realbusinessThe Xerox magazine for real business results

Fall 2012

InfoTrends weighs in on multichannel marketingPage 20

5 Tips to Get Closer to Your Customers Page 9

Passionate about customers new president Jeff Jacobson shares his viewsPage 8

What’s new @ Graph? See for yourselfBe our guest. Register today: www.xerox.com/graphregistrationPage 6

Jeff Sierra, Vice President, Marketing and Product Development, Budco

Budco and Ford Drive Results With 1 to 1 Marketing

Page 10

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Welcome to our special Graph Expo 2012 issue.

“Be in front of your customers, understand where they’re going and align your business around that.”

Those are the words of Jeff Jacobson, President of Xerox Global Graphic Communications Operations. If you are attending Graph Expo 2012, you’ll see Jeff put those words into action as he makes his way around the tradeshow floor to hear firsthand what customers are saying.

Jeff understands that staying close to your customers is not just a courtesy or a feel-good gesture. It’s good business. It’s real business. And it’s the only way to truly understand the challenges that our customers are facing right now—so we can more effectively align their needs with the right solutions to move their business forward.

This special issue of RealBusiness magazine contains many more examples of how Xerox is dedicated to staying close to our customers to help them succeed. In between all of the great events at Graph Expo 2012, I urge you to spend a few moments reading them. I think you will be impressed and inspired to learn how all of us at Xerox are working closely with companies like yours to help you reduce costs, delight your customers and grow your business.

Finally, if you see Jeff Jacobson on the tradeshow floor, be sure to say hello. And don’t hesitate to let him know about your needs. He—like the rest of us at Xerox—is ready to help you get down to real business.

Enjoy the show!

Sincerely,

Ursula M. Burns Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Xerox Corporation

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Features

06 Focus on where your business needs to go. Xerox at Graph Expo 2012, Booth 1200 By Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh

08 Passionate About Customers A few words with Jeff Jacobson

09 5 Proven Ways to Increase Customer Intimacy

By Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh

10 Focus on the customer drives continued growth in Budco’s 30th year. Detroit-area firm has evolved from local printer and distributor for the auto industry into a diversified nationwide provider of end-to-end solutions. By Shelley Sweeney

Features

14 Direct Mail Huge Business for Real Estate Market By Diana Salgado

16 Innovative solutions and strong relationships keep Seshaasai’s customers—and their customers—delighted.

18 Harnessing the Power of Big Data Volkswagen bank delivers personalized campaigns, Thanks to PSP. By Bill Parker

20 The SMB Market: Small Scale, Giant Opportunity By Lisa Cross and Stephanie Pieruccini

23 Gaining an Edge Through an Elite Network: the Xerox Premier Partners By Mary Roddy

Table of Contents

realbusiness

Send comments or suggestions for RealBusiness Magazine to: RBmagazine@xerox.com

RealBusiness is published to inform and educate graphic arts and information technology executives, in-house printing professionals, and marketing and finance executives about the power and value of networked digital documents through digital printing.

Reprints are available through FosteReprints at 866-879-9144. Copyright ©2012 by RB Publishing Inc. All rights are reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to RealBusiness, RB Publishing Inc., or its staff becomes the property of RB Publishing Inc. Advertisements in this magazine do not constitute an endorsement by RB Publishing Inc. or Xerox. The articles in this magazine represent the views of the authors and not those of RB Publishing Inc. and Xerox. RB Publishing Inc. and Xerox expressly disclaim any liability for the products or services sold or otherwise endorsed by other vendors included in this magazine. ©2012 Xerox Corporation. All Rights Reserved. XEROX®, XEROX and Design®, DocuColor®, iGen4®, Ready for Real Business®, Xerox Nuvera®, CiPress™ and iGen™ are trademarks of or licensed to Xerox Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

