Streamowrks Blog
Regarding direct mail, the phrase "variable data" gets thrown out quite a bit. But what does it mean?
Variable Data Printing, or VDP, is an automated process that allows you to fully customize the marketing pieces that you print for each recipient. You may be using VDP already and not even realize it!
Using VDP is a great way to save costs AND leave a lasting impression with your donors when it comes to nonprofits. It allows you to customize your message for each segment you have, such as major donors, new donors, lapsed donors, and prospects.
Data processing can assist you in this process by cleaning up your existing data to ensure that the addresses you have for your donors are accurate and formatted correctly for USPS®.
What are other benefits of using VDP? Some statistics include:
• 32% increase in revenue
• Increase direct mail response rate by 300-600%
It's not just customized name and address fields that you can swap out with VDP. For example, in the case of appeal campaigns, you may want to swap out images and stories for what donation dollars are doing to aid your nonprofit's work by matching the messaging to your segment.
You can also incorporate VDP into your digital strategies by including QR codes to custom landing pages as part of your direct mail strategy.
Another method you can use to measure the ROI of your direct mail piece would be to set up a custom tracking number that is added to your campaign using VDP.
To stay up-to-date on digital marketing tactics for your organization, we encourage you to follow The Buzz: a LinkedIn page that focuses exclusively on nonprofit education, best practices, and tips.
