How often do you receive mail that immediately makes its way to the trash?
Often? Yeah, us too.
Variable data printing (VDP) is a great way to grab attention—and avoid the garbage.
You’ve probably received emails that seem to know everything about you: “Hey John! We noticed you recently purchased X product. We think you’d also like Y, an even better option.”
Now imagine if your physical mail was just as personal. That might just catch your eye.
What is VDP?
VDP turns your printer into a computer. It combines customer data with design templates to create unique pieces for each recipient.
The beauty of VDP lies in its flexible customization. According to Compu-Mail, simply including a recipient’s first name increases response rates by 135%. But there’s much more you can do besides names.
Say you have a donor who gave $300 to your organization last year. You could create an appeal that says, “John, your $300 donation made an impact last year. A 5% increase in your donation would be $315. Would you consider increasing your support this year?”
There are plenty of options for customizing your mailers. The most popular option is using demographic information. But you could also analyze their behaviors, purchase history or interests to tailor the copy and visuals to each customer.
If you have access to the data, you can get pretty specific. “As long as we get the data provided to us correctly, we’re pretty much able to print anything,” says Emily Lowe, VP of custom manufacturing at Firespring.
But will it still end up in the trash?
The data suggests otherwise. VDP is on the rise, and more than half of customers now expect personalized direct mail [Compu-Mail]. Looking deeper, VDP improves engagement by up to 70% and conversion rates by up to 50% [Lob].
Your customers want to feel special, and VDP is the perfect way to do that. “From a VDP perspective, being able to do anything customized is always going to be better,” Lowe says.
VDP is one of our print specialties, and our new KM-1 printer elevates the game with vibrant colors, faster turnaround times and even more customization options.
Ready to see the KM-1 in action?
VDP is a great way to optimize your direct mail strategy. “If they have good data, VDP is a route that we can talk about and help them craft whatever piece they want,” Lowe says. “You can have a project turnaround in 5-7 days.”