Are You Taking Advantage of Variable Data Printing?

Variable data printing (VDP) allows marketers to create custom direct mail pieces at a similar speed to large run litho printing. That way, you can start your direct mail piece off on a personal note and gain engagement from your audience.

Discover what exactly is VDP and how your direct marketing can benefit.

What exactly is VDP?

Variable data printing is defined as direct mail’s version of one-to-one marketing. This is a highly customizable and personalized piece delivered right to your audience. You can target and treat each one of your customers or prospects like they are the only ones you are mailing too. 

Here is a bit more detail…

Anyone who has used a simple mail merge program can understand the basic underlying principle of variable data printing. There can be one or more templates that have all the required information in them. Then a computer using information retrieved from a previously compiled database mixes and matches both sets of information with all its various forms in order to create a merged file that best suits the interests of your unique audience.

How Can it Benefit Your Direct Marketing Efforts?

1. Enhancing your ROI

Not only can VDP customize the words in your ad piece but also the images. For example, a cruise company can customize their mail piece to target people who want to go on a Caribbean cruise as well as those who would like to sightsee in Alaska with the same template. In short, VDP allows for an amazing return on investment because of the time and energy it saves in customizing individual ad campaigns.

2. Getting the most out of your time and energy

 Any new data accumulated from a previous ad campaign can be seamlessly entered into the existing database and then subsequently used to create a more specific follow-up message for any of the respondents. VDP takes what may look like a “shotgun” direct mail marketing approach and delivers a highly personalized mail piece. Not to stretch the analogy too far but… would you rather take one well-aimed shot and hit your target or wildly shoot and miss?

3. Extremely testable and scalable

 For example, a pilot marketing campaign that has – 100 customers or less – can be launched with a small number of funds. Depending on the response, the marketing piece can be revised and delivered again to the small sample size. Once finalized, the finished piece can be promoted across your entire customer database or just a given demographic. This process not only saves countless dollars in mailing, creative, and production costs but, most importantly, keeps prospects happy by not annoying them with repeated generic campaigns. 

Not only do customers want you to deliver a relevant message but they want you to deliver one specifically customized to them. Variable data printing (VDP) offers an affordable way to meet this need. Don’t worry if variable data printing is not in your direct marketing plan now, but be sure to watch trends in your industry and partner with a company that can execute a VDP campaign quickly and seamlessly.