Increasing Response Rates and ROI with Personalized URLs

By Judy Berlin, VP Worldwide Marketing, XMPie

10 tips for boosting your marketing campaigns with personalized landing pages

When Time Magazine Europe needed assistance in moving from a manual postal mail-based subscription process to harnessing the potential of an online order system they turned to Latcham Direct, a UK-based company providing direct mail, cross media, document management and print management services.

In the past, Time Magazine’s subscription method had relied on a time-consuming and expensive system whereby customers manually completed and mailed order forms through the postal system.  Critically, this system did not offer the customer a positive or efficient brand experience and was a missed opportunity in brand loyalty building. When planning their next campaign, Time Magazine chose Latcham Direct’s alternative strategy which was to implement a cross media campaign powered by XMPie that streamlined the subscription process by utilizing Personalized URLs (PURLs).

Results far exceeded Time Magazine’s goals and this success has led Time Magazine to engage Latcham Direct to run the campaign twice more.  Latcham’s application of the online ordering process via PURLs proved to be a success story for many reasons aside from boosting response rates. Sign-ups and payments were completed faster and at lower cost to Time Magazine as the delay and expense caused by mailing back and manually processing the orders was eliminated. The PURLs made the subscription process quicker and easier and, along with the additional personalized design features and the inclusion of a targeted special offer, enhanced customer experience and perception of Time Magazine as a trusted brand.

Latcham’s cross-media approach, resulted in online responses increasing from 30 per cent to 50 per cent over the duration of the campaign which resulted in significant cost savings. In fact, to date, the campaign has reached nearly 3 million potential subscribers in the UK and has continued its success, with a conversion rate of nearly 75 per cent for recipients who visited their PURL. 

This successful Time Magazine subscription campaign demonstrates how Personalized URLs are an excellent way to increase response rates and Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI).  In fact any marketer looking to engage and build a long-term relationship with their customers should consider PURLs. Here are a few tips to get started:

1. Use Clean Data – Target prospects either by using a robust current customer database or by buying qualified data that matches your target market.
2. Relevance – Offer your prospects products or services that are personally relevant to them.
3. Simple Format Display – PURLs should not be too long or complicated.
4. Mobile Friendly – PURLs must be responsively designed for access from any device.
5. Limit Data Display – Don’t creep out your prospects by displaying too much personal data or asking prospects to provide unnecessary details.  Limit display and requirement fields.
6. Strong Call-to-Action – Must be worth the customer’s time- special offers or discounts are ideal
7. Track Results – Use software that allows you to monitor and analyze results in real time, and adjust and adapt your campaign accordingly.
8. Consistent PURL Generation – Use software which ensures that PURLs and their encoded QR codes are consistent with the rest of the design and are generated with the same tools as other personalized elements.
9. Think Ahead – Strategically design your PURL to reap long-term results and help you to better understand your prospect’s preferences and requirements for the next campaign.
10. Other Options – Remember that not everyone will harness the power of their PURL – don’t forget to include other response options such as call centers, general web landing pages, email addresses or social media

This article was first published in GreensheetBIZ, a publication edited for senior industry executives in printing, publishing and converting industries, as well as educators and suppliers to these fields. During its 45 year history, GreensheetBIZ has chronicled the full spectrum of print’s evolution. GreensheetBIZ, which is published 2x a month, is a division of the OutputLinks Communications Group.