The Publishing TeamPublisher Chad Griepentrog

Editor Ann Moscicki

Managing Editor Amanda Al

Advertising Ken Waddell

ken.w@rbpub.com

608-422-5064

Circulation Rachel Spahr

Design Kelli Cooke

Xerox Creative Services Tim Dodd and Liz Weller

RB Publishing Inc. 2901 International Lane Madison, WI 53704-3128 Phone: 608-241-8777 Fax: 608-241-8666 Email: rbpub@rbpub.com Web: www.rbpub.com

Published by RB Publishing in affiliation with Xerox Global Experiential Marketing 800 Phillips Road Webster, NY 14580 www.xerox.com

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Focus where your business needs to go.Xerox at Graph Expo 2012Booth 1200 ... by Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh

2012 realbusiness · 7

Let’s talk about your biggest challenges.Anyone who manages a printing business knows what it’s like to have your attention divided between daily operations and strategizing for the future. As the graphic communications industry continues to evolve and experience major economic and technical upheaval, Xerox is here to help.

Bring your challenges to Xerox Booth 1200. From strategies for winning new customers to getting closer to existing customers, we can discuss new ways to help your business focus on achieving more growth and headed in a better direction.

Can’t come to Graph? Send an email to me at BethAnn.Kilberg-Walsh@xerox.com. Let me know what your business challenges are.

New digital technology solution announcements at Graph:

• The new Xerox® iGen™ 150 Press raises the bar for production color digital. The iGen 150 builds on the outstanding features of iGen4® EXP, such as Matte Dry Ink and 660 mm sheet size, and adds more speed for enhanced productivity. The new 2400 x 2400 dpi laser enables the faster speed of the iGen 150 with similar quality you can expect from an iGen4®.

• Xerox Nuvera® EA Production Systems offer all the capabilities needed to wrap up every job professionally: outstanding monochrome imaging quality, a range of highly efficient speeds, power, productivity, modularity and a wide range of finishing options.

• IntegratedPLUS Automated Finishing Solution for booklets—the convenience of automatic inline combined with the flexibility of automatic offline finishing options enables customers to produce more jobs with full asset utilization.

• The Clearly More Personal Program enables printers to differentiate their business and enhance customer success using relevant communication materials that have the winning combination of variable text and images added to the attention-grabbing and visually appealing effects of Clear Dry Ink.

“ We’re at Graph Expo to get even closer to print service providers, understand their needs, to help them reduce costs, produce more jobs, delight customers and grow their business. Given the fast-paced changes in the graphic communications industry, I expect to be in many lively show floor conversations focused on the innovations customers want.”

– Jeff Jacobson President, Xerox Global Graphics Communications

Executive Booth TourJoin us at 1:00 p.m. daily for a 45-minute Xerox booth tour. We’ll cover new technologies, solutions and business development programs you won’t want to miss.

Reserve your space today. For details, email William.Michael@xerox.com.

Register with Xerox for your free show pass.Your free show pass gives you access to Graph Expo and an array of activities targeted at sparking business growth. It includes admission to the RealBusiness Live! Xerox Keynote, Monday, October 8 @ 11:30 a.m. Register today at www.xerox.com/graphregistration. Space is limited; you won’t want to miss this show!

Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh is vice president, marketing communications and segment marketing, Xerox Corporation, bethann.kilberg-walsh@xerox.com

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Passionate About CustomersA few words with Jeff JacobsonPresident, Xerox Global Graphic Communications Operations

of us to understand that everyone touches the customer in some way. I want them to ask themselves, “If my mother owned a print shop, would I tell her to pick us as her exclusive supplier?” If not, we’d better do something about it.

I’m here at Xerox to clear away the structural barriers and enable our team to do what each of them does best— meet customer needs in one way or another. I want to align our management structures so that sales people can get to the people at the top quickly to react to customer problems…that day if possible.

RB: How do you stay close to customers?

JJ: Xerox collects a lot of voice of customer data, and I pay attention to that. I also believe in getting unfiltered information by spending time in the field, speaking to as many customers as I can. Graph Expo is a great example. I’ll be out on the tradeshow floor every minute I can, shaking hands and listening to customers.

