The many uses of Personalisation

Personalisation in what you do as a business is a powerful tool. It about making the customer feel that they are a person to you and not just another ‘consumer.’ Personalisation is more than that – it is also putting a human face to the business so the customers can relate to you and what you do on a more personal level. It is ultimately about building a personal connection between the customer and the business. The recent “Share a Coke with …” campaign illustrates the power of this (even if it is on a mass market level) so well. Who wouldn’t want a can of Coke with your name on it?

Personalisation can be supported by printed products in many ways, including: 

• Stationery and promotional items customised for each staff member
• Seasonal items with your customer’s name on them
• Direct mail that not only embeds the reader’s name, but also includes paragraphs and images tailored to that reader’s needs
• Small run promotional items targeted for special events or groups.

We have already talked about personalisation in our previous blogs. When you have finished reading this one why not look at Connect with your Customers. This month we want to talk about how you should use personalisation to put a ‘human face’ on the things you do. Modern print technology is more flexible than ever, allowing for the generation of uniquely customised for runs of products for just one or one thousand for a reasonable cost. Given this flexibility, why limit yourself to just generic products with your logo and text on it when you can make it do so much more.

The question is then, how do you make things more personalised?

Think about business cards: they are standardised item that contains contact information unique to each person within the business. Businesses with more than about 2 staff don’t try to have everyone on one card (that looks tacky and cheap) so they end up printing business cards for each staff member. You can apply that same method to note and quotation pads, visitor cards, address labels, or invoice books.

Small run printing is great for making items to target special events or groups. Why give out pens and pads that just say ‘Joe Blogs & Co’ when you can say ‘Proudly supplied by Joe Blogs & Co to Bolt & Screw Con 2014’? Never let a single bit of paper escape your business without your business details on it. Every bit of generic copy paper is another opportunity to promote your business missed. That same rule can also be applied to every package shipped, every worksite seen from the street, every pen left behind or item inspection card. Why not embed details about the customers and the times when they should be doing important things that you supply services for in a calendar or wall planner to remind them.

Let’s talk about a real world example: We all have gotten those calendars from our suppliers or people we do business with. You know the type – a simple generic design that had a business’s logo and text printed in an empty space on the page long after the original printing had been done. I’ve seen one where the business details printed on a strip of paper that is glued on to the bottom of the cardboard desk calendar stand. While it’s nice to get them, it feels all too impersonal and generic.

Now let’s look at what we at Copy Express can do with personalisation for calendars. Why use generic landscapes, paintings, or stock art when you can give us photos of your business in action or of things and events that relate to it instead. Don’t just have the normal holidays marked on each month, make notes of events your business is involved in or tie back to what you do. Do you have agents who represent you, why not have the calendars printed with their contact details along with the businesses. Want to send them out directly to the client, then we can add each customer’s details during the printing, so they get one that is uniquely their own. All of this can be done with some setup design, a bit of planning, and the use of such tools as Variable Data Printing. What you get in return is a unique calendar that markets your business in a more effective way because it is more personal to your and your business – and hopefully to your customer.

Where can you go from that one example? Sky’s the limit and you don’t even have to stick with traditional paper products either. With the rise of on demand rapid replication technologies like 3D printers, you can even start making small run items that have a physical branding, like a mobile phone stand with your logo and contact details on it.

Another common example we do every year (more on this next month) is Christmas Cards.  Sure – we can print you a bunch of cards with your logo on the back, but we can go further.  We can embed the name of the business inside and the name of the owner, as well as a short personal message.  We send these out to local Petone businesses each year and get amazing comments back from people who really appreciate the personal touch.

So have we peaked your interest in what can be done with personalisation? Give us a call on 04 5688773 or an email to book a time so we can discuss it in more detail and come up with a plan that suits you.