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Personalized URLs

Beyond the Hype

Publication Date October 2009
Publisher Digital Printing Reports
Product Type Report
Pages 66
ISBN Number not applicable
Product Code DPR00003
Buy this product or for assistance call +44 20 7060 7474

Summary

There is a lot of hype surrounding Personalized URLs these days, but what is the reality behind the hype? Do these applications deliver on the promise? "Personalized URLs: Beyond the Hype" addresses this question. The answer is one that every marketer and 1:1 print provider should take to heart.

Personalized URL applications have a wide variety of uses, including sales prospecting, customer surveying, event registrations, information dissemination, and obtaining customer and user feedback. But while they have generated a lot of success, they have generated a lot of disappointment, too-primarily because of a lack of realistic expectations.

This reports provides a no-nonsense look at the role of personalized URLs and 1:1 printing in increasing the effectiveness of companies' marketing programs. It looks at key application categories, "best in class" case studies, lessons learned over time, and best practices for optimizing their use. Printers and marketers can optimize the value of this report by purchasing an enterprise license for broader marketing and education.

The report is 61 pages, with 18 personalized URL campaign sample images, hypotheticals, and other graphics.

Points are illustrated using best-in-class case studies, hypotheticals, and graphics from actual campaigns in key personalized URL categories, including llead generation, cross-sells and upsells, event registrations, information dissemination, and customer retention and loyalty.

Special emphasis is placed on the importance of changing the way marketers evaluate the cost-effectiveness of print marketing, including a shift to cost per lead, cost per sale, and return on investment.

Report concludes with best practices and strategies for success.

"Personalized URLs: Beyond the Hype," part of the Marketer's Primer Series, is designed as a standalone primer or as a plug-and-play tool for training and education. Licensing enables distribution within your company and, for printers, service providers, and vendors, to existing customers as a training and marketing tool.

Report Quick Stats:

  • 63 pages
  • 18 graphics, including samples from personalized URL campaigns and hypothetical ROI calculations
  • $159.00 single user
  • training and education licenses available for distribution for customer and employee training.

Report Contents:

  • Section 1 looks at the basic nuts and bolts behind personalized URLs. This includes the basic structure, differences between templated and custom applications, and the role played by digital (toner- and inkjet-based) printing technology.
  • Section 2 looks at the primary differentiating factors between personalized URL software solutions and the variety of pricing models used by 1:1 services providers.
  • Section 3 looks at the role of databases, including the use of personalized URLs to turn mailing lists into prospecting databases and the critical need to focus on relevance, not personalization. We also look at some marketers' concerns about personalized URLs, including how they relate to other data-gathering techniques, including website forms.
  • Section 4 looks at case studies from five classifications of personalized URL applications: lead generation, direct sales / cross-sells and upsells, event registrations, information dissemination, and customer retention and loyalty.
  • Section 5 looks at how to evaluate the success of personalized URL campaigns. It looks at the variety of types of "response rates" and key campaign metrics, including conversion, cost per sale, and return on investment.
  • Section 6 looks at best practices for personalized URL campaigns. This includes both those drawn from the case study archives and insights from leading practitioners in the field.

Content

Introduction
What’s in a Name?

Section 1: Personalized URL Basics
Defining Personalized URLs
Personalized URL Mini-Site Structure
Three Sample Campaigns
Role of Digital Printing
Differences From Offset

Section 2: Differentiating Personalized URL Solutions
Critical Trends in Software Development
Primary Areas of Differentiation
Example of Cross-Media Business Rules
Dispelling Myths About Personalized URLs
Emerging Pricing Models

Section 3: Databases and Personalized URLs
Turning Mailing Lists Into Prospecting Databases
Relevance, Not Volume
Gateway to Database Development

Section 4: Case Studies in Personalized URLs
Lead Generation
Direct Sales / Cross-Sells and Upsells
Event Registrations
Customer Retention and Loyalty
Fundraising
Information Dissemination
Marketer’s Primer Series:
Personalized URLs

Section 5: Evaluating Personalized URL Success
Measuring the Benefits of 1:1 Printing
Types of Response Rates
Other Campaign Metrics
Hypothetical ROI From Personalized URLs
Warnings From Failed Campaigns

Section 6: Best Practices for Personalized URL Campaigns
Lessons From the Field
Additional Best Practices

Section 7: Conclusions
For Further Reference
Additional and Upcoming Reports
About Heidi Tolliver-Nigro
Marketer’s Primer Series:
Personalized URLs

TABLE OF GRAPHICS
Sample: Direct Mailer With Personalized URL
Sample: Pages From a Personalized URL Campaign
Sample: Survey Page From a Personalized URL Campaign
Percentage of Printers Offering Personalized URLs
Sample: Taser International Custom Personalized Mini-Site—1
Sample: Taser International Custom Personalized Mini-Site—2
Xerox iGen4
How Does Your “Data Situation” Stack Up?
Sample: TAG Home Health Care Lead Generation Campaign
Sample: Diji Personalized Mailer
Sample: Sage Software Campaign
Sample: HP Educational Services Mailer
Sample: Salt River Project Customer Retention Campaign
Sample: Rocket Dog / Door County Triathlon Personalized Landing Page
Sample: Canon Cross-Sell Campaign
Sample: Friendly Honda House Landing Page
Hypothetical: Impact of Static Direct Mail Program Vs. Personalized URL
Campaign
Sample: Boomerang T-Shirt Incentive

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