Ideal Variable Data Applications
All companies need to communicate with their customers personally. As attendees stated at the 2004 Small Distributor Summit in Kansas City, Mo., contact management is fueling the short run digital, variable data market.
Assuming customers have a "clean" target list, the No. 1 product for variable imaging is post cards, followed by sell sheets. In addition, golf outing signs are cool, and so are T-shirt transfers with team names, playing cards, business cards, real estate literature and the pocket folders we received in Kansas City.
Brian Governor
President, P&W Marketing Inc.
Youngstown, Ohio
These are variable data applications that come to mind, or that I've seen recently: one-to-one marketing pieces and solicitations, newsletters, service announcements, sales offers, warranty notifications and recall notices, product registration acknowledgements, annual subscription renewal notices, scheduled traffic school notifications, monthly statements from investment brokers, convention attendance packets, customer surveys, "welcome to the neighborhood" notices, "we want you back" notices to lost customers and "you're invited to attend" notices.
Dick Gray, CDC
President, Xtension Technologies Inc.
Laguna Hills, Calif.
In recent discussions at our Wednesday morning online "coffees" with distributors, selling the value of variable data has been one of the most requested topics.
Post cards and other mailing applications are driving business to our short run digital offset press. Distributors need to become more educated on how to sell the value of improved response rates for promotional mailings. Also, we just opened a new market for very short run, digitally printed presentation folders that can be personalized to attendees or recipients. We're seeing a good response.
In addition, our digital short run label division is seeing more variable print activity. Many of these orders are for hang tags, asset tags/labels and window labels for parking permits. The ability to have variable print on high-color labels or tags in ultra short run quantities with no die charges is driving growth in this segment.
Finally, we're handling variable print in our promotional products area. We produce items such as mouse pads, signage, badges, plaques, motivational art (our Envisionary line) and coffee mugs. Names of award recipients change each time. In some cases, distributors have supplied names of people who should receive gift coffee mugs. Instead of handling an order for 100 mugs, we handle 100 orders for one mug (each personalized).
Roger Buck, CDC
National Sales Mgr., Forms Div. Ward/Kraft Inc.
Fort Scott, Kan.
This is a great time to think about the one-to-one, variable data market because customers are looking for ideas to increase revenue with a more targeted marketing approach. We have done graphic and text file merges in many different markets and applications. Also, we have provided web-to-print and print-and-mail applications for several years, and can help distributors develop these applications with current and potential customers. We support our customers with training, collateral and market penetration.
William D. Prettyman, CFC
President and CEO
Wise Business Forms Inc.
Alpharetta, Ga.
Editor's Note: In December, FedEx announced plans to acquire Kinko's for $2.4 billion. The following letter is in response to the news:
Kinko's Has Different Target Market
I've never considered Kinko's my competition. The company is the best at what it does, which is offer convenient locations and hours for students, professors and the general public. When someone needs color prints from his digital camera, 50 copies of his resume printed, 500 pamphlets typeset and copied on different colored paper, a few sheets laminated, and 50 employee manuals copied and GBC-bound, that's Kinko's market.
We cater to a completely different one: larger organizations in the business community. Clients come to us for our expertise of the printing and promotional products industry because that's what we do best. On numerous occasions, our clients have gone to Kinko's for jobs they needed "now," but came back to us for reorders, sometimes because they didn't have good experiences with Kinko's.
FedEx' recent decision to buy Kinko's doesn't matter much to us because it hasn't hurt our business. It's definitely a good business decision for FedEx, though. FedEx has done a wonderful job chasing UPS for its corporate business. FedEx has gained ground consistently in that market, which once was UPS' domain. Now, FedEx is going after the retail market for smaller packages. Its alliance with Kinko's is only going to help because of Kinko's presence and reputation.
Anup Gupta
Owner/President
AG PrintPromo Solutions
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
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Question of the month: Is it more valuable for your company to be a generalist or niche player in today's marketplace?