RB: Any final thoughts?

JJ: I want people to know how charged up I am to be here. With Xerox, the GC industry can look to a growing organization whose leadership mission is to keep customers at the forefront. That’s a win-win.

Reaction to the new Graphic Communication Group Organization

We have more effective and more efficient top-down and bottom-up strategic and operational communication with the new Xerox GC organization, which is to everyone’s benefit.

– Richard Lowe, President and Chief Operating Officer Franchise Services, Inc.

While we have always valued the support that Xerox has provided, we are particularly happy now to have the benefit of Jeff Jacobson’s market insights and leadership as we continue to grow.

– Roy Grossman, Partner MSP Digital Marketing

RealBusiness Magazine (RB): Jeff, you joined the company in February 2012, following senior leadership roles at Kodak and Presstek. What attracted you to Xerox?

Jeff Jacobson (JJ): Xerox offered an opportunity that matched up with my personal values, which are to be in front of your customers, to understand where they’re going and to align your business around that.

This tracks with our new Graphic Communications (GC) group organizational structure that puts the focus back on customers’ end to end needs. For the first time in history, we’ve got the whole customer cycle in one organization, from marketing intelligence to R&D to product development and manufacturing to sales, service and support.

RB: What do you bring to Xerox and its GC customer base?

JJ: I’ve been in this industry for 25 years. I believe you have to live for your customers and earn the business every day. I want all

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5 Proven Ways to Increase Customer Intimacy ... by Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh

Especially today, getting close to customers and helping them be successful are more important than ever. They’re also some of the best sources for generating new revenue. Given just how important happy customers are to all of us, RealBusiness magazine set out to document the top 5 ways for you to not only get close to your customers—but stay there.

1. Consistent Customer Contact

As they say, showing up in life is often half the battle. Many printers today are placing more emphasis on and formalizing a plan for more consistent contact with their customers.

Best Practice Examples:

• Assigning account service people on customer location sites for major accounts

• Plan, reward and budget for consistent customer contact and relationship building

• Develop an e-communications touchpoint strategy, promoting value-added offerings

2. Learn your customer’s business.

We’ve all had to do a better job knowing our customer’s business in the new economy, but what does that mean today? It’s moving beyond just being able to talk the lingo. It’s understanding very specific customer pain points and business objectives.

Best Practice Example:

• Understand customer demographics and patterns.

• Budco, a leading fulfillment and direct marketing organization, took it’s data expertise to the next level (see article on page 10).

“ Over time, as the world has become more data driven, we’ve built a pretty high level of expertise around it and how it’s best applied to our individual clients.”

– Jeff Sierra Vice President, Budco

3. Become an industry.

Today, printers are studying their customer’s industries in greater detail and across various new dimensions. It’s a way for printers to provide insight, as well as tailor applications to specific needs.

New ways to provide insight and value:

• Government regulation and requirements

• Customer demographics and psychographics

• Media consumption patterns and usage (e.g., provide knowledge on where customers get information)

4. Sync-up your systems.

Integrate your systems with your customers and their end-users. This not only improves retention but drives annuity revenue.

Best Practice Examples:

• Provide custom client websites for online ordering

• Integrate data and MIS for online access and reporting of mission critical data

5. Find a problem to solve.

When was the last time someone walked into your office with a solution to one of your major business challenges? These suggestions can work wonders and, over, time can become a strategic differentiator for what defines your print shop.

Best Practice Example:

“ We sit down with customers once a quarter and say, ‘What are your pain areas.’ And work together to make improvements.”

– Harish S. Mayya National Head, Business Development Seshaasai

Building long-term, loyal customer relationships has been at the center of what Xerox is all about. Leveraging some of these tips can help you build closer relationships with your customers, too.

