By Denise Davert, Elixir

Moving all correspondence to electronic is tempting because of the cost savings. However, this may not be the best approach for most companies.

We all get too many alerts, notifications and, in particular, email, so an electronic method may not be the best option to get a new customer's attention. If they are not familiar with your company, then they may not open your email or worse, they do open it only to unsubscribe. That of course means you cannot contact them using email again. Yikes!

One good use of print, it would seem, may be for the very first point of contact to acquire new customers or introduce your products to a wider audience. Of course, the goal is to drive people to the most economical method for communication and you can do that in your printed mailing.

Just as printing is finding its place among the multi-channels, so are electronic methods. There is no “one best method” of contact --- each has its place.

Paper and ‘e’ Can Work Together
Here’s an example of how paper and online can work together to build your audience of potential customers.

1. Use an "Opt In’ model over a ‘Buy Now’ model as your Call to Action.
2. Your printed promotion offers a discount code to registered customers. People can register for the code in one of two ways:
   • Register online, or,
   • Register via a return postcard via the mail --- postage paid, of course.
3. Following the Opt In approach, the urgency is focused primarily on registering for the code and less on redeeming it. They must register within a short amount of time however the code itself should be valid for a longer period. This way, customers who may not need your product right away will still be more likely to stay engaged and accept future notifications from you. This gives you time to promote a wider variety of your products and services.

At this point you have three segments to your database, which allows you to spend money with the highest return.

First, you can start saving paper and postage immediately by sending your promotions electronically to the people who have registered online.

Second, you can make informed decisions about the cost to continue print. Customers who have replied they prefer paper are good investments as long as they (eventually!) purchase. And, of course, that needs to be tracked.

Finally, for people who do not respond at all, you can decide how many more promotions to print and send. At the least, you might decide to suspend their printed offer or send an alternate promotion later.

In this scenario, the printed correspondence may be the way to get new customers to engage and then transition them to less expensive (and more effective) correspondence methods.

But you have to get their attention first!

Elixir hosts a webinar on this topic titled The Role of Print in a Multichannel World. Register at www.tango.elixir.com/webinars or visit our homepage for more on Elixir www.tango.elixir.com.