PERSONAL bests

[ Producing the Job ]

The customer relationship management system that forms the underpinnings of the system is actually two separate databases. One is a large database that contains the transactional information for the entire newspaper chain.

All of this data is synchronized on a real-time basis, which allows the company to access information as needed for financial management or marketing efforts. The second database holds all of the newspaper publisher’s marketing-related resources and information, such as logos, offers, newspaper names, addresses, etc.

Each night, the system matches up the marketing and transaction information, and the combined data stream is used to print variable data print communications. The e-mail provider receives the data stream in real-time, so that Gannett can send electronic touches within minutes of a transaction having been completed.

Developing the framework to marry data from the two databases took several programmers 18 months to complete. With more than 90 newspapers to support, the demands of ongoing maintenance are also time-consuming.

Printing is done in-house on two Xerox DocuColor 6060 digital color production systems. The software used to drive production was developed internally. Gannett sends out more than 1 million new subscriber touches a year, with digital print production runs done daily.

[ The Results ]

Markets participating in the program of personalized print and e-mail touches reportedly have achieved an ROI in the 20 percent range, with 13-week retention rates boosted an average of 13.7 percent, year-over-year. Subscriber retention rates at the 26-week mark have increased an average of 7.6 percent.

In addition, the program’s automation has decreased customer service demands, freeing up time for more new customer acquisition efforts. Online account management activity is up and a greater percentage of customers are converting to perpetual credit card payments, thereby reducing the organization’s billing costs. PI

This case study was derived from PODi’s Best Practices in Digital Print collection. With more than 300 case studies, it is the largest collection ever assembled of successful digital printing projects. PODi is an industry initiative with hundreds of member companies, including executive board members EFI, HP, Pitney Bowes, Quark and Xerox. PODi members receive free access to the case studies, as well as other resources including presentations, reports and online seminars. Membership in PODi is open to companies and organizations involved in digital printing. For more information on joining PODi or submitting your own case study, visit www.podi.org