Beth Ann Kilberg-Walsh is vice president, marketing communications and segment marketing, Xerox Corporation, bethann.kilberg-walsh@xerox.com

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Detroit-area firm has evolved from local printer and distributor for the auto industry into a diversified nationwide provider of end-to-end solutions. ... by Shelley Sweeney

When Budco opened new headquarters in 2000, the firm consolidated multiple locations into a 362,000 square-foot facility in Highland Park, Mich., large enough to accommodate five years of growth.

A year and a half later, they outgrew it and purchased an additional 202,000 square-foot facility next door.

Growth is the norm at Budco, a leading fulfillment and direct marketing organization. Except for flat performance during the recession in 2008, the firm has achieved annual double-digit growth for more than a decade, some organically, some from acquisitions. And 2012 is on track to maintain the streak.

How do they do it? “We’ve always been a customer-led organization,” explained Jeff Sierra, vice president of marketing and product development. “We focus on clearly understanding what our customers’ needs are today and also anticipate what they will be in the future so we can develop innovative, custom solutions to meet those needs.”

Budco recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with three days of events for customers and employees. Here’s the story of how they grew from a 15-person print and fulfillment shop almost exclusively serving the Big Three auto makers to a diversified provider of end-to-end solutions with 500 employees at facilities nationwide.

Focus on the customer drives continued growth in Budco’s 30th year.

Jeff Sierra, Vice President, Marketing and Product Development

2012 realbusiness · 11

Following the CustomerWhen William A. (Bud) Brian acquired a small printing, warehousing and fulfillment company in 1982, he needed a name. A friend suggested Budco, for Brian Unlimited Distribution Company, and “Budco” was born.

The company’s early years were marked by expansion of its services. Long before the term “marketing services provider” was coined, Budco added agency-style creative services with the 1990 purchase of a marketing and training company. Then, as the commercial Internet was emerging in the mid-1990s, Budco committed decisively to digital, introducing an interactive department for creating Web-based applications in 1995 and a digital print center in 1996.

“Our early adoption of digital allowed us to differentiate early on,” Sierra said. “Over time, as the world has become more data-driven, we’ve built a pretty high level of expertise around it, and how it’s best applied for our individual clients.”

Budco Leadership TodayMore recent initiatives have extended Budco’s reach geographically and to new industries. When Bud Brian sold his majority share to Toronto investors in 2006, new chairman Perry Meile made diversification an even greater priority, one shared by current President and CEO Terry Niles. The auto business that accounted for 65% of revenues when Meile took over now represents about 30%.

One key to the shift was a 2010 acquisition of the fulfillment and database marketing divisions of New Jersey-based direct marketing company The Direct Group. That gave Budco a national presence—adding two New Jersey facilities to the three in Michigan and a California-based strategic fulfillment partner—and a more diverse customer base. Automotive is still a critical vertical, but Budco also has significant presence in financial services, pharmaceuticals, consumer packaged goods, and travel and leisure.

Sierra credits Budco’s three CEOs— Brian, Meile and Niles—with maintaining a consistent focus on customer service and innovation over the years. In addition, they have championed staff development, strong technology skills and well-defined processes, such as ISO 9001, for which Budco has been certified since 1996.

Another constant: Xerox has been a key partner for more than 20 years, providing “leading-edge technology and commensurate services and support,” Sierra said. “As a Xerox Premier Partner, we get a bit of an edge, seeing the new technology a little earlier. And we’ve been able to apply resources like the Xerox 1:1 Lab, which gave us some focus and leadership.” For example, a 2008 1:1 Lab test boosted sales of extended service programs for the Ford F-150 truck by 35%—and subsequent application to most of Ford’s vehicle models generated a 24% uptick.

What’s next? “Our immediate future is continuing to do the things that have brought us success,” Sierra said.

Here’s wishing that what worked well in the first 30 years will be equally successful in the next 30!

Shelley Sweeney is vice president/general manager, Service Bureau and Direct Marketing Sector, Graphic Arts Industry, Xerox Corporation, shelley.sweeney@xerox.com.

