Putting 1:1 Printing to Work

When we think of 1:1 printing, we tend to think of dedicated marketing campaigns designed to increase response rates and boost revenues. But smart marketers are taking it even further. They are incorporating 1:1 printing into the very fabric of their customer communications. As they do, they are seeing bottom-line benefits.

Take the example of Disney Destinations LLC, a division of The Walt Disney Company. Like many marketers, when someone contacted Disney Destinations about its services (in this case, business-to-business customers looking to book a business meeting at one of its resorts), it used to overwhelm them with pamphlets with every option, whether relevant to the caller or not. The cost of printing and storing all of those materials was very high, and if any of the information changed, it had to be thrown away and reprinted.

Disney moved to a print-on-demand model for these customers, but this is more than a POD story.

Previously, Disney had utilized 1:1 printing to communicate with individual and family vacationers who booked resort packages. The project was so successful that it decided to use a similar model with B2B inquiries. Now, instead of sending out large, undifferentiated information kits, Disney creates 24-page, full-color, fully personalized information booklets specific to each inquirer's needs. Booklets are 100% variable, with 3,000 potential combinations of text and images, personalized with the prospect's company and meeting information.

The results? Phenomenal. Disney has cut printing and storage costs by 50%. Plus, it more than doubled its response and conversion rates.

Does all this happen automatically just because a marketer switches to 1:1 printing? No. Previously, Disney Destinations admits that it was not following up with inquiries effectively. So at the same time it switched to 1:1 printing, it created a dedicated sales follow-up team. The detailed information gathered for the 1:1 brochures allows the team to follow up more easily with current prospects, as well as with past customers who have become inactive. The resort is also blending in other customer contact vehicles, such as e-mail contacts and personalized URLs, both as follow-ups to inquiries and to generate new inquiries. Together, all of these efforts create a comprehensive approach to prospect communications and existing customer communications that is immensely profitable.

The moral of the story? For world-class marketers, 1:1 printing has become more than a type of marketing campaign. It has become a way to do business. What can you learn from them?