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Are you ready for transactional print’s transformative evolution?

Transactional print is undergoing a transformative evolution. Razor sharp relevance and real time responsiveness can now be combined to create highly targeted communications.

Ninety-one per cent of transactional print buyers already include targeted marketing and customer service messages in bills and invoices, found NAPCO Research’s the Production Inkjet Application Revolution.*

The next evolution is transactional direct marketing. It shares personalized, highly targeted, mail pieces when specific actions or events are undertaken in a customer’s journey such as purchase confirmations, account updates, or reminders. One example of this is when mail is triggered by an abandoned online shopping basket.

Powering successful transactional direct marketing are:

• Hyper personalization using data and analytics that create communications tailor made for each recipient. This can be a discount just for them, a promotion in response to feedback or a message that recognizes their interests. Personalization is a cornerstone of success, according to Keypoint Intelligence’s 2024 North American Consumer Communication Business Survey of 501 executives responsible for direct marketing and transactional communication activities projects. It found 69 per cent of businesses are tailoring communications through versioning.
• Artificial intelligence that is increasingly shaping how marketers plan, execute, and analyze campaigns. It is helping communications become more dynamic and data driven by responding in real time with smarter targeting and enhanced personalization. Following analysis of performance data campaigns can be adjusted.
• Interactivity that uses QR codes, augmented reality, and personalized URLs to grab attention and encourage people to take action. They connect physical mail and the digital world.
• The omnichannel approach that combines transactional direct mail with other marketing channels to create a seamless experience. It reaches people in the right way, at the right time, to achieve the most effective connection. AI-powered personalization helps develop custom content while behavioural targeting tracks customer behaviour and a unified brand experience ensures consistent messaging across all platforms.

At the same time many businesses and consumers prefer printed transactional documents to digital alternatives because of their tangible nature, security, and reliability. They also value its:

1. Trust and credibility – Printed statements and invoices often carry more perceived legitimacy than digital versions, reducing the risk of fraudulent activity and enhancing customer trust.
2. Personalization and customer engagement –For businesses, personalizing transactional documents with targeted messages, offers, and relevant information, turns routine communications into marketing opportunities. Often relevant, paid for, third party marketing is included and compensates for some of the printing costs. This is also referred to as transpromo.
3. Regulatory compliance -Industries, such as finance, healthcare, and insurance, require printed documentation for compliance and record keeping purposes.
4. Ability to combat digital fatigue – For those experiencing digital overload, physical documents for important communications are preferred. They are retained too. JICMAIL’s latest figures report the average lifespan in the home for business mail before it is filed or thrown away is now 8.7 days. For direct mail it is 7.4 days.
5. Accessibility – Printed statements are more accessible to customers with limited digital access.

These are among the reasons why transactional direct mail will continue to remain a valuable communication channel for businesses looking to connect more effectively with their customers. It is a medium that builds loyalty, engenders trusts, and strengthens relationships. NAPCO Research went on to say digital printing’s ability to incorporate customized content is revitalizing transactional documents.

* The Production Inkjet Application Revolution is based on survey responses of 219 North American print providers (both commercial printers and inplants), 167 communication buyers and influencers involved in purchasing or influencing print, and five in depth interviews with print providers that invested in production inkjet. 

Sander Sondaal is director, commercial print sales, Ricoh Graphic Communications, Ricoh Europe