For years, routine customer communications like invoices, statements and order confirmations have been regarded as a back office burden. Printing and mailing these documents, often by the tens of thousands, happens every day at the expense of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year… and it’s all regarded as a “sunk cost” of doing business.
But today, organizations are recognizing that standard, daily business communications offer a unique opportunity to connect with customers in new and more profitable ways. But harnessing the promotional and marketing power requires a new mindset; one that embraces the tremendous opportunity routine customer communications provide to communicate, cross-sell and reinforce brand experience. Here are a few factors to consider:
Stand Out
How can you stand out in a media-saturated world? One way is with your routine customer communications. Think about it: Consumers are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages each day, and we’re actively blocking out most of them. But studies show that 98% of consumers pick up their mail the day it’s delivered and spend on average 1 to 3 minutes viewing the contents. This is your opportunity to leverage each “monthly appointment” with your customers. Business communications that are relevant to the consumer and boosted by targeted content will connect with customers and generate new revenue.
Get Noticed
Unlike the majority of advertising competing for our attention, routine customer communications get noticed. This is because statements, invoices and the like have an already existing relationship with each customer. We trust and attend to the content. As a result, you have a unique and often overlooked opportunity for marketers to connect within that trusted relationship to extend the brand experience and leverage untapped up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. Since it can cost six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing one, customer communications surface as important revenue-generating tools.
The Power of Paper
Despite the desire to go “paperless,” the truth is that a majority of customers still prefer to receive their correspondence on paper. Analysts estimate that in 2017 approximately 65% of customer communications still remain in print. Indeed, despite what you might expect, response rates for direct mail have been on the rise and have surged past response rates for e-mail marketing. Companies find that well-designed and fully integrated printed correspondence is indeed an important and vital opportunity for marketers to connect with customers and overcome the electronic clutter.
Take Action
In today’s info-intense world, standard business communications and routine customer correspondence are an overlooked advantage. But it takes the right approach and the right technology to get it done. That’s where we come in. Our flagship solution, DocOrigin, is an innovative and affordable way to take advantage of business correspondence in new and more profitable ways. Want to find out more about how DocOrigin can help your company? Just call 678.408.1245 or click here to schedule a free consultation.