Getting personal with customers–real personal—requires data. Research proves that companies generate faster rates of revenue growth when they excel at demonstrating customer intimacy. The closer organizations get to each consumer, the bigger the gains reports management consultancy McKinsey & Co.

• Personalization matters today, perhaps more than ever! The COVID-19 virus and the surge in digital behaviors raised the bar. Note: Three of every four consumers switched to a new store, product, or buying method during the pandemic.
• Over 70% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions–and 76% get frustrated when this does not happen.
• Personalization drives performance and better customer outcomes. Companies that grow faster drive 40% more of their revenue from personalization than their slower-growing peer counterparts.

(Source: McKinsey’s Next in Personalization Report)

Software automation tools from developers like CHILI Publish and XMPie allow print service providers (PSPs) to leverage the power of personalization for their clients in creative ways. However, doing so at scale and on demand requires robust support from solutions such as the AccuConnect and AccuLync platforms. These Tecra products integrate tightly to bring personalization to scalable, retail marketing, which is witnessing a revolution as businesses tap into shopper data to bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping experiences.

Seamless interactions, personalized experiences, localization down to an individual store-based level–all this detail is produced faster than ever. CHILI Publish automates multichannel production for communications printed point-of-sale (POS) as well as for online digital ads. With Tecra’s assistance, marketers can eliminate the need for multiple eCommerce storefronts. They can sell complex printed output and automate backend print/fulfillment processes.

Tecra AccuLync:

• makes designs more flexible
• builds and easily deploys eCommerce templates
• consolidates and sorts jobs to achieve economies of scale and postal discounts
• streamlines kitting and assembly
• tracks everything from order to delivery

Variable Content, Too

Variable-data print (VDP) elements are enhanced by solutions from XMPie Technology, such as uCreate Print, with which Tecra also integrates. XMPie leverages the power of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, allowing marketers to add personalization with the uCreate Print Plugin to InDesign. uCreate Print also seamlessly connects to the uProduce server, working directly with documents to produce high-speed, high-volume output.

For multimedia integration, XMPie adds personalization to more channels. Seamless integration is supported by its proprietary Automatic Dynamic Object Replacement (ADOR) technology and PersonalEffect architecture. These features ensure customer dialogs are in sync at all times and across all touchpoints. XMPie’s uImage offering personalizes images for print, email, and the web, creating stunning variable and data-driven, photo-realistic images/graphics. Designers working in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator can produce powerful, visually rich, personalized image and graphic templates and easily embed them into print and/or digital documents.

Marketers can work smarter and consolidate their efforts on a single platform with Tecra’s robust asset-management system. AccuConnect enhances productivity and unites teams, including sales reps, dealers, agents, creatives, and agencies. Working in tandem with XMPie and CHILI, AccuConnect allows users to:

• create, organize, and locate digital assets
• receive notifications when new content is available
• personalize and merge orders to achieve economies of scale
• integrate the supply chain for advanced kitting and fulfillment

2 Real-World Examples

B2C multi-level marketing case study: This direct-selling customer, which relies on a network of 20,000 consultants to sell products at home parties, needed to enable representatives to customize and send branded marketing materials via direct mail and email.

Patient marketing case study: To better serve clients and maximize the ROI on expensive medical devices such as CAT scans, hospitals must raise awareness of their capabilities to provide mammograms, dialysis, and other time-sensitive services. To enable hospitals to generate specific targeted messages to new and existing customers, a leading provider of medical consulting services engaged Tecra to design a process to use information compiled about patients, outcomes, and profitability.

Personalization is No Longer Optional

“Personalization is not only a crucial capability, it’s one that punches above its weight–no matter whether the company is a digital native, a brick-and-mortar player, or a behind-the-scenes producer or supplier,” conclude McKinsey’s researchers. “Consumers don’t just want personalization; they demand it. With store and product loyalty more elusive, getting it right matters.”