Upper left: Budco takes a team approach to managing all aspects of the company’s service contract, direct marketing and administration division. Here (left to right) Gregg Madzia, Service Contract Operations Manager, Steve Gough, Director of Client Services, and Gary Taylor, Service Contract Sales Manager, review the company’s latest response rate report.

Upper right: Collaboration is key in developing strategies that drive growth. Here Budco President, Terry Niles, works with Marketing Executive, Stacy Averill, to review the company’s latest marketing approach.

“Our early adoption of digital allowed us to differentiate early on,” Sierra said. “Over time, as the world has become more data-driven, we’ve built a pretty high level of expertise around it, and how it’s best applied for our individual clients.”

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2012 realbusiness · 13

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HomeVisit, in Chantilly, Virginia, provides virtual tours, professional video and photography, and digital printing services for the real estate industry. If you have a home to sell, particularly in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., areas, the staff at HomeVisit can shoot eye-catching interior and exterior photos for online and print, create a simulated visit of the property, and produce impactful marketing pieces to advertise new listings and open houses.

Selling print to a market that has had its share of downs in recent years may have been a challenge for many print providers, yet HomeVisit not only managed to maintain its business but actually experienced a higher demand for direct mail products. “Although there was a little bit of a hiccup on the real estate business end when the house market crashed, there was more of a need for marketing at that point, which was a real benefit to us,” comments Chris Korzen, post-production manager at HomeVisit, which counts such companies as Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, REMAX, Washington Fine Properties, Long & Foster and Sotherby’s International Real Estate as customers. “Realtors and brokers were able to get their name out a little bit cheaper by doing bulk mail,” he adds.

At HomeVisit, print is its primary service and it has brought it much success, thanks to the Xerox® iGen™ Digital Press. However, with direct mail accounting for 50% of its print work and the press printing faster than it could finish, the company ended up facing a bottleneck in its post-press operation, which has since been eliminated by Duplo’s DC-745 Slitter/Cutter/Creaser. Now with Xerox and Duplo in place, HomeVisit has been able to expand its offerings, improve its productivity and turn its direct mail products into a profitable business.

Starting with the iGenSince the company’s start, all jobs have been printed on an iGen. When HomeVisit was established in 1998, it was the iGen3®

Direct Mail Huge Business for Real Estate Market ... by Diana Salgado

HomeVisit relies on Xerox® and Duplo solutions for producing direct mail pieces on demand.

2012 realbusiness · 15

that got it started and it was only a few years ago that it was replaced by the next generation iGen4® EXP Press. Fully equipped with FreeFlow® and the new oversized feeder, the iGen4 enables it to print documents up to 26” in length. “We could only do 12" x 18" brochures before and now we can create larger full-bleed pieces for our clients. We’re able to do a whole new range of products that we couldn’t do before so it has helped increase our product line,” says Korzen. Among the products are bi-fold and tri-fold mailers, flyers, two-sided postcards and brochures of varied sizes with the largest being 22" brochures. Volumes vary from the short 50-flyer order to the 50,000 direct mail run. “We’re printing digitally, so it doesn’t matter how short the lengths are. We can handle anything,” he adds. Although the company has been able to accept any print job, its manual finishing methods slowed it down.

Taking it to the Finish LineUp until a year ago, operators were spending almost all day cutting jobs on a guillotine cutter and then manually scoring them. “It was a challenge because most everything had to be cut and it wasn’t cost-effective,” recalls Korzen. “The direct mail pieces took the longest because there were

single pass not only boosted their efficiency but their overall quality as well. “With the DC-745, you’re getting consistency. Every sheet is cut the same from front to back. We don’t have to go back to reprint anything because we’re always going to get the right cut,” says Korzen. “With the guillotine cutter, one wrong cut would just ruin your day. You had to go back and reprint the job.” In addition, the machine’s automation did not hurt. “We can load it, let it run and walk away. We can multitask and get a lot more work done in the same amount of time. It’s been a real life saver.”

