Many times a customer comes to us and wants to do direct mail, but feels that variable data is just too complicated or has too big of a potential for error. It is really not complicated or any more prone to errors as long as you have a good plan in place and everyone knows it. So we work with them to plan out great variable data campaigns.

To make variable data really work for you it’s important to invest time and effort in planning your campaign long before the first piece rolls off the press.

Start your Plan:

1. What do I want to achieve? Is the point of your mail to sell a specific item, highlight a promotion, or build customer loyalty? Write down you goals.
2. Who am I targeting? Think carefully about how you are going to segment your customer/prospect base. Do you want to use person-specific data such as their name and how long they’ve been doing business with your company, or are you going to group them by age, particular interests, or the amount they typically spend with you? Write all of these specifics down.
3. What do customers/prospects want? A good variable data campaign is one that speaks directly to the wants, needs and concerns of each customer/prospect. Write down this info from the customer perspective.
4. How will I measure success? To know how well your variable data is working, you’ll need to track the response to your campaign. Think about whether your customers will visit a link, call you, like you on Facebook, or send you an order or some other way. As long as you write down how you plan to measure you will be able to see your results.
5. Where will I get the data? Variable data direct mail is only as good as the data you put into it. Before starting, check your data very carefully – a small mistake can make a bad first impression. If you are unsure of certain information within your data file, do not use it.

Now that you have written out all 5 items you are ready to get started with design and images. Keep in mind that the more detailed you get the better your response rate is going to be. Once you have all of the pieces in place we recommend doing random sampling throughout the list for proofing. Have at least 3 people checking the proofs to be sure that everything matches with your plan and your data. Once they are all good you are ready to rock!

Questions or need help? Contact us today. We are glad to help.