Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog, “How Variable Digital Printing is Making a Difference”

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "How Variable Digital Printing is Making a Difference," lists several reasons, many backed by data and research, that illustrate how and why variable digital printing is a marketing tool that increases ROI. Most importantly, one may think that any print collateral is a non-starter for marketing considerations. Trend lines toss numbers and percentages around like skittles, and in some cases, conflicting reports arrive at non-uniform outcomes, all seemingly addressing the same issue. Organizations that have a print buyer tend to be a step ahead towards understanding the value of print, and why it makes a difference for their bottom lines.

Print collateral is one of the outliers when deciding whether or not to include it in the marketing mix. Many businesses either place printed collateral on the back burner and allocate more spending for digital channels, or use print as an afterthought, particularly when the digital campaign stalls or ends up being uneventful.

The digital age of big data has become fraught with security breaches, intellectual property theft, false impersonations of individuals, and brand communications maladies that are continuing to unnerve brands and marketers on a grand scale. Now, add digital clutter and overload to the mix, and you have a recipe for spending a lot more resources, time and money, where brands and marketers are now in constant flux to ensure positive ROI outcomes.

Print is a Better Door Opener

Print salespeople generally agree that the most challenging part of the sales process is getting the decision maker's proverbial door to open. Time after time, they encounter, "I sent you an email!" or "Didn't you get my email, I sent it last week?" Tons of Facebook users are being tasked to find an ad, a post, or a photo that has slid down the day's feed, all too often. Digital posts and advertisements tend to move to the bottom in minutes, which requires advertisers to post and repost their entries in a non-stop fashion continually.

With 5G on the horizon, making claims of much faster speeds, we will see a lot more posts, and the sheer speed will require brands and marketers to adopt new strategies to break through. Some marketing gurus contend that AI and machine learning will aid in targeting the right targets in a timely fashion, so reposting will no longer matter, and as a result, print's direct marketing will not be necessary.

That said, posting on social media channels requires variety. All things being equal, the total average daily posts for the top 5 social media channels equals 30 posts across Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. That's 600 posts per month that should be different, relevant, and fresh. Moreover, there's the budget for creating content that is relevant for each social media channel.

Now, with all those social posts, of which less than 2% on average find their targets at any given time, marketers need alternative methods to boost digital post response rates. That is where print's direct mail marketing breaks through the digital clutter. Through variable digital printing, which is database driven, target reach makes brands, and marketers, work more productive, while increasing response rates, engagements, and ROI.

The Direct Mail Driver

Data Management and Variable Digital Printing are the drivers behind direct mail marketing and its effectiveness. All of your collected database information, consumer, commercial, targeted, and purchased lists can be merged, and feed the digital printing process. Therefore, the end product, meaning the print collateral output can be automatically assigned to reach different individuals or groups categorized by variables associated with addresses, zip codes, demographics, psychographics, income levels, education, purchasing habits, political affiliations, and so on.

As a result, direct mail marketing is very effective. The following is a compilation of reports indicating variable digital printing is the trigger that increases social media response rates.

The Proof is in the Numbers

The Direct Marketing Association's (DMA), 2018 report on the state of direct mail, is far too long for this post, however, for the sake of brevity, we have broken out the response rates for various media, including direct mail:

• Direct Mail = 9%
• Email = 1.5%
• Paid Search = 1.6%
• Online Display = .9%
• Social Media = 1.8%

Further, the DMA reports the tracking source of the direct mail marketing response rates:

• Online Tracking = 54%
• Code or Coupon = 46%
• Call Center or Telephone = 43%
• Matchback = 35%
• List Coding = 28%
• Via a Sales Transaction linked to direct mail = 28%
• Derived or Calculated = 10%
• Other method = 4%

Variable Digital Printing continues to make a difference for just about any brand and marketing strategy. AT&T, Direct TV, Xfinity, Google, Amazon, and a host of industries, including healthcare and automotive, understand the value of variable digital printing and invest accordingly.

Print's direct mail marketing continues to enjoy an upward momentum by helping all other media increase engagement, response rates, and ROI. To that end, variable digital printing serves as the best door opener to impact both sales and marketing results.

Lastly, direct mail marketing initiatives that contain call-to-actions targeting online destinations cut through the clutter and can deliver the target to the preferred digital destination. Direct mail recipients that respond to a call-to-action that directs them to a specific landing page, book review, video or blog post, or online catalog, sale or other designation tend to outperform all other media attempting to do the same. Postcards from the edge, actually represent the edge in marketing deliverables, from engagement to response rates, and finally to purchase conversions.

The Net-Net

It may be time to rethink the marketing or branding strategy if it doesn't include print's variable digital technology. So far, it's been the strategy that has taken the industry titans to the next level. Thanks for reading, "How Variable Digital Printing is Making a Difference."

Let's have a conversation about direct mail strategies, printing, print software, transactional documents, variable digital printing, brand equity and unified marketing collateral during our next Open House. We invite you to join us for an hour or two, June 27, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop and mailing capabilities. Dove Direct does have an official USPS certified bureau located within our offices that will save you time and money. And, if you bring us your files, we will create a demo file for you. For more information call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Dove Direct, your Atlanta based print and mail solutions provider offers organizations end-to-end data, printing and mailing solutions: Data Management, Variable Digital Printing, LetterShop and Fulfillment, Fully Automated MLOCR Presort Bureau, Marketing and Production Management Support and Secure Data Life Cycle Management.

If you don't want to wait for the Open House, you can reach Dove Direct today by calling 404-629-0122 or use the contact form for Dove Direct.