What's the Key to Successful Personalization? This!

What's the secret to personalized printing success? It's not having lots of data. It's having the correct data. If you can get the recipient to stop, even for a fraction of a second, and say, "Hey! They're talking about me!" the mailing has done its job.

How do you know which data is the correct data? You get to know your audience.

"They 'Get' Me!"

The industry's most successful marketers know their customers. They "get" them. How do they do that?

·       They ask questions.

·       They do customer surveys.

·       They conduct focus groups.

·       They collect data to create detailed customer profiles.

·       They mine data efficiently.

Say you are a marketer of outdoor adventure gear. You have been personalizing direct mailings by name, age, and geographic region, but the response remains low. To figure out what's going on, you survey to learn more about your customers' interests.

Care About What They Care About

Based on the survey, you find that age and geographic region have little impact on customer engagement. But you do discover that a high percentage of your customers are experienced hikers. While these customers value quality equipment, your research finds that they prioritize environmental sustainability and trail conservation efforts. You also find that among this group, premium pricing is not a deterrent when it supports conservation.

Based on this new information, you might change your messaging. Instead of focusing on the technical specifications of your products to the recipient personally, you might begin to address this demographic's larger concerns and lifestyle needs.

You talk about the eco-friendly materials in your manufacturing process. You discuss your company's partnership with wilderness preservation organizations. You highlight how purchases help protect natural habitats and maintain trail systems. What do you think will happen to your response rates?

There is a common saying, "Knowledge is power." That's as true in marketing as it is anywhere else. But knowledge alone isn't enough. It's what you do with that knowledge that matters.