Variable Data Printing: A Natural Fit for Personalized Marketing

When you’re in an industry that provides personalized services or offers to your clients, the customer communications you send out must be tailored to the individual. Let’s say you need to send out an insurance policy renewal reminder to 100 clients with different account numbers and plans. Do you picture this as a time-consuming process where the document needs to be edited 100 times before being sent to the printer? Maybe that’s how it was done in the old days, but this process takes just minutes with VDP, meaning variable data printing. When you work with a highly qualified print provider, it’s also incredibly secure, making it a natural fit for the insurance services industry.

What is Variable Data Printing?

Variable data printing, also known as VDP or data print, is a cost-effective way to optimize your print and direct mail marketing by personalizing each piece to the recipient. The process is simple – variable data printing uses data, such as a list of names, uploaded to a database to modify the content on printed materials from one piece to the next. It edits the pieces on the fly so that a batch of distinct mailers can be created within one printing job. Each mailer will have information that is personalized to each recipient without stopping or slowing down the printing process.

Printing variable data such as names and addresses directly onto direct mail pieces is a common way VDP is used. However, other content can be made variable through VDP to further personalize the pieces. The content types that can be modified are almost limitless. VDP empowers marketers to print only the number of modified pieces they need at mass production rates.

Uniquely tailor pieces with:

• Recipient’s Name
• Account Numbers
• Account Balances
• Invoice/Billing Numbers
• Varied Images
• Varied Offers
• Product Snapshots
• Personalized QR Codes
• Personalized URLs (PURLs)
• Contact Information
• Calls to Action
• Overall Messaging

What does it mean for marketing?

Using VDP in print and direct mail campaigns offers an powerful way to engage existing contacts and convert prospects. Each VDP-printed piece feels personalized, grabbing the attention of consumers bombarded with marketing daily. This approach not only increases response rates but also reduces production costs. According to the Direct Marketing Association, personalization can boost direct mail response rates by up to 50% – already high comared to other channels. Adding a recipient’s name and using full color can increase response rates by 135%, and incorporating sophisticated database information can drive up responses by 500%. VDP works across various mailer styles, from postcards and flyers to tri-folds and brochures, giving you flexibility in how you connect with clients.

Why Xpressdocs?

Xpressdocs has the full-service print production infrastructure to meet your needs, with seven active digital presses that can handle variable data printing. We have one of the most robust print operations in the country, centrally located in Dallas-Fort Worth for hassle-free mailing to either coast and everywhere in between. Our attention to quality and security is unmatched, and we are a PCI and HIPPA-compliant and a USPS Manifest Mailer. As well as lightning-fast print speeds that get your orders out the next day if ordered before 4 pm CST, we offer a wide-ranging line of marketing products and services so you can communicate easily and effectively with your client base. We also boast an award-winning brand management platform so you can protect, manage, print, and disseminate your branded marketing materials all from one place.