Remember form letters? How about mail merges? So what have they got to do with Variable Data Printing? Well, Variable Data Printing (VDP) is a form letter on steroids. Anyone who’s done a mail merge in Word will understand the basic concept. Variable Data Printing links a database with a message, an offer or maybe an invitation.
The most basic Variable Data Printing is just putting a different name on each piece. But it can get really exciting when you start adding images and text that change depending on the market segments and building the text right into the images. The customer becomes part of the message.
And when you use Variable Data Printing as part of a multi-touch campaign then you have a look and feel that crosses from snail mail to email to the web – all personalized. The customer sees the consistency and feels they’re being guided step-by-step through the process to getting something they need.
Lets say I get a new dog. I go to Town Hall to register the little guy. Say it’s a border collie. Some weeks later I get a postcard in the mail congratulating me on my new friend and the postcard has a great picture of a border collie. The postcard refers me to a web site to buy ID tags and when I open the site – wow – border collies all over the place. While I’m there I see they also sell dog beds, dog food dishes, even return address labels with – yup – border collies. See how it’s all specific to me, to what I’m interested in? And while they sold me the dog tags, they also sold me a dog dish (up-sell) and those cute address labels (cross-sell). So how did this start? When I registered the dog I had to indicate the breed, age, sex, and my home address. The Town Hall sells all that dog registration info in a database to someone who sells “dog stuff”. They segment the market by breed and change their graphics and text accordingly.
So, Variable Data Printing allows you to send each prospect an individualized mail piece with a unique message and offer. And it allows you to be more relevant! And maybe keep your message from hitting the recycle bin so fast.
