Variable printing is useful, but are you using it to your full advantage?

I sat in on a webinar from www.enthusem.com recently and they gave a really good seminar on how to use their services using variable images.  They suggest when you have a customer who you are trying to target you should not be boring them with more about YOU all the time. Instead, change the focus to them!

How so?

With variable printing/imagery this can be accomplished quickly. As long as you are using some type of service to change out the image and wording this should be an easy task. If you are trying to manually do this and you’ve got a large database…well, your wasting your time and need to invest in an agency who can set you up with some sort of CMS system. There are a lot of them out there, enthusem.com is one that I use for my greeting cards. We send them to customers anytime we want to thank a customer after a sale or after a successful meeting and we’re even using them for our holiday cards this year.

So how do you make the variable images work to your advantage?

Let’s pretend that you sell windows.  As a way to better market to your customer, rather than send a direct mail piece that shows photo’s of the windows you sell, why not hire someone to take photo’s of the homes you are trying to target. Now put that image next to an image with the beautiful windows you sell. If you have a home in the neighborhood that you installed windows in, then you can put that image next to the home that is beside the customers home and say something like “You neighbor at 12345 ABC Street loves our windows and so will you!” Ahhhh, now you’re getting it right?

Some of this is simple marketing 101, however, with the new technology available with variable print and variable fields for “Microsites” if you use PURLS (personalized URLS), then this can be accomplished faster and make your marketing campaign that much more successful.

Good luck to each of you in your search for the winning concept!

Track your customers with greeting cards..Yep, there’s an app for that too!

I have been using a company called Enthusem.com to send out thank you cards to my customers after a sale of one of my capital pieces of equipment for about a year now and I love it.  The system allows me to upload my own image to personalize the outside of the card and also allows me to upload a list using a .csv or .xls file to send to large groups of people.  What’s cool about this type of communication is you are able to create a special card for each marketing campaign.  So if this months campaign is based around electronic devices, you could create your own design in any program you prefer as long as you can turn it into a .jpg file.  Once this is done, you simply go to enthusem.com and upload your design and POOF you’ve got a personalized card! Now…what sets this service apart from any other online card service is this:

Trackable Greeting Cards

You all should know by now, that I don’t do anything “Marketing” unless I can track the behavior of my customer. I personally feel online tracking is the best method, because it’s in real time and it allows for the messaging to be changed very quickly without wasting a lot of money. So with Enthusem cards not only can you personalize the cards with your own image and message, but also, you can “Attach” a file or website for the user to go look at.  So as seen in the example below you would be able to literally attach a document to the card that the customer would be able to view once they receive their card.  The way it works is the customer receives their card. Inside of the card is your personal message and at the top half of the card it says “Visit enthusem.com to pick up your personalized message,” it can be a website or a document that you upload to enthusem.com and is hosted on their site.

Example

What happens Next?

When the customer clicks on their attachment, an email is sent to you! So, you know in “real time” when they received the card and opened their attachment. It’s the perfect time to call them and ask if there is anything they need from you! Remember, from my earlier post on PURL’s the best time to communicate with a customer is when they are on your website. You’ve got approximately 5 minutes from the time they log on to keep their interest peaked!

When should you use Enthusem?

•Introduction Ice-breaker with a new prospect.

•Thank you Follow up to a meeting.

•Congratulations When a customer reaches a significant milestone or was in the news.

•Closer Send proposal as an online attachment.

•Keep in touch When you don’t have time for a phone call.

So…what are you waiting for? Get your marketing more creative today with some of these great trackable tools!

Note: There are plenty of other services that do similar types of communications, I just use Enthusem and that is the only reason I am promoting them. I am in no way affiliated with them, nor am I stating that you will make more money by using their service. Only that I have had great success using them. Good luck to you!