities.
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To that end, there has been a growing trend toward “dimensional” mail. Dimensional mail is also known by the more descriptive term “lumpy mail,” indicating that the idea is to provide something a bit more substantial—or “lumpier”—than a flat postcard or letter. The “lump” itself—the object(s)
can either be literal (a product sample) or
the promotional message, “Working with us
Here are some general guidelines for dimensional mail campaigns:
is a no-brainer”).
• Be relevant. The lump should
symbolic (say, a foam rubber brain, tied into
Obviously, a dimensional campaign will cost more per unit to produce, assemble, and mail than a regular direct
be practical (a product sample) or relate directly to the marketing message. Bewilderment is not the sort of attention you want.
mail campaign, so it’s important to narrow down and target the recipients more carefully. Dimensional mailing campaigns
• Research production and mailing
costs. Return on investment is crucial, and when developing
included in the package—is an
are best suited for trying to generate sales
integral part of the “design” of the
a dimensional mail strategy, be
of something fairly expensive—a long-term
realistic in your expectations. Case
campaign.
consulting contract, an insurance policy, a
studies can provide guidance and
Examples of lumpy mail can include:
real estate transaction, an expensive piece of
• an envelope containing a pen or other useful item bearing the client’s logo
equipment, etc.
offer an idea of the response rates obtained by the kind of campaign you are considering.
Another challenge, especially in this time
• a package containing product samples
of heightened security, is to not frighten a
• candies or other treats or gifts
recipient with an unmarked package, lest
• Consult with the Post Office to ensure that you are not violating regulations or mailing something
it be perceived as containing something
the USPS (or other carrier) would
dangerous. Be sure that recipients are not
deem unshippable, or that you are
symbolically, the campaign’s marketing
in a business (government, for example)
paying more to ship something than
message
that might have concerns with mysterious
accompanying promotional material • a physical object that ties into, perhaps
• basically, any object the designer and client see fit to include The idea is that everyone likes receiving something unique—especially when there
you should. Your campaign should be postally economical.
packages. One way around this is to integrate the marketing message on the outside of the envelope or package.
• Test your campaign by mailing test samples to yourself or to colleagues to gauge the impact and
Be sure to check with us if you have any
condition of the package. Does it
is an appealing gift in the box aside from
questions about producing, assembling, or
get wedged into a small mailbox
something promotional. This increases the
shipping a lumpy mail campaign.
and mutilated? Does it survive the
likelihood that the recipient will not only
mail stream at all?
open the package but also respond to the
• Track and measure the results.
package’s message. The nature of the lump
Establish a realistic benchmark for success. • Be creative!
Obviously, a dimensional campaign n will cost more per unit to produce, assemble, and mail than a regular photos ©dreamstime.com
ant direct mail campaign, so it’s important to narrow down and target the recipients more carefully.
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About Us
About this Publication
AlphaGraphics Macon is a locally owned business specializing in print, graphic design, and marketing services for small businesses and organizations. We provide a broad range of products including conventional business printing, banners and displays, and digital and offset color printing. Our services include graphic design, direct mail and mailshop services, self-publishing services, website design, and implementation of cross channel marketing projects.
AG Marketing Brief is quarterly publication that features articles about current marketing trends and practices. The focus is on smart ways to combine print with new media applications to create a dialogue with clients, customers and prospects. This issue was printed on 100% Unisource Gloss text using AlphaGraphics' new MGI DP60 digital press. This month's online version is published on isuu. com and can be read online by following the link on www.agmacon.com.