I’m a sucker for personalized anything. There’s the coffee mug with a huge M that Jacob gave me for Christmas last year. A personalized jigsaw puzzle of my address in Madison, NJ, where I grew up (Your Hometown Map Puzzle, available through LL Bean, too). And this sweet product tag from a fundraiser I attended recently, which just happened to be calling my name. I couldn’t throw the tag out – but the dog chew toy to which it was attached has already been shredded by Charlie.

The point is simple: I love seeing my name on products. It’s totally magnetic. I just wish more marketers got personalization right on print materials.

Make sure the name is correct, and you’re not using someone’s last name when you should be using their first. “Dana, are you planning for your dream retirement?” is a piece that would get tossed posthaste.

Highly personalized full-color direct mail typically generates a 6.5% response rate (Melissa Data), as compared to non-personalized direct mail, which usually gets a 2% response rate. That’s a radical difference.

Every year, right around my birthday, I get special, personalized print offers from a few retailers with whom I do business – Anthropologie, Coach, Staples, and Ann Taylor come to mind. Email offers arrive around the same time from personal service companies I use, like my hairdresser and massage therapist. These are all very effective. Often, an offer is integrated among several channels, like print + email + telephone.

The offer has to be compelling enough, that’s a fact. It has to be a great deal for me. Adding my name and even referring to previous purchases makes it all the more relevant. Throw in a clever design with fantastic copy, and I’m hooked. Have the images reflect where I live or shop – or relate them somehow, in some way, to me – and you’ve hit a home run.

Margie Latte

Want my attention? Include the word “Margie” or “Margaret,” for starters. Just make sure the entire message is compelling, relevant, and meaningful to me. If it’s printed or an email, make sure there are no typos or bad grammar.

I even had a personalized latte, once – printed on an inkjet printer.

Do you have any good (or bad examples) of personalized direct mail you’d care to share? I’d love to see them and hear why they worked – or failed.

© 2013 Margie Dana. All rights reserved.