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By: Jim Feldman, President, FORMost Graphic Communications
DMAW Advents Magazine, February 2008 Edition
Although web-to-print technology arrived in the marketplace more than a decade ago, only now is it starting to gain industry wide traction. The early days of web-to-print were marred by high production costs, inconsistent quality and complicated interfaces, but significant improvements have been made on both fronts. In short, this exciting technology is now ready for prime time.
Today’s web-to-print systems allow pre-designed templates to be accessed by users and personalized with variable data. Since everything printed is used, web-to-print aficionados frequently experience lower total costs over the long run. Many direct marketing companies are still newcomers when it comes to web-to-print solutions and digital color variable data printing (VDP), yet these technologies are rapidly occupying a larger share of many direct marketers’ attention.
VDP provides marketers the ability to create truly personalized communications in a wide array of printed formats using variable graphic images as well as variable text. Speaking of text, would your recipients like to see their names written in a font that looks like sky writing? How about a font made out of people sunbathing on a beach? Or, what about one made out of pasta? It’s amazing what’s possible in today’s high quality, full color, VDP world.
One-to-One Marketing
Long gone are the days when direct marketers used shotgun mass mailings. This unsophisticated relic of our industry’s past was costly and usually did not produce desired results. Over time, savvy marketers have learned that micro-targeted lists used in combination with carefully selected VDP elements achieve better results at a lower cost.
One-to-one marketing made possible by web-to-print technology far exceeds simple personalization of names and addresses. Information based on recipients’ known histories and preferences can transform ho-hum promotional materials into exciting personalized experiences that are clearly focused on each individual recipient.
The key to one-to-one success is data integrity. The more information that’s known about the recipient, the more the selling message can be customized for greater effectiveness. Whether it’s a direct mail piece, brochure or newsletter, these documents can be as individual as each customer.
Is My Data That Good?
Direct marketers may not realize the wealth of demographic information they already possess on existing customers. Patterns and preferences expressed by customers provide information avenues that can be used for future marketing efforts. For instance, if a customer purchased items of a certain dollar amount, this data can be flagged for future use to promote complimentary products at similar price points.
When a marketer knows specific details about customer preferences and demographics, both images and text can be adjusted using VDP in a comprehensive web-to-print application. Although it rarely seems this way, more often than not, the real challenge is putting available data to good use.
Consider the example of a real estate agent with a dozen home listings ranging from starter to retirement homes. Sending a young couple just starting out a listing for a 6,000 square foot mansion priced in the millions of dollars is a complete waste of money. Similarly, sending starter home opportunities to high income earners in exclusive zip codes is likewise counterproductive. A well-conceived VDP program executed via a robust web-to-print solution could easily accommodate the needs of buyers at either end or in the middle of the real estate spectrum.
What It All Means
Web-to-print represents the future of direct mail management and is limited only by the program manager’s imagination. Businesses as varied as pizza franchises, automotive dealers and political organizations have reaped rewards by adopting web-to-print solutions. Production runs can be in the thousands of pieces, the dozens or just one. Since the direct marketer’s ultimate goal is to reach the right prospects, offer the right solutions, and maximize profit, web-to-print solutions can be the direct marketers’ best friend!
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Jim Feldman is the president of FORMost Graphic Communications, Inc. located in Rockville, Maryland. FORMost provides integrated business services, including forms management, direct mail printing and processing, in-house composition, package design and fulfillment, and digital printing, including variable data and VisionPrint, its Web-to-Print Solution. Jim can be reached at 301-424-4242 or jim@formostgc.com.
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