Print Solutions Magazine, March 2005 -- Cover Story: Tehcnology At Work, Case Study 3

Today, if the owner of a 3-year-old dog named Sadie visits Happy Land Animal Hospital for a rabies vaccination, the practice either has or captures information about the pet, including age, weight, species, medications, exam date, and owner’s name and address. If Happy Land Animal Hospital were a Vet Met client, Sadie’s owner wouldn’t receive a standard checkup post card several months later. Instead, he or she would receive a digitally printed piece (usually sent monthly) that acts as one-to-one dialogue.

Sadie’s owner would open an eye-catching, 3-window envelope that includes a photo of the pet’s species and a teaser line: “Sadie is due for very important services.” The owner would open the envelope and see a 4-color piece built dynamically from combinations of products, services, reminders, special offers, coupons and rebate checks. Variable information shown primarily would depend upon Happy Land Animal Hospital’s initiatives, its chosen template and Sadie’s “if/then” data. Because Sadie recently had visited the clinic for a rabies vaccination, that treatment wouldn’t appear in the section listing services due and suggested dates. If Happy Land Animal Hospital had identified dental care as a growth area for its practice, Sadie’s piece would include a “Did You Know?” section about the dangers of periodontal disease, common signs of tartar buildup, dental health statistics and a coupon for preventative services. (See samples on page 46.) If Sadie were an 11-year-old, shorthaired cat with a history of urinary tract infections and an owner who previously has purchased suggested services, the text and images would change significantly.

Brown Bag Marketing designed more than 20 templates for Vet Met’s clients to use, and the marketing firm houses most images and digital assets used in their direct mail. The company also helped Vet Met hone text, making it more reader-friendly (changing jargon to easy-to-understand terms) and more customized (vets can choose from more than 50 body paragraphs and more than 100 coupons).

By harnessing the power of web-based database analysis and variable data printing, DocuGlobal enables Vet Met to turn raw customer data into full-color, personalized direct mail that enables vets to get proactive. Vets participating in one-to-one marketing campaigns have experienced average net revenue growth of 30 percent, Erwin says. “A pet creates such an emotional response,” he says. “By creating colorful, information-rich pieces, DocuGlobal and Vet Met entice pet owners to buy more services and visit vets more frequently.”

In addition to LifeTime Wellness, Vet Met offers specific marketing programs such as seasonal (including dental services), senior (targeting owners of dogs and cats over the age of seven), win-back (enticing non-active pet owners to begin or resume visits) and custom (for vets with upcoming specials or who are moving offices). Clinics that participated in the senior program in 2003 experienced an average 32 percent response rate, an average $157 per senior visit and an average $27 in revenue for each dollar invested, Swartz says. (Practices that invested $1,500 in the program gained an average $40,500 in revenue from it.)

In February 2004, Vet Met helped Shallowford Animal Hospital, Chattanooga, Tenn., implement a dental program that targeted approximately 400 pets the clinic’s data identified as most likely in need of dental services. The pets’ owners received a personalized piece about the importance of dental health that included a coupon for a dental cleaning. Shallowford Animal Hospital created a take-home dental kit for each client, complete with a toothbrush and dental health information. The clinic’s initial expense for the program was $920, which included program information, staff training materials and direct mail development. (Training materials included multiple-choice quizzes to ensure staff understood the dental program’s fundamentals.) Shallowford Animal Hospital experienced a 56 percent increase in dental clients. “Before, we were relying on people to come in to the hospital,” says Kate Bailey, the clinic’s practice manager. “Otherwise, they never knew about our programs, promotions and discounts.”

Marketing That’s Personal to the CORE

DocuGlobal takes its software to market as DG CORE™, a web-based application suite that links customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications and customer databases to variable-information, digital output technologies. The company has a 2-pronged client base: The first is marketing organizations such as Vet Met in industries such as education, financial services, hospitality, real estate, telecommunications and utilities. The second is print providers such as distributorships and commercial printers, which can license DG CORE, rent it through an ASP model or simply buy it.

“DG CORE is designed to support the entire lifecycle of marketing programs, from initial outreach through follow-up,” Erwin says. The software consists of four modules that operate independently or in concert: DG Collect™ enables data extraction from CRM, ERP and any other system that stores customer information. DG Compose™ combines custom designs with variable data to define the appearance of marketing materials such as direct mail, email blasts and advertising pieces. DG Output™ acts as a traffic cop, reading code from incoming orders and directing jobs automatically to email or digital printers at client sites or in house at DocuGlobal. DG Report™ facilitates customer reporting, billing and system administration and enables firms to track and report on all users, jobs and output resources. “One key component of DG CORE is that it can take human interaction out of the process, which is cost-efficient,” Erwin says.

In addition to DG CORE, DocuGlobal operates its VIPC (variable information programming center), which is staffed with IT pros trained in Xerox programming. The company also offers consulting services that help clients re-engineer to become communication providers, develop internet-driven business models, and capture opportunities in e-commerce and customer relationship management.

To thrive in today’s digital marketplace, Erwin says, print provides need hard-working, skilled people, not just high-tech machines. “At the end of the day, that’s why DocuGlobal is successful—our people,” he says. “We realize that consumers are fickle. They’ll search for better deals and newer ways constantly. They want to be told what you’re doing to keep them as a customer.” One differentiating capability DocuGlobal increasingly markets is its speed. The company has taken data feeds from clients and mailed their digitally printed pieces the next day. “Especially with triggered-event marketing, we don’t have the luxury of waiting 30 or 90 days after gathering data,” Erwin says. “The longer data sits, the more error-prone it becomes. We have to be fast, and we pride ourselves on our time to market.”

Swartz says DocuGlobal’s data and printing know-how helped the company forge a powerful partnership with Vet Met. “DocuGlobal has allowed us to seamlessly incorporate our database applications and analyses into targeted marketing campaigns that really work for our clients. They’ve made direct mail more effective than ever before.”

Darin Painter is managing editor of Print Solutions. Email him your comments at dpainter@DMIA.org.

Online Exclusive: Gaining and Training Clients

Visit Print Solutions’ award-winning web site at www.printsolutionsmag.com and click on “Print Solutions Web Exclusives” to read tips about gaining and training clients from Dave Erwin, vice president of business development at DocuGlobal, Atlanta, and Hank Swartz, DVM, director of business strategy at Veterinary Metrics Inc., Atlanta.