When we think of 1:1 marketing, we think about higher response rates, increased customer loyalty, and larger order sizes. But how about lowering the cost of business? Because marketers often think of personalization as increasing the cost per piece, the idea of using it to lower cost of business seems odd. But when you take a closer look, it becomes clear how cost-friendly personalized printing can be.
According to research conducted by InfoTrends, print production is less than half of the cost of business for marketing communications. More than half is workflow and process. This includes things like project management, warehousing, and fulfillment/distribution.
The ability to streamline production using print-on-demand technologies and eliminate many of the process costs can results in significant cost savings.
In one published case study, a provider of B2B commerce solutions wanted to reduce its project management complexity and reduce costs from obsolete collateral and inventory. In the past, 60% of its brochures had been thrown away. By implementing a digital POD workflow, it reduced or eliminated its cost of inventory obsolescence, and its order handling costs dropped by 85%.
In another example, a travel company used to mail static multi-page catalogs to hundreds of thousands of people. Then it began personalizing based on age, income, and other factors. By precisely matching the messaging to the prospect’s demographic profile, the campaign generated a return of more than 10 times the company’s initial investment in the first month’s sales. Plus, the slimmer, personalized mailers actually cost less per piece than the previous versions. So while personalized printing can be more expensive on a per-piece basis than static printing, once you start looking more closely, those calculations can turn on their heads. Add in higher response rates, customer loyalty, and per order values, and you knock that bottom line out of the park!
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