One-to-One Marketing: Unparalleled Power to Engage Customers and Increase Sales

By Janice Tippett



The latest development in marketing may be known by different names - variable information printing, variable data printing or one-to-one marketing - but it is singular in its potential for exponentially increasing sales.

Through one-to-one marketing, businesses can reach beyond face-to-face or telephone interaction to develop personalized relationships; one-to-one marketing is a way of creating an intimate bond with customers and prospects through customized print collateral. These relationships, in turn, increase brand awareness and loyalty. But the ultimate power of one-to-one marketing is its ability to increase response rates.

Frank Romano, chairman of the Rochester Institute of Technology School of Printing Management and Sciences, along with David Broudy, a veteran of the print industry, conducted a controlled measurable research study that revealed some remarkable outcomes about one-to-one marketing: adding only a name to a static black-and-white direct mail piece can increase response rates by 44%; adding color and the name can increase response rates by 135%; and adding database information as well as color and a name can increase response rates by as much as 500%.



Unique to the Individual

This targeted marketing practice has developed with the emergence of digital printing. This technology makes mass-customization of marketing pieces possible by combining database information with design that's tailored to incorporate variable data - photos, graphics and text - that are unique to the individual. Though the end product may be highly individualized, the process to achieve it is simple, especially when partnering with an experienced solutions provider. And the results are well worth the effort: With one-to-one marketing, mass marketing gets personal. And it works.

¥ Bally's Total Fitness Corp. developed a direct mail campaign targeting specific population segments for three of its locations. Variable data, including both images and text, were triggered by the recipient's gender and ethnicity. This test mailing produced $18,000 in new membership revenue at one of the three locations.

¥ AllianceBernstein, one of the largest publicly traded global asset management firms in the world, developed personalized reports for 25,000 holders of 529 education savings plans. Each report showed whether or not the account would cover future college costs. As a result, the company was able to increase both monthly and annual contributions to college savings plans for this group. The return on investment exceeded 100%.

¥ Montreat College in North Carolina put together a one-to-one marketing direct-mail piece soliciting donations from alumni. It varied campus photos, instructors and tuition amounts, as well as pop culture references, based on class year of each alumnus. Suggested donations were based on amounts previously donated or by new donor status. The reply card included the recipient's data, with barcodes for scanning and tracking. As a result, new donors increased by 100% and gift amounts also increased, with the overall amount given exceeding the previous year by 10%.



Four Basic Components

These case studies extol the benefits of one-to-one marketing. Yet putting this kind of program together may seem daunting. One-to-one marketing campaigns can be simple and straightforward or more involved, but all of them incorporate the same four components - customer data, content, templates and business rules.

Customer data can come from one of three sources: in-house databases, purchased databases or those created from conventional or web-based surveys or polls. Content includes the versions of text and graphics that will be compiled to create each final piece. The templates detail what content goes where. Finally, the variable content is assigned and integrated into the design template according to established parameters - the business rules.

Employing these four components, the possibilities for content and configuration of a one-to-one marketing piece are limited only by available data, a designer's creativity and the patience of the programmer. Partnering with the right solutions provider is, therefore, essential.



Levels of Personalization

Depending on the level of complexity, every one-to-one marketing project uses one of three basic methods: personalization, versioning or full-customization. Personalized pieces include the recipient's name somewhere in the headlines and/or copy of the message, though the message itself is identical for each recipient. Versioned pieces offer different messages for groups of customers/prospects that have similar interests or demographics (like gender and ethnicity in the Bally case study). Fully customized pieces - like the Montreat College self-mailer - are designed to vary text and images based on customer demographics, past interests, and/or spending habits.

Whether personalized, versioned or fully-customized, one-to-one marketing creates marketing material that speaks to customers on an individual basis. It recognizes customers and prospects as individuals, which is key to building long-term, profitable relationships.

Effective one-to-one marketing also optimizes database information, decreases inventory of print collateral, incorporates web-based solutions and helps maximize mailing dollars. In short, it blends data and know-how with digital print technology to yield a powerful tool for engaging customers and increasing sales.



Janice Tippett is president of Millennium Marketing Solutions. She can be reached at 410-792-8100.