Direct mail campaigns continue to be one of the most cost-effective ways for marketing any product or service. Even in a troubled economy, the company surpassed its expectations and there is no doubt when the house market fully recovers, HomeVisit will carry on with even more success.

Diana Salgado is the marketing specialist for Duplo USA Corporation. For more information on Duplo’s products, please visit www.duplousa.com.

so many of them.” So the DC-745 Slitter/Cutter/Creaser was brought in to handle the increasing workload more efficiently.

The digital color finisher is the high production model of Duplo’s all-in-one finishing line and its most powerful, providing increased versatility and productivity. Its ability to eliminate white borders and toner cracking on fold lines in a

Innovative solutions and strong relationships keep Seshaasai’s customers—and their customers—delighted.

With nine locations in India, Seshaasai is the number one security and variable data printer in the country, offering offset and digital printing, business process outsourcing, back office operation and logistics to the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry. Seshaasai has really come to be known for creating a seamless experience and adding value for its customers.

“For BFSI, where we held 65–70% of the market share, we’ve really pioneered a lot of value-added solutions,” says Harish Mayya, National Head of Business Development at Seshaasai.

For instance, Seshaasai improved the way one of its bank customers welcomes new members by creating a welcome kit, complete with letter, checkbook and debit card. And for one insurance customer, it introduced an electronic quality-check system where the data to be printed on the policy kit was electronically checked before printing. This saved tremendous costs to the customers as erroneous kits were not printed.

Its philosophy to find innovative solutions, coupled with its full range of capabilities, proved instrumental in the way Seshaasai was able to help the government of India accomplish its mission to provide and distribute unique identification cards for all of its citizens.

Producing and Delivering IDs to MillionsThe Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was created by the government to develop a country-wide social security infrastructure. The project had an enormous scope and an aggressive timeline, but after 15 months, the production and distribution of individual ID cards had fallen behind schedule. To get back on track, the government put the project out for bid.

Seshaasai came up with the best price—and strategy—receiving 50% of the RFP.

Harish noted the numerous challenges surrounding this project. “For one, the cards needed to be printed in multiple languages, include variable data information and citizen photographs, and be laminated, finished, assembled and stuffed for mailing.”

Perhaps more challenging was the sheer volume to be printed—Seshaasai had agreed to producing and dispatching a minimum of half a million cards per day.

All this had to be accomplished without disrupting service to existing customers. To bring this vision to reality, Seshaasai relied upon its Xerox® iGen4® Press, Color 1000 Press and DocuColor® 8080 to manage the workload. To ensure everyday work remained undisturbed, two of its production facilities in Mumbai were prepared so that if production stopped at one location, the other could take over.

Seshaasai involved Xerox early in the process to discuss the best price model, equipment and media to help ensure it won the contract. The Xerox® production equipment portfolio chosen provided the quality, robustness and speed to accomplish the daily quota required by UIDAI.

“When the customer deals with Seshaasai, it gets a complete, end-to-end solution and the peace of mind that the job is done correctly from the start.”

– Harish Mayya

Keeping its machines up and running was also a crucial component. Seshaasai worked with Xerox to plan out spare parts requirements, with supplies always on hand. And Xerox ensured that the best engineers would be available if service was needed.

The process worked so smoothly, Seshaasai was able to keep its Xerox® production equipment running 20 hours a day and exceed its quota. Says Harish, “We promised them 0.5 million ID packages per day, but we’ve actually upscaled our processes to 0.7 million. That really helped them meet their targets.”

By the end of Phase 1, and less than 120 days into the project, Seshaasai had produced 60,000,000 personalized letters with laminated cards, automatically stuffed into envelopes and dispatched to the post.

A Fully Trackable ProcessThe government of India included a condition that it needed online tracking of production at every stage of the process. Seshaasai’s software team created an online dashboard where the UIDAI was able to monitor every step from data download through production to dispatch, with no phone calls or waiting. Every batch was reconciled to the last number.

