10 Ways to Improve Response Rates from Print

a hand holds a megaphone to represent responsive campaigns with print

With around 30 years of experience, Webmart knows what works (and what doesn’t!) when it comes to print marketing.

So, we created this quick guide to give you a brief overview of how to improve your response rates using print as part of your integrated marketing campaign.

1. Clean Up Your Data

Dirty data wastes money on print and postage and can lead to emotional pain (e.g. sending post to deceased people), fines (e.g. when people have opted-out) and brand damage, as well as lower ROI. Get into the habit of running de-duplications (to look for repeated recipients) and checking opt-outs.

Data checklist: Paying for the following external services will help keep your data squeaky clean:

Mailing Preference Service (general opt-out from marketing mail)
Baby Mailing Preference Service (to protect those with a recently deceased baby)
Mortality (to remove the deceased from your mailing list)
Gone-aways (covering people who have moved house)
Swear word screening (so you don’t insult anyone!)
Contact name enhancement (so your recipient is named correctly and in the right format)
Residency verification (to confirm the person still lives at an address)

2. Personalisation

Personalising each piece of print to the recipient is a great way to make your print more engaging. We’ve shown it time and time again – in some cases with simple and cost-effective personalisation (driven by quality data of course) increases response rates by up to 600% more than non-personalised pieces (DMA).

3. Added Value Content

A step further on is to combine customer data with external content to make something that’s really useful to your customer. One company did exactly this and increased their ROI by a staggering 300%!

Try these:

If you’re running a sale, add a map that shows your customer’s house and the quickest route to their nearest store – maybe with a voucher.
If the weather’s due to be sunny for the next few days, it’s possible to quickly mail shot customers with patio furniture or summer clothes.
If you know where your customer lives and works – a series of vouchers for locations along their commute.

4. Innovation

There are lots of print innovations that can really engage your customers. ‘Standard’ print does its job well, but innovative print really lifts response rates – and your brand – ahead of the competition.

Ideas include:

Printed face paints are great for sporting tie-ins.
3D lenticular covers really appeal to kids.
Thermographic varnishes that reveal hidden codes can be great for encouraging people to interact with their print.
Scodix laminates bring covers to life by enhancing colours and photos.
Soft touch covers your print in a stroke-able tactile rubberised coating.

5. Data/ List Swapping

Businesses serving a similar customer demographic who aren’t in competition with you may be interested in swapping customer lists (as long as they have 3rd party permissions from their customers!). Obviously, trusted links with the owners of the companies are key here as customer data is the heart and soul of most organisations.

If you find you’re struggling to do all this yourself, it might be time you gave your friendly print consultants at Webmart a call for a helping hand. Call 01869 321321 or contact us here.

6. Improving Product Quality

If you’re a luxury brand, you need to represent yourself with high quality print. There are plenty of ways to improve the perceived value and quality of print without breaking the bank.

Try one of these finishing options if you’re looking to project quality or high-end luxury:

Gold foil: Works well, particularly on heavier stock with dark colours that contrast well with the gold.
Embossing: Again on weightier stock, embossing gives a look of solidity and raises perceived value of the print.
Spot UV gloss varnish: This adds a glossy coating to areas of the print – increasing the vibrancy of the underlying colours.
Speciality papers: From slightly heavier coated papers to papers that resemble parchment or vellum.
Binding: Options to perfect bind, PUR bind or case bind with a hard cover.

7. Inserting & Insert Swaps

Similarly, there are opportunities to place your inserts into other companies’ mailings – or if you’ve the space and weight available in yours, to make extra margin by including other 3rd party inserts into yours. Encourage staff to sign up for mailings of products that target similar demographics to yours. Then compile a shortlist of companies who you could approach to enclose and distribute your inserts.

8. Use A Catalogue

Recent research has shown just how valuable a tool catalogues are for marketers. They’re especially great for driving up response rates from high value customers and reviving lapsed customers. Research shows catalogues have an average response rate 4 x higher than email (DMA).

For high value customers, produce catalogues with personalised covers. These have been shown to improve order value by 50%.
Lapsed customers respond massively to catalogues – research shows over 300% more than people who don’t receive a catalogue.

9. Outbound Calls

Websites and inbound call centres are great for order taking, but to get the most from your printed communications, it’s important to drive sales using outbound calls too. Depending on your offering and as long as you know when your catalogue or brochure reached your customer so you can time your calls, outbound call centres can double response rates.

10. distribution options

Different distribution options can have a marked impact on response rates and ROI by reducing cost and decreasing the time to hit the doormat. Investigate downstream access providers, Whistl’s leafletdrop service and Royal Mail discount options as they will reduce the cost of each mailing.

Look into these services to reduce distribution costs:

Downstream access providers like Enviromail offer competitive postage rates for direct mail. Through Enviromail, you also benefit from free carbon calculation and twice offset the carbon emissions of mail distribution
Whistl, Royal Mail & other companies offer door drop services. Through Enviromail, we offer climate positive door drop distribution too.
Ensure you qualify for discounted mailing options (e.g. Advertising Mail or Mailmark).

And there we have it! 10 actionable ways to improve your response rates from your print marketing campaigns. For more guides, check out our blog page, or get in touch if you’d like some more info.