Increase Response Rates with UCC Data

Thirteen years ago, the direct response industry was all abuzz over Variable Data Printing (VDP) and how it would finally enable one-to-one marketing. Marketers salivated at the prospect of sending customized, relevant direct mail based on buying behaviors such as recency and product choice. They knew inserting custom images and text based on the contact’s actions could result in returns 10-15 times that of standard direct mail. And they were right.

According to the DMA, customized direct mail can produce response rates up to 40 percent, depending on the level of personalization, compared to one to two percent rates for non-customized mail. So if the returns are so great, why has adoption been so slow in the industrial equipment market place? One reason could be the cost of production; if the list is large enough, the cost of toner actually exceeds the pricey setup and management of traditional offset printing. However, with short run print jobs the cost is often lower than traditional printing techniques. And, as technology advances, the cost to produce variably printed mail continues to drop.

It turns out the most significant barrier to producing customized direct mail is the development of a dynamic, behavioral database and understanding how to use it for personalization. Fortunately, Catapult users have at their disposal the most accurate and up-to-date behavioral database when it comes to industrial equipment purchasing activity. But first, a little background on what VDP is, and what it isn’t.

 

VDP Explained

Variable Data Printing is much more than printing a person’s name or organization onto the collateral. It’s a form of on-demand printing in which elements such as offers, images and text may be changed dynamically from one printed piece to the next based on fields in a database without stopping or slowing down the press. By making the printed material relevant to a prospect’s interests, you stand a much better chance of cutting through the clutter, grabbing the prospect’s attention and keeping them engaged. The closer your offer is linked to their purchasing habits, the more likely a sale will occur.

There are essentially four levels of VDP: Short-run, Personalized, Selectable, and Full Variable. Short-run does not actually contain variably printed items but rather the mailer is designed and printed for a very targeted audience in small quantities. Personalized variable printing is the most common type in which the recipient’s name or other text is printed via ink-jet printing technology to stock that is pre-printed using traditional printing techniques. You probably receive several of examples of Personalization VDP a week and it has been proposed that this level of personalization no longer offers a competitive advantage given its abundance.

The third and fourth levels of VDP fall under the category of Customized printing and necessitate the use of a new generation of digital printers using high-speed data systems. The systems are capable of swapping out visual elements and text from a database as the print job runs. Selectable VDP artwork has both static and dynamic elements with the latter getting swapped out based on the prospect’s profile. Finally, Full Variable is essentially a blank canvas with all components being variable and inserted at the time of printing as dictated by the recipient’s profile in the database.

VDP, Meet UCC

As mentioned previously, your Catapult subscription precludes the necessity of a dedicated IT staff and behavioral database to initiate VDP.  As a result, you already know the buying behaviors and habits of your customers, and your competitions’ customers, and you can use it to send out highly-relevant, customized direct mail.

For example, set up a ServiceWATCH to automatically monitor when used equipment of your brand is purchased. You can then send those contacts a customized postcard containing an image of the equipment and offers for discounted service or an extended maintenance plan.

As another example, you could send owners of aging equipment a mailer with a side-by-side comparison of your new model and include a special trade-in offer for only their specific equipment model.  

You can also take advantage of the First Time Buyers link in Catapult to send a customized invitation to new buyers in your market that introduces your company and details products complimentary to their recent purchase. You can even include directions from their address to your nearest branch or office with a customized turn-by-turn map.

Bottom line, gone are the days of the batch and blast mailer. If you want to increase the response rate and ROI of your mail campaigns, you need to customize your message to make it relevant to each contact. And with your UCC dataset serving as your dynamic, behavioral database, you’re well on your way to realizing the benefits of one-to-one marketing.

 

Ross Conroy is the Marketing Manager for EDA
rconroy@edadata.com | 704-814-1371

 

 

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