–Posted on behalf of Shelley Sweeney, vice president, Direct Mail and Service Bureau Segment, Xerox Corporation
I attend a LOT of tradeshows, and somewhere between the overpriced food, miles of floor space and achy feet you can uncover some pretty amazing ways to revolutionize your business. Right now I’m in San Diego with Xerox at the Direct Marketing Association annual conference and we have a unique strategy for our booth. For the most part the “boxes” were left at home and instead we’re shining the spotlight on some of our top customers – digital communications services providers that are creating what I call recession-fighters…highly-targeted, customized projects that touch the consumer in a personal, direct way.
It all comes down to results, and we have 16 customers in our booth sharing tales of increased response rates and revenue. Cathedral Corporation – planned and produced a full-color direct-mail marketing program for prospective students of San Antonio-based St. Mary’s University. It was personalized by gender, residency, desired course of study and activities and generated a 40 percent increase in inquiries from interested students!
Ford Motor Company and Budco, a Xerox customer, produced targeted direct-mail pieces for 20,000 F-150 truck owners nearing the end of their original warranties. Pieces were customized by gender, income level and geography and included critical details, such as when an existing warranty expires and financing information. Between personalized photos and data there were more than 40,000 possible combinations. During a market test, customized pieces increased the response rate by nearly 6 percent. More importantly, sales grew 35.7 percent. That’s a pretty amazing number during a recession!
So if you’re in San Diego at DMA swing by the Xerox booth (#2113) and say hello – we might spark your next great marketing campaign. Just remember to wear comfortable shoes.
Shelley Sweeney, vice president, Direct Mail and Service Bureau Segment, Xerox Corporation
