Getting Personal: A Lesson Learned from Genesis Direct
This was my first time visiting Genesis Direct headquarters. While it was a beautiful building, I saw things you might expect – a lobby, a receptionist, a couch, some magazines… and a sign with my name that welcomed me to the company…
Wait … what?
Ah, the sign! It took me by surprise at first, but it made me feel special and predisposed me for my meeting with Mike McNally, Genesis Direct’s Senior Account Executive!
Mike talked with passion about the entire work process at Genesis Direct, from the idea all the way to mailing with the USPS in their building. Let’s not forget the 3 H-P Indigo 10000 Digital Presses that are the showcase of the entire plant. These digital presses are still a rarity in direct mail marketing because of their price and because they are so new, but they are the key to variable data printing. Speaking of optimization and customization; on a single sheet you can image nine large cards at a time, and each and every card is unique to the individual—the graphics, the offers, etc.
He also talked about PURLs (not pearls) and QR codes, and multi-channel marketing and everything else that the company does. PURLS or personal URLs are microsites that could carry the name of the client and contain information that is specific to that particular person or company. The same applies to QR codes and Mike provides a thorough explanation in his YouTube video. All these, together with the print machines and the welcome sign are tools that have one main purpose – personalization.
So let’s go back to the welcome sign. I felt special and welcomed and that is what matters in today’s marketing world. I saw my name, where I come from and who is welcoming me. It was personal and sincere but most of all … it was very relevant to the Genesis approach. Through their work, Mike showed me how one should know as much as possible about the customers in order to speak in a relevant way.
Data drives the touch, so try to obtain as much transactional data from your client as possible. It will help you with your acquisition, cross sell, upsell and retention initiatives. Whether B2B or B2C – try to learn as much as you can about your customers; know their demographics; know what they like; know the specifics of the area they live; consider what might be their struggles; find out what they just bought so you can predict their next logical purchase, etc.
From knowing their first name, to understanding local area point-to-point driving route maps, to speaking to the customer in personalized way; all of it has an impact on the customer.
The bottom line is, do your homework and then use what you learn to make someone feel welcome if you want to trigger action.
About the Author:
Fany Georgieva
In 2006 Fany landed in Florida straight from Bulgaria and brought with her two Bachelor’s degrees – Broadcast Journalism and Film Production. With such diverse, yet related academic background, she decided the right thing to do was to get a Master’s degree in “something similar”. So, she graduated from the University of South Florida with her Master’s in Strategic Communications. Currently, Fany is a Production Assistant at AVI-SPL Creative Show Services and is constantly on a quest for learning and gaining professional knowledge to establish herself in the field of Communications.