Today, communicating with customers via one channel alone is not satisfactory. Most consumers have access to multiple channels, and have very distinct views on which type of message they wish to receive across each. These preferences are often so strong that a customer will refuse to respond to even the most enticing and exciting offer, if it is delivered over the wrong medium.

In the UK just over 62% of the population have internet access and, according to a recent broadband consumer survey by Point Topic, almost 90% of home internet users spend 6 hours or more online every week. Mobile phone penetration is apparently even greater. There are more mobile phone subscriptions in the UK than there are people (over 110% penetration - though it is worth noting this does not mean every single person now has a mobile phone - many people have 2 or more phones or contracts). So a large number of people are open to the SMS channel.

The important thing, then, is to integrate all available channels in an intelligent, customer-focused way. Joined-up customer communications used to be something of a pipe-dream. Database experts could establish an all round view of each customer, but the processes of translating this intelligence into joined-up communications was either unwieldy or unaffordable. However, three things have come to pass over the last two years. High-speed personalised printing has become affordable for all customer communications, rather than just the high-value ones. The ability to create a tailored set of contents for each customer’s envelope has become very sophisticated. And pioneer service providers have established the initial proof that personalised content on the website improves customer retention, satisfaction, cross-sales, and ultimately profitability.

New Colour

Recent developments in variable colour printing – where content and text can be altered for each document printed – are revolutionising the extent to which this collaboration can happen. Another recently published piece of research from GI Insight (Got to Keep the Customer Satisfied, June 2007) has confirmed the close correlation between the personalisation and relevance of customer communications, and the levels of customer satisfaction achieved. So personalised communications tangibly help to cement and develop customer relationships (and therefore the amount of business done with each customer). Now that variable colour printing is both high quality and affordable, organisations have begun to communicate with their customer-base by way of colour bills, statements and marketing communications, which are tailored to each customer. Bills and statements can even be exploited for cross-selling additional products or services. Indeed, recent research we conducted found that the unused ‘transpromo’ advertising space on landline, mobile, gas, electricity and water bills amounted to over £123m. This is clearly an area of targeted marketing that businesses can well afford to make the most of.

Furthermore, digital print means that there is now no need for minimum quantities. And because the technology can now operate at high speed, then the economies of production scale required to keep things affordable are also easily available from commercial printers.

Moreover, personalised communications used to be very much a service only for the highest value customer segments. This is no longer the case. The economics offered by high-speed variable colour printing mean that even the low value customers can receive such a service. This is a critical point for database marketers, whose job is not just to identify who the lower and higher value customers are, but also spot the segments with the greatest value growth potential and create strategies to migrate them from a lower value to higher value group. If we cannot afford to communicate in a personalised fashion with the lower value groups, how can they ever be persuaded to upgrade?

Managing M&A

Finally, we should turn to the theme of mergers and acquisitions. Typically, following a merger or acquisition, databases are not merged quickly, and customers are subject to irrelevant or inappropriate offers – sometimes even for products they already hold. This can seriously undermine the value of the acquired organisation. After all, the advantage of any acquisition must lie in being able to extract greater value from the acquired company than the price paid, whether through share of customer wallet (product diversification) or share of market (product consolidation).

Following a merger or acquisition, the first step is to understand what has been bought. That means a top level analysis at a customer level. This in itself may not be a simple process – in that a wide variety of different datasets may need to be combined – product holdings, transactions, credit status, lifestyle profile, customer service record, and a host of other third party attributes. Luckily, the data may be complex, but there are now software products available that rapidly merge disparate datasets without the need for expensive hard-coding. Once potential high-revenue, multi-product customers have been identified, they can then be profiled using one of the major geodemographic or lifestyle consumer profiling systems available across Europe. This helps identify customers with a profile similar to high-revenue, multi-product customers, but who are not yet generating these levels of income or product holdings. From a consolidatory point of view, it helps identify patterns of retention, loyalty and potential future usage of core product.

Conclusion

In summary then, new print and web technology capabilities mean that businesses can now affordably generate personalised, high-quality marketing and customer communications. However, none of this is any use unless a sound, accurate data-base drives such communications and campaigns. So long as this is achieved, however, variable digital colour is now putting affordable marketing sophistication into the hands of any organisation.

Following two years at the London College of Printing studying for an HND in print management Yolanda started in her first role as a Sales Representative for SR Communications where she worked for four years, achieving the position of Sales Manager. She was headhunted by Mastermail for the role of Sales Director where she stayed for five years. Yolanda then started her own business City Financial Mailings (CFM) alongside her brother, Alastair Maclean, in 1989. In subsequent years CFM's growth was achieved through the formation of the complimentary data, print, mail and fulfilment business units City Laser and Global Solutions Management in addition to the acquisitions of Alphamail and Burnham International. In 1999 the CFM companies were sold to the Techmail Group who re-branded all the businesses under the Orchestra name. After resigning from the Techmail Group, Yolanda established Corporate Mailing Matters (UK) Ltd in November 2002. In January 2004 Orchestra Group offered the CFM group of businesses for sale to Corporate Mailing Matters (UK) Ltd. This transaction was completed in February 2004 and the businesses merged with the original founder, Yolanda Noble, as CEO. In April 2007, Corporate Mailing Matters merged with Direct Solutions International creating a major force in the direct communications sector. The dsicmm Group is the UK’s largest independently owned direct communications organisation; the merger capitalises on the strengths of both companies and provides a unique platform to extend the range and value of services offered to customers as well as to develop new opportunities in what is a growing global market. Company: dsicmm Ltd