The aim with any marketing campaign is a high return on investment. The good news is there are some simple but essential steps you can take to boost your print ROI and reach your desired outcome, whether that’s lead generation or sales.

1. Get your targeting right

The best offer in the world is going to bomb in front of the wrong audience. Planning is everything – make sure your campaign targets the right audience. It is critical to think through what success looks like for your campaign: how much revenue do you want to generate, how many new leads are you aiming for, how much product do you want to shift?

Your audience consists of the people who have a problem you can solve, and who will pay you money to solve it. To get the most out of your print ROI make sure you know who these people are and build your campaign around them, their needs, their language and their lifestyle.

2. Be relevant

Don’t sell Christmas decorations in July (unless you’re in the B2B market and selling to the hospitality industry). Focus on what your target will be interested in at the launch of your campaign.

Customers respond well to seasonal offers, and that goes for how you are presenting as well as what you are selling. Tie-in colours and format to the season or high profile events such as Wimbledon to attract attention.

Research trends and insights to predict what will be playing on your audience’s minds, which might not always match the season. For example – February might not be the best time to take a holiday, but it’s when thoughts turn to sun, after the excitement of Christmas has worn off and people are sick of winter gloom. Which makes it a great time for holiday promotions.

3. Make it easy for them

If you are asking customers to visit a store or outlet, make it easy for them to get there, with a simple map or sat nav friendly address .

And make it easy for them to say yes. Use clear copy to spell out exactly how your product or service will make their lives better. Then make it even easier for them to hand over cash or data by offering incentives, such as a discount or an early bird bonus.

4. Be valuable

Offer a solution to your target’s problem; while you’re in their hands and you have their attention, help them. A promotional postcard is nice, a promotional postcard with a discount card, industry insight or an irresistible invitation is even better.

Build trust and credibility by being as valuable as possible, increasing the likelihood your target will act, and improving your print ROI. If you can personalise the value – even better (see below).

5. Personalise, personalise, personalise

Variable printing allows you to personalise beyond the basics. Address your target by name, rather than ‘valued customer’ – research shows that this makes a huge difference to your print ROI, with a recent study finding that 98% of recipients prefer their mail to be personalised.

Variable data printing also enables you to further segment within your main campaign, focussing your offer to suit the demographic, location or purchasing history within your target audience. Your lead will feel like more than just one of many and will be more inclined to say yes.

6. Clean your data

Dirty data is expensive. Royal Mail research suggests it could cost UK businesses as much as 6% of their annual revenues. So don’t launch a campaign without a data cleanse first.

Get rid of duplicate or incomplete records, make sure your opt-outs are removed and enlist professional services to check that you are not mailing the deceased or people who have moved house. As well as being wasteful, landing in the wrong mailbox can damage your brand.

7. Integrate with digital and call campaigns

Cross-pollinating across digital and print is a massive win for your print ROI. Use QR codes to drive your target to websites or social campaigns with no fuss, reinforcing your brand statement both in the digital and real worlds.

Use outbound calls to follow-up on your print campaign. Outbound call centres can double response rates by reminding your target of your offer and prompting them to take action.

Looking to make more of your print? Get in touch for a no obligations chat with our creative team to see how we can help boost the effectiveness of your designs.