Providing that personal touch– magazine feature

Call a spade a spade by all means, but a calendar isn’t just a calendar: it’s a means of communication between the printer and its recipient. So, for that matter, is a printed letter or a brochure. So whether it is that person’s name surreptitiously snuggled amongst the ocean waves in the month of January, or sprawled throughout the bright blue sky in August, there’s something far more appealing about knowing this printed product has been designed and printed especially for you.



And yet for all its innovation and quality, personalised print still isn’t found just anywhere. As a business, its motives tend to be driven by intelligence rather than mere profit; not everyone can do personalised print and those who do face the challenge of maintaining a regular workflow from clients.



Doing it by themselves



A new business in anyone’s terms, Sydney company U&I Direct has been running since June 2006 and specialises in personalised printing. Its owners, partners Nathan Butler and Cathryn Warren, have a background in data and sales. Warren spent time as a data manager for Websdale, while Butler has worked in roles that include production planning and sales. It was during his time at Penfold Buscombe that he was first exposed to the personalisation of printing.



Reaching a stage where the two both felt confident of their capabilities, they decided to open U&I Direct.
“We just felt we wanted more control over our lives and more control over where we were taking ourselves,” says Butler. “We felt there was a need for a business that solely targets personalisation.”



So far, that need has been great enough to sustain U&I; the two report that all is going well business-wise, and if there have been any of the usual first business problems, they’ve soon been compensated by the independence which comes from being their own boss.



“We don’t have to go through a hierarchy to make a decision,” says Butler. “It’s just us and it’s good having that autonomy in front of the client.”



It’s not all printing



One of U&I’s projects was for vRoam, a telecommunications provider for business and travel markets. vRoam wanted travellers to have detailed instructions on how to use temporary mobile phone SIM cards from overseas so U&I developed a complete package for them which included a rewritten, redesigned brochure with the customer’s name, their overseas roaming number and trip itinerary, a personalised ID card with the customer’s SIM card number and PIN, a postage-paid return envelope, and a personalised, automated SMS message notifying them of the delivery of their mail pack along with a follow-up SMS upon returning home to Australia.



“We’re not limiting our applications; we don’t just personalise print,” says Butler. “Yes, print is a big component of the offering [but] providing a great cross media solution to the client works well.”



The XMPie software used by U&I was chosen because both believed that it had enormous scope and potential for their work.
“You can’t just be a prepress operator to run the software,” says Warren. “It’s not simplistic. It’s not a mail merge, that’s for sure. You need to have skills across print, web and just generally be IT-savvy.”



The variable data leader



Eliot Harper, workflow marketing manager at Fuji Xerox Australia believes that with over 150 XMPie users throughout the country, the software has now established itself as a leader in the local variable-data publishing market.



“The recent acquisition of XMPie by Xerox demonstrates that Xerox supports XMPie’s innovative portfolio of solutions and their future direction,” he says.



Harper lists a number of strengths for targeted communication such as the ability to create personalised and relevant materials for an audience of one, being able to integrate personal print into other media channels like SMS or email, and generating higher response rates. He cites reports that have shown that a highly personalised colour direct mail piece can generate a 500 per cent greater response rate in comparison to a non-personalised piece, and he echoes the praise for U&I’s work.



“[They] are pushing themselves and the boundaries of cross-media communication to new levels… and are establishing themselves as a leader in the local market,” he says.



Not everyone gets it



When you make print relevant to the market it’s aimed at, that market will respond, says Butler. And while it certainly might not be an instant response, he believes there’s a greater chance of drawing people’s attention, especially when compared to the ‘scattergun’ of mass print.



“People are more prone to read it, they’re more prone to look into it and embrace what’s in the brochure because it’s aimed at them,” he says. “It’s not a generic mass offering that anyone can get.”



For these reasons, Butler believes there is no main market for personalised print.
“We don’t specifically gear ourselves, we’ve got a real cross-section of clients. IT; property and entertainment; telecommunications; education…” he says. “Personalisation can work for anyone. It’s how you adapt and apply it to achieve a business solution and outcome that the client is looking for - that’s the key.”



Personalised print is a tool that, above all, requires the right skills. Much of the challenge involved in ‘getting it right’ comes down to having the right data, says Warren.
“But having said that, you don’t need much data to get started,” she says. “Sometimes there’s a feeling that people need to have top-quality, detailed data but you don’t need to. It can be as simple as a name and address; but what you do with that name and address throughout the data can be highly effective depending on how you use it.”



Butler also points out that, in his opinion, data is the most under-utilised tool in any business.
“We all say we know our customers, but ultimately it’s still the most under-used tool,” he says.



When dealing with clients, the two have found that many companies have not quantified their data for anything from between two to three years, and this prevents effective communication from occurring.



“Their data is not cleansed, it’s not constant so they’re not really in communication with their clients,” Butler continues. He accredits U&I’s strength as being able to quantify that data so clients then know who they’re talking to.



While Eliot Harper also believes that the strengths of personalised print vastly outweigh the weaknesses, he also admits that data can prove a real problem.
“Data integrity presents significant challenges to direct marketing campaigns,” he says. “Poor data can significantly affect response rates and impact campaign costs.”



Keeping it going



Personalisation isn’t new to the printing industry, Harper says, and has been used for over 20 years, but managing the ongoing lifestyle of the customer is still in its infancy and this will play a vital factor in ensuring the ongoing success of personalised print.



“A business that employs customer lifecycle management will benefit from long-lasting, increased revenue from clients as time progresses,” he says. “During the customer’s association with the brand, they are touched at every opportunity with relevant communication and value-add, upgrade opportunities, service offerings, support and much more.”



Personalised printing can work for anyone, so long as they have an open-mind and flexible attitude, concludes Butler.
“The point is that the messages are extremely targeted, relevant and meaningful to recipients,” he says.