The short answer is that it can increase response rates by up to 25%, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) — a fantastic result when even a 3% improvement is usually considered outstanding. But first, what does “variable data” mean?

The personal touch. Variable data is an incredible tool that came into being with the digital printing press. It allows you to customize each piece in your mailing with unique text, photos, artwork, QR codes, coupons, tracking numbers, personalized URLs or whatever else you can imagine.

Say, for example, that you’re a realtor who is mailing a sales letter to every homeowner in a particular neighborhood. You could customize each letter with the owner’s name, address and current market value of their property.

Or perhaps you’re a travel agent with a mailing list of people who have expressed interest in different types of vacations. You could send them all a postcard about your business, with varying photos depending on the recipient’s desired destination: Caribbean beach, Alpine ski resort, etc.

Maybe you own a regional chain of restaurants and need to print different menus for each location. It’s as easy as creating one layout, then plugging in the various specials and prices. You can even have the menus bulk shipped directly to the restaurants. (Don’t forget we offer free Priority Mail shipping with your order.)

Say their name and they’ll listen. The possibilities of variable data are practically endless. But what they all have in common is a personal connection that gets results. Check out these stats:

• 74% of recipients are more likely to respond to a personalized direct mail piece

• B2C direct mail pieces with customized maps get a 20%-30% higher response

• 65% of large businesses surveyed use personalized or segmented campaigns

So, even if planning and executing a personalized direct mail campaign involves a little more effort on your part, the return on investment is definitely worth it. And the best news of all is that variable data printing is more affordable than ever.

If you’d like help setting up your variable data mail piece, just give us a call or visit https://click2mail.com/contact-us-support. We’ll be more than happy to walk you through the process or check out the Click2Mail YouTube channel for more information.