Try Personalization It Works

IT'S GOOD NEWS FOR THE NONprofit sector that the U.S. Postal Service's effort to restrict charities' use of the Standard Mail rate for personalized marketing communications is no longer a threat.

All direct marketers need access to such tools to effectively communicate with their customers and supporters. Direct columnist Gene Del Polito agrees. He wondered in the May 1 Del Polito Letter why the USPS seemed “bent on driving some of its best customers out of the mail…. Expecting customers who are accustomed to personalizing their direct mail to somehow abandon the practice or post messages first class is unrealistic.”

Marketing directors and fundraisers who use personalization do so because it works. According to Cap Ventures' 2003 personalization study, more than 69% of consumers prefer highly personalized hard copy direct mail to non-personalized direct mail offers.

One out of four campaigns conducted by a study sample of 250 ad agencies in the United States employed personalization in direct response advertising that year, according to the Printing Industry Center at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Twenty-seven percent of those campaigns used variable numeric or text data, and another 27% used variable graphics. More complex personalization, combining multiple variable text as well as numeric and graphic elements, were used only by the most experienced agencies.

The thing about personalization is it only works if you do it right. As a result the study also found that only the most experienced agencies recommend it for their clients.

Personalization requires the utmost attention to detail. One public television station boosted response by 10% and income by 5% by noting past donation amounts in lapsed donor appeals. The Nature Conservancy has seen good results with membership appeal postcards that were customized by regional chapters. A public library consortium included personalized subjects of interest to different types of patrons in its fundraising appeals. So making the effort to personalize is not without its rewards.

Online personalization remains e-marketers' holy grail — it's desired but not widely understood. Forrester Research reported in May that marketers at major U.S. companies believe online advertising channels (search engine marketing, online display ads and e-mail marketing) will continue to become more effective relative to traditional channels. But the lack of hands-on experience and online advertising standards still keep many companies from fully embracing these channels.

Personalization works by using data elements in such a way that the prospect, customer, subscriber or donor feels recognized. From the simple “Dear Mrs. Williams” in the salutation line of a new customer solicitation, to an association renewal reminder of prior participation levels, these touches can boost response by double digits.

When do you need to test a personalization program? Use common sense. Take the long view of your own experience with personalization. Don't try testing as an excuse for using judgment.

Direct's Makeover Maven columnist Tom Collins reminds us also to keep the tester's “What if?” mindset at work in testing new personalization elements. He recounted his own experience in 1972, at a time when personalization was first gaining momentum:

“After George McGovern won the Democratic nomination,” he recalled, “we wanted to capitalize on the excitement and raise some money quickly. So we sent a mailing to our donor database, which had grown by leaps and bounds during the primary. [The mailing contained] four personalized blank checks and a personalized shipping label. The accompanying letter not only asked for money, but explained that we wanted to show our appreciation for their past support by sending them a sterling silver pin [with the initials] FMBM — ‘For McGovern Before Miami.’

“We asked them to check the shipping label's accuracy and to return it with or without a contribution. We reasoned that this would help overcome human inertia. The mailing brought back a million dollars in 10 days — big money in those innocent days.” Not bad money for modern times, either.

Today's databases and laser printing provide many opportunities to use personalization in for-profit and nonprofit mail campaigns:

• Including personalized return address labels for recipients to keep and use.

• Imprinting appeals with a donor's past giving level.

• Creating solicitations referencing a prior purchase of “Product X.”

• Adding personalized salutations on self-mailers and letters.

• Including personalized expiration dates for memberships or subscriptions.

• Printing the specific interest expressed by a member or customer in prior interactions.

• Employing handwritten envelopes and lift messages.

Needless to say, personalization's new frontier is the online campaign. But note that the basic common sense needed in print personalization must be enhanced with careful attention to virtual marketing's cultural and legislative environment.

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CARL BLOOM is president of Carl Bloom Associates in White Plains, NY. He has more than 40 years of direct marketing experience.