Customer Service Center

FULLY PERSONALIZED DIRECT MAIL
Until very recently, direct mail has been limited to basic personalization, inserting the recipient's name and perhaps limited textual information into mailed messages, to try to increase response rates.

In this new digital era, using advanced design services and full-color digital presses, marketers can now communicate with recipients much more powerfully: on a fully one-to-one basis, with every piece completely customized for its recipient, not just in text, but also in imagery and colors.

There are proven benefits to such advanced personalization.

>Personalized direct mail generates much higher response rates compared to generic mass mailings (DMA, 2003)

>Responders to personalized direct mail tend to spend more money, with higher average order sizes (DMA, 2003)

>People who respond to personalized direct mail tend to become loyal, long-term customers (CapVentures, 2002)

>Personalized direct mail campaigns can be evaluated for success with concrete ROI measures

Delivering accurately targeted, fully personalized, and meaningful messages is the best way for you to elicit responses from your prospects and to make your current customers feel valued and loyal.

A few examples of personalized mail applications are:

>Alumni associations trying to raise money or stimulate attendance are no longer limited to generic postcards. Now each recipient can receive a piece containing imagery evocative of the time when they were in school, or even with their own college yearbook picture!

>Motorcycle agencies can announce specials illustrating the accessories featured for each recipient's particular bike, or showing the most likely new model that they might want to upgrade to.

>Fashion boutiques can advertise sales, displaying in full color fashions that are compatible with each client's tastes and complexion, rather than generic items.

VERSIONED AND ZONED DOCUMENTS
Since digital presses can change the content of each page, you print multiple short runs of documents where the content varies for different audiences.

They could be for different branches or outlets, different geographical locations or even different languages.

Versioned and zoned documents can take the form of manuals, postcards, invitations, conference materials, follow-up mailers, customer relationship management documents, or point of sale materials.

HOW IT'S DONE
Personalized documents start with a template, which is the building block of your page design. The template specifies where the static and variable information goes on your page, as well as other design elements like typography.

The second key element is your database. It contains the information that drives the project, including the recipient list, variable text blocks and variable images.

In the printing process, these database elements flow into the template on the fly, as the job prints on a digital press. The result is customized pieces.

HOW WE CAN HELP
The market for fully variable and version personalization is fairly new, and imaginative people are inventing new applications all the time.

At Laser Image we provide the technical and production capability to support this creativity. This includes consulting for database structure and management, dynamic design, list acquisition, list validation and presort, postal regulations, digital printing, finishing and delivery.

For more information, please contact:
Richard Smith, PhD
President
919-361-5822 ext. 222
richard@licp.com