This experience of working in high volumes has led to other government work as well. Two states have enlisted Seshaasai to print photo ID cards for individuals using the public distribution system.

Helping Customers Delight Their CustomersOne of the missions at Seshaasai is to make sure its customers’ customers are always satisfied. Seshaasai is doing this by helping promote the benefits of color and other innovations to make statements and policies more intelligent.

For example, by embarking on a campaign with insurance companies to introduce transpromo, whitespace management and highlighted policy benefits, and to make policies engaging to the customer through the use of color, Seshaasai has helped insurance companies reduce their rates of lapsed policies.

Armed with innovative solutions, Seshaasai meets with its customers once a quarter, asking them, “What more can we do for you? What are your pain points?”

For one insurance customer, this meant introducing laminated ID cards to replace plastic ones. Seshaasai was able to bring down the cost for its customer and the end user.

Harish states, “I know my customer is happy today, but if we become complacent and don’t push the boundaries of our solutions, very shortly he will be dissatisfied. He needs something different, something more.”

It’s important at Seshaasai to maintain customer relationships, spend time with them and give customers cost-effective solutions. By implementing a practice of never saying “no” to a customer, Seshaasai is in constant pursuit of innovation and has the confidence in its processes and equipment to stand by its approach. Seshaasai’s involvement in its customers’ businesses and investment in relationship building help explain why it has not lost a single customer yet.

By the end of Phase 1, and less than 120 days into the project, Seshaasai had produced 60,000,000 personalized letters with laminated cards, automatically stuffed into envelopes and dispatched to the post.

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The ability to communicate on a personal level with customers is quickly becoming critical to all facets of communication. Being able to reach those customers, while being able to track how they respond to your message, is essential. This is exactly what Volkswagen Bank wanted to achieve when it began its retention campaign with its print

service provider, Business Advantage group (BAG). But before BAG could deliver this for Volkswagen Bank, it had to look at its own internal systems.

As one of the premier integrated communication services providers in Mexico, the team at BAG knew they had to

be able to provide relevant and timely print and electronic communications to take on the challenge presented by its customer. However, as is the case with many organizations today, harnessing data from a variety of sources can be a daunting challenge.

Harnessing the Power of Big Data Volkswagen bank delivers personalized campaigns, thanks to PSP.... by Bill Parker

2012 realbusiness · 19

Volkswagen Bank delivers personalized messages to customers in record time.

BAG Mexico was no exception, and it had to use many different tools such as Excel, MS Access and MS SQL for marketing campaigns, which was both complicated and time-consuming. There was also a lot of dependence on external suppliers for image manipulation and campaign execution. Testing campaign variations meant even more time, effort and rework. The complexity and time required to build out campaigns left little opportunity to be creative and brainstorm new ideas to drive business. Managing data was becoming an ever-growing task, leaving little room for anything else at the organization. It had become evident that this issue needed to be addressed sooner rather than later.

After careful research, the implementation of a multichannel communications platform that brings together several data sources provided the much needed consolidation BAG was seeking. The changes in performance were rather dramatic, as the cumbersome task of manipulating data was taken out of the equation.

Delivery of relationship marketing services has been transformed, allowing more creative campaigns in less time while also enabling better response management. Turnaround time for campaigns has been dramatically reduced by about 90 percent. One campaign that used to take 15 labor days to complete now takes one.

BAG is now able to deliver completely personalized campaigns for Volkswagen Bank, which provides flexible banking solutions for Volkswagen Group and Porsche clients. The campaign objective is to encourage clients to renew their credit agreement. The platform is used to target Volkswagen Bank clients that have a good credit history, are classified as “not risky” and will be finishing their credit within three months. Each communication is then personalized according to the vehicle that the client has purchased, and even the pre-authorized credit limit is calculated on an individual basis. Individual

responses can then be tracked, allowing for ROI measurement and follow-up communications.

