Your business and marketing customers know that personalization is important. In fact, marketing campaigns that include personalization increase conversion by 63%, and more than three-quarters of consumers say that personally relevant content increases the chance that they’ll purchase a brand’s product or service.

The problem is when many marketers think “personalization” they think “email” and not “direct mail.”

Email is, admittedly, faster, cheaper and easier to personalize. But not only does direct mail trounce email in terms of response rate—5.1% for direct mail vs .6% for email—high-speed production inkjet technology also makes personalized direct mail attainable for many businesses. Finally, direct mail has a look of importance that email just can’t match—which makes direct mail more likely to make it past decision-makers’ gatekeepers.

Offer these benefits to your print customers, and you’ll both benefit. Here, Karen Weil, Director of Procurement at the direct mail and direct marketing services company IWCO Direct, offers advice on how to help your customers create personalized direct mail packages that get results.

Know Your Stuff

To sell customers on personalized direct mail, a printer needs to understand—and be able to convey—how it works and how it can drive sales for the customer. “The main benefit of inkjet technology for direct mail is the ability to provide true one-to-one marketing through variable and dynamic content and optimizing postal discounts,” says Weil. “Variable-data printing provides the platform that enables our clients to create highly targeted, personalized communication.”

Offering statistics on the advantages of personalized direct mail over email, such as the stats and facts we cited earlier, can also help sway prospects from their email-centric marketing campaigns.

Give Them the Whole Package

Businesses that are using print as part of their omni-channel strategy may need help developing the print portion of their campaign. IWCO Direct often creates a self-mailing “package” that has the potential to contain an array of items, from forms to brochures. The items are based on the needs of the client, and often include examples of personalized pieces to show off the technology .

Vary the Tech

To help customers get the most impact from their direct mail packages, IWCO Direct uses a mix of printing techniques and technologies. For example, a package may combine shaped envelopes, soft-touch coatings, variable imaging, and a variety of components.

Test, Test, Test

It takes testing to know what combination of components, printing technologies and more will get the best response for customers. “We’re constantly testing the market to see what works and what doesn’t,” says Weil.

Pick the Right Paper

In direct mail, using the right paper is key. “The treated inkjet paper that we use on a regular basis allows us to maintain consistency and efficiency,” said Weil. More than one printer has chosen poorly and ended up with direct mail that doesn’t, well, make it through the  .

A big part of the value IWCO Direct brings customers is the ability to recommend the best paper for their personalized direct mail projects. “They might come in thinking they know what paper is best,” says Weil. “We use our experience to know what combination works best with the art and what they want to convey. The substrate that carries the personalized message needs to match the expectation of the client and consumer. That’s one of many factors used to determine which product will contribute to the success and response rate of the mailing package.”