Variable Data Delivers Transpromo Marketing Results

This post originally appeared on Kao Collins' blog.

More companies are using transpromo marketing to take advantage of the millions – correction, billions – of printed paper statements mailed to customers every year. In some ways, transpromo marketing through variable data printing mirrors digital marketing tactics.

On the web and through apps, companies large and small leverage data to deliver customized ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and websites. We’ve all experienced this. After visiting a website, almost like magic, ads for that product or company begin appearing elsewhere.

Using data combined with digital inkjet printing, companies can now routinely customize messaging in the 24 billion pieces of transactional mail sent each year to capture more sales, create a better customer experience, and build increasing loyalty. Today marketing is more than reaching a target audience. It is about connecting to a targeted individual. That leads to improved customer retention.

Since 2001, overall mail delivery related to transactional information has declined. The volume of bills and statements have remained relatively stable, according to the United States Postal Service. The most significant drop is for mailing payments. Consumers want paper statements; they don’t want to put a check in the mail.

Despite some decline, the global variable printing market could return a CAGR of about 17% into 2023, reaching over $29 billion, according to a Research and Markets report.

Click to enlarge.

Best uses for transactional mail

• Introduce existing customers to new products or services that lead them to websites
• Highlight or summarize valuable content customers can find on the website
• Offer incentives for customers to visit your store or website
• Mark milestones, thanking customers for their loyalty
• Build referrals using coupons customers can share with friends
• Cross-sell opportunities
• Loan payoff information
• Carefully curated health tips and facts
• Loyalty-program updates to support customer retention

Selling to existing customers or, equally important, keeping existing customers is much easier than attracting a new customer. When you know the lifetime value of your customers, the data then drives the unique messaging to increase sales through monthly statements. Combined with strategic customer retention programs, transactional targeted marketing delivers ongoing results.

Marketing: One size does not fit all

No two people in a neighborhood are the same – some older, some single, different sex, different hobbies, favorite sports teams, and food tastes.

The same offer and message delivered to everyone won’t likely return the hoped-for results. Turn the vast troves of data into dollars through one-to-one marketing messages.

Before digital insights, the sales reps knocking on doors or making phone calls could develop a rapport with clients. They would know the little details about the customers, often kept in a day planner.

Now, with all the customer insights combined with digital printing, the monthly mailing works harder. The key to unlocking customer engagement is building a personalized relationship. The best in-person sales professionals know about their clients beyond the business relationship.

Be sure the data is accurate. Nothing can hurt a personalized campaign more than addressing someone directly with the wrong title or indirectly with an inappropriate image. Addressing someone as a Ms. when it is a Mr. damages credibility.

What can printing companies do to increase value?

The answer says it all: digital inkjet printing. The technology integrates with data systems to produce unique products. Every piece coming out of the printer can be different.

For printing companies to leverage the technology and value of inkjet, they must be skillful in data management, design, and marketing to help customers maximize the potential of monthly mailings to achieve various goals.

The mainstay of variable data printing has been the aging Kodak Versamark. Many printing companies struggle with the thought of the capital investment of a new system. An alternative that not only makes financial sense but also significantly improves production is replacing the Versamark industrial inkjet printheads with Kao X-BAR print modules. Using Samba 3GL printhead technology, these industrial inkjet printhead modules reduce ink usage by 50%, reduce downtime to minutes instead of hours, and increase resolution at higher printing speeds.

Retrofit a Kodak Versamark system with eight X-BAR print modules for a fraction of the cost of one brand new printer.

Possibilities for variable-data transpromo printing

• Speak the language – Greetings and other text can be written in the customer’s native language.
• Catch the eye – Effective use of spot color attracts attention and is less costly than four-color printing.
• Unique codes – Identify engagement from the campaign.
• Pricing for more than sales – Configure offers based on predefined metrics. An offer for a customer considering leaving could be different from the offer for a long-time customer.
• How to get there – Adding directions to a location leverages the address information for the recipient.
• Design discussion – Changing the layout to free up space for transpromo information saves the customer from adding pages and possibly higher mailing costs.
• Test and verify – Beyond personalizing copy, other text can be tested to measure the response rate. From one month to the next, language can be adjusted.

Print is far from dead. Whether it is because consumers prefer their paper statements or regulations require a mailed statement, the transactional documents will continue arriving in the mailbox. Now when we check our cable bill for mysterious fees, or to see if our payment was credited, we may see an offer for an upgrade or a free movie download.