Executive Summary
It is both practical and cost effective for firms of any size to conduct sophisticated cross media marketing applications featuring highly personalized and relevant content. The content can be delivered across any media including direct mail, email, web pages, and even from static advertising. These campaigns can be executed without the acquisition of new marketing skill and trained employees, the purchase of new software and licenses, or the addition of expensive hardware. By implementing an automated lead generation system, a large universe of prospects can be narrowed to a list of warm leads which can dramatically improves response rates and Return on Investment (ROI). The entire campaign can be tracked with detailed reporting that is available 24/7 and can include all facets of the campaign.

Real Time Personalization (RTP)
Real Time Personalization (RTP) is a revolutionary new way to approach cross media marketing. RTP can identify and capture web visitors with amazing accuracy. A static web address that can be delivered on virtually any marketing channel can immediately serve personalized web content. Business logic is applied to each prospect after doing a real time lookup to the national consumer database. The result is targeted and relevant personalization from interest created from a static piece. When a firm advertises there is usually a corresponding spike in web traffic as customers
investigate the offer. For every call received or order placed, 5-7 additional views occur on the web. RTP captures those leads, identifies their demographic attributes and provides the data required for the next step in the process.

Variable Data Printing (VDP)
Variable Data Printing (VDP) continues to improve the way marketing organizations communicate with their customers. The goals are simple: drive explosive and profit table growth, reduce costs, and simplify marketing tasks. The more targeted and personalized a campaign, the higher response rates and the ROI. VDP is the perfect tool to build brand awareness, enter the sales cycle at the right time, capture current sales opportunities, and increase market share. Costs are being reduced by targeting the right prospect with the right message at the right time.

Response rates are improving by contacting only the most likely prospects and providing them with individualized content. Opt-in marketing, which is also called permission based or consensual marketing, is a process by which customers are invited to receive a newsletter, mailing list, or other recurring materials.

This method brings better results when these specific groups are later solicited with highly personalized offers. Direct mail marketers can now utilize tactics pioneered on the internet in print. The major challenge for companies, along with their print and marketing vendors, in creating variable data campaigns is coordinating the myriad of required tasks among various departments or outside partners. For this reason, according to Xerox, 98% of variable printing consists only of name and address. An integrated system can overcome this project management challenge.

Step 1
Start with real-time personalization and broad-reach advertising to generate a prospect list with
demographic data

Step 2
Automatically follow up on generated leads with variable data marketing that features personalization

Step 3
Provide unique web content and personalized urls (Purls) to capture web responses The key to successfully incorporating cross media campaigns into your marketing plan is to create and analyze a customer or prospect database. If there is not a mechanism already in place to create & continually update this list, creating a system should be the top marketing priority.

Reporting and Tracking
A key advantage to using unique URL’s is the ability to more accurately calculate the effectiveness of a campaign by recording visits to the web. It is possible that an offer was relevant to the recipient but it was not the right time to move forward, the prospect was distracted, or the piece slipped their mind. By identifying those recipients that showed at least some level of interest to the offer, we can begin to rank prospects and concentrate marketing efforts on those most likely to respond. This level of targeted marketing takes time to develop, but has been extraordinarily successful for many firms. When developing a VDP campaign, consider what capabilities for tracking and reporting are available in house and what additions will be required.

Personalized Cross Media Marketing
Real time email sales alerts and detailed reporting are easily included in cross media marketing campaigns and provide complete visibility into response.

Reorder, Up Sell & Cross Sell
Investment in existing customers is often overlooked and under funded. Email reminders are inexpensive and easy, but the impact that timely, relevant direct mail has on customers is not to be underestimated. When a company’s communications to the customer base are appropriate and desirable, the result is a boost in brand loyalty and sales. Variable data printing is an excellent tool for any wholesaler or retailer with cyclical product lines.

Everything from contact lenses to industrial commodities can take advantage of a personalized and automated customer contact program. Based on order history, a supplier knows when a product is due for reorder. VDP reorder reminders can be printed with information regarding past purchases and multiple products that are relevant to the individual recipient. While reorder reminders are a key opportunity for creating loyalty and increasing sales, up sell and cross sell marketing can further engage active customers.

Analyzing past sales often shows a correlation between those who buy certain products and then branch out into other complimentary items. With consumables, a customer buying greater quantities can help lower operating costs as there is only one order to process and ship. Additionally, it moves more stock out of valuable warehouse space and ensures that the customer is committed to long term use. For these reasons, many companies offer incentives such as reduced shipping or
a lower price on orders with two or more items. These additional savings make for great marketing hooks. There are two challenges for creating a cross sell/up sell strategy. The first is to regularly identify qualified customers. The second is supporting the print inventory for an ever changing product mix. Careful analysis combined with variable data printing addresses both of these issues. Analysis identifies prime offer recipients on a consistent, short term schedule. VDP allows relevant,
timely and highly personalized pieces for each offer in one print run, eliminating the need for pre-print and up front volume commitments.

Life Cycle Management
The ever rising cost of new customer acquisition makes it imperative to grow a stronger relationship with existing customers. The number one marketing oversight made today is to ignore the most profitable prospects you already have. Variable data printing can simplify the process of maintaining contact with customers. VDP can form the basis of an ongoing program for automatically occurring, behavior driven contacts to increase sales and build brand loyalty.

Consider some of the following touches (with or without a specific call to action) in order to retain customers and increase the frequency of purchases. Conditional offers based on customer behavior, purchase patterns, and demographics Personalized web pages with industry specific information and special offers.
Seasonal announcements
Order reminders
Thank you and appreciation pieces
Automated follow up marketing and sales opportunity alerts triggered by previous web site visits. Managing the life cycle is beneficial for everyone; but it is critical for any business where attrition is a key issue, especially membership based and non-profit organizations. Customers are more expensive to acquire than to retain. Growth targets are much easier to reach by keeping those members who might otherwise not renew. A web supported direct mail program with very specific personalization will bring better results than direct mail alone. This increases the customer base by improving retention rates and long term customer loyalty.

1:1 Cross Media Marketing 2008
A practical guide to improving response and increasing ROI maintain brand loyalty and minimize disruption. The benefits of a key event management program include:
Maximized revenue gain or minimized revenue loss
Increased brand loyalty and reinforcement of a strong, long term relationship
Decreased customer turnover due to event driven issues
Increased product line use regardless of event

Multiple and personalized mail to customers is critical to new product introductions to build awareness and capture sales opportunities for items that have a complex sales cycle. Efforts for items requiring a large investment should begin as far ahead as necessary to enter the sales cycle at the right time. Even if a major product or service is not due out for a year, the time to begin building awareness may have already past.

The Bottom Line
Variable data printing campaigns are a cost-effective and powerful tool for building a client database, increasing awareness, staying in front of customers, entering the sale cycle at the right time, capturing current sales opportunities, managing life cycles, and minimizing disruption from key events. The end result of a successful VDP campaign that includes direct mail, variable data printing, opt-in marketing, and personalized URL’s is a database of information. By using the data collected from “soft leads”, surveys, and opt-in marketing, highly targeted campaigns can be developed that will increase response rates and improve ROI. Variable data printing makes it possible to create engaging, personalized and timely marketing campaigns. With proper planning and implementation VDP is perfect for integrating direct mail with the web, consensual and database marketing while avoiding the necessity to print large quantities.

MAGNA IV can help you improve your ROI with practical and effective solutions.