How Personalized Marketing Increases Sales and ROI

 Who doesn’t want to feel like a VIP? I love it when I go to my favorite store and I am greeted like an old friend. They call me by name, ask how I’m doing, ask about my family, and almost always have “something special” that they’ve set aside just for me because they thought it I would like it. Usually they’re right, and most of the time, I end up buying that “special something”, which I probably would not have purchased on my own that day.

 By simply getting to know me, they have increased their sales. I’m sure that if they do it for me, they do it for a lot of their customers. Seems like a pretty smart idea, doesn’t it?

 Every day, the cost of acquiring and retaining customers is going up, so it is becoming vitally important to grow a stronger personal relationship with existing customers. The number one marketing mistake being made today is to ignore the most profitable prospects you have; current customers.

 Research suggests that print and web marketing yield higher returns on investment (ROI) than any other marketing mediums. Taking advantage of both of them in the same targeted campaign can increase your response.

 While sending everyone the same message seems easier and cheaper, it isn’t. Targeted messaging and relevant images increase response rates, and with database tracking you know who is responding. The U.S. Postal Service measured the success of personalized marketing. The official study indicated response rates jump 44%, compared to generic mailings.

 In today’s saturated media market customers need to believe an advertisement was made just for them. The secret to the success of Variable Data Printing (VDP) is the ability to print personalized, high quality, full-color marketing pieces that are unique for each recipient. Each mail piece has their name, images and messages that are chosen for them individually. Each prospect receives a sincere, relevant and specific offer that is colorful, personal, and targeted to prompt an immediate response.

 Many direct mail recipients prefer to respond online, and Personalized URLs (PURLs) provide a convenient response option. Custom mail pieces are sent out directing prospects to PURLs. A PURL is a URL which includes the client’s name in the URL itself. PURLs offer a number of advantages to you and your business.

 PURLs help make campaigns interactive, and responses can be tracked to collect more information about customer preferences. Once you know their preferences, you can tailor future campaigns to be more effective, spending less time and money.

 VDP combined with the use of the internet can automate the process of maintaining contact, increasing sales and building brand loyalty. Personalized marketing is cost effective, provides trackable results, and measurable ROI.

 VDP and PURLs offer a unique marketing solution that can help you get the best return on every marketing dollar you spend. It’s like having custom-tailored clothing instead of off-the-rack clothing that only sort of fits. So, join the cross media marketing revolution and see how personalized marketing explodes your response rates and sets ROI records.

Cross-Media Marketing – Why It’s Right For Your Business

Walk into any Starbucks on any morning, and you will be surrounded by people who not only have a love for coffee, but are part of a growing market segment that takes in and shares information both quickly and simultaneously through multiple channels.  They have either a laptop or a smart phone, and frequently, they have both!

 So if this fast moving, multitasking, web browsing, smart phone using crowd is your target market, what is the most effective way to reach them?  Cross media marketing may be your ticket to efficiently and profitably get their attention and keep it.

“Cross Media Marketing” refers to any marketing campaign that uses more than one marketing method to trigger a response from its audience.  Cross media campaigns can start with a highly personalized direct mail piece that invites the recipient to a personalized website (PURL), the invitation is reinforced with an email blast or SMS (text message) thank you or reminder. Each element maintains the same creative look and feel across the entire campaign.

 The main benefit of cross media marketing is that potential customers are motivated to take action. You can measure that action, giving you valuable data about the effectiveness of your campaign. Because prospects are sent to PURLs, cross media marketing also allows you to collect personal information about your prospect, which can help you to more effectively target your contacts in future campaigns.

Not only does this form of marketing increase brand awareness, but it allows you to more easily measure the success of your campaign.  You will be able to see how many of your prospects have visited their personalized website, track their actions, and the amount of time they spend at the site. In addition, you will also see who did not visit their web page, which allows you to send a follow-up postcard or email, encouraging them to check out their PURL.

BC Graphics has just completed it’s new website. We have been working on it for sometime in order to accommodate all the features we wanted it to offer. The biggest feature is our online ordering for most of our popular printed items. Please check it out  http://www.bcgraphicsfl.com and let us know what you think.