Print Personalization: Using VDP in Your Print Strategy

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Variable Data Printing, Uses and Strategies for Your Maryland Business

Everyone is impatient. We insist on getting what we want, when we want it. On-demand services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime contribute to this culture, creating consumers that want everything customized specifically to their own tastes and preferences.

As a business, how do we play into this trend? Personalization is key.

Personalization is a win/win for everybody involved. By adopting this strategy, your business will collect rich information about your customers and prospects, and your audience, will in turn, have a much more positive interaction with your company.

And the statistics don’t lie…according to Print Shop Mail, with personalization at the helm of your digital and print strategies, companies report a 32% increase in profit, a 35% faster response rate, and a whopping 48% increase in repeat orders.

Convinced? Me, too. Let’s talk about how to adopt a print personalization strategy for your business.

Click here to learn more about utilizing Variable Data Printing at your Maryland business!

Know Your Audience

The more you know about your target audience, the better you can personalize the brand experience on their behalf.

If you’re using personalization as a part of your digital strategy, you probably already know a lot about your audience because of the information-collection abilities that are in play online. When you use this knowledge to steer your next print campaign, sparks will fly!

Let’s say you are a dog kennel. For the last six months, you have learned the breed of dog and vacation location of individuals who have visited your site. Now it’s time to use this information to create a personalized print campaign!

To understand the true value, let’s start by looking at the end product. An individual in your target audience owns a Dalmatian and is planning a trip to Scotland. You can design a postcard that encompasses each of these elements so that it speaks directly to her.

This postcard will evoke a 34% higher response-rate than a typical direct mail piece. Why? The contents of the card hold special meaning because we are addressing her specific needs. Think about the tremendous leg up on the competition you will have when she is choosing the right kennel for her dog before she leaves for her trip!

How It Works

I know what you’re thinking…you simply don’t have the time to create a personalized postcard for every single person on your targeted mailing list. The beauty of this type of campaign is that there is software designed specifically to automate the process for you.

Variable Data Printing (VDP) software allows you to design just one postcard that, in the end, will be personalized towards each recipient. You will simply designate the variable photos and verbiage within your design and upload a spreadsheet with the information you have collected about your audience. The software will automatically change each postcard based on specific details about individuals within this campaign.

The example we gave seemed very specific, but think about how easily we can change these elements so that the direct mail piece is personalized for everyone on your mailing list! Below, you will see a typical VDP spreadsheet. With each changing dog breed, the software can automatically replace the Dalmatian on our design with a German Shepherd, a Weimaraner, or a Vizsla. With every new vacation location, the postcard will detail a specific policy that the owner may relate to.

Conclusion

The bottom line – personalized print methods work, and the best way to make your next campaign come to life is through the use of VDP. Each postcard will print to your production machine just as the unique as the individual you are sending it to.

For more information about how Variable Data Printing works and options for your business, check out our webpage dedicated to the topic!

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