Channeling all data through a single tool has allowed the platform to be used for almost all campaign stages including database management, data segmentation, art management and production.

Big data doesn’t have to be scary; in fact, it can be quite powerful when you use the right tools to extract the information you need to create a personalized profile of your customers.

Bill Parker is the Chief Marketing Officer for GMC Software Technology, b.parker@gmc.net.

With a single solution, BAG can now streamline campaign processes, creatively apply variable data and also integrate multichannel campaigns to drive response rates.

20 · realbusiness 2012

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) present a tremendous sales opportunity for print service providers that offer digital printing. While the individual opportunities for SMBs are relatively small, the ability to aggregate print and digital transaction volume creates a large market opportunity that is too big to ignore in today’s Internet-driven economy.

The SMB Market: Small Scale, Giant Opportunity... by Lisa Cross and Stephanie Pieruccini

2012 realbusiness · 21

The SMB market has a wide range of print communications needs, including corporate identity, marketing collateral, direct marketing, point-of-sale materials and transactional documents. Just like large enterprises, SMBs want to look credible and professional to their customers and prospects.

Template-driven online print ordering systems combined with digital printing have turned the SMB industry into a profitable print market. This combination enables print service providers to efficiently aggregate print volume. This is ideal for producing low-run jobs, while also providing a cost-effective self-service option to meet SMB print requirements.

Beyond print, SMB firms are looking to use multiple media channels. They are seeking partners to communicate and sell to customers across many channels, including print, online, mobile and social media. These businesses also are looking for software solutions that integrate and automate marketing across channels. As these smaller-scale companies are focused on their core businesses, they generally don’t have the time or expertise to take full advantage of new media tools and capabilities.

The Size of the SMB OpportunitySMBs, defined as firms with fewer than 500 employees, account for the majority of U.S. businesses. According to the U.S. Small Business Association and the latest published U.S. Census data, there are roughly 6 million firms with fewer than 500 employees, and 5.4 million of these have fewer than 20 employees. This market includes a wide range of business types such as hairdressers, physicians, dentists, lawyers, real estate agents, gardeners, child care providers and local “mom and pop” enterprises. All of these entities are competing against each other and large enterprises to stand out and appeal to consumers.

Although new media types are important to SMB firms’ marketing efforts, print remains a solid and important channel in the overall cross-media marketing mix. In 2012, InfoTrends conducted a study entitled Capturing the SMB Marketing Automation Opportunity. A follow-up to a 2009 report on the SMB market, this study surveyed more than 2,000 firms with fewer than 500 employees across more than a dozen major industries in the United States. Print categories including promotional print, business identity and sales documents account for almost half of SMB marketing spend. SMB firms reported that print continues to be a solid and appealing media channel because it is tactile and doesn’t get lost in the growing noise of the digital world.

Direct mail is a power channel.Printed direct mail is a staple of the SMB marketing mix. Over 60% of survey respondents to InfoTrends’ SMB study reported that they use direct mail for marketing. Of those firms using direct mail, 17% expected its use to increase. A look at the data by vertical market segments reveals that non-profits (71%) reported the highest overall use of direct mail, followed by the manufacturing (67%), personal services (65%) and financial services (62%) sectors.

According to the SMB firms participating in this research, direct mail and other traditional print media are appealing because email campaigns alone are generally ineffective. Respondents indicated that overuse of email marketing has created digital clutter and hampered the channel’s marketing effectiveness, as recipients can’t keep up with the glut of messages received.

Mobile Marketing 2.2%

Mass Media Advertising 20.8%

Promotional Print 20.1%

Digital Marketing 14.7%

Sales Documents 11.1%

Social Media 8.5%

Other 5.3%

Business Identity17.4%

Figure 1: What percentage of your advertising/marketing spend falls within the following categories? (Means)

N = 2,010 Small and Medium-Sized BusinessesSource: Capturing the SMB Marketing Automation Opportunity, InfoTrends 2012

22 · realbusiness 2012

The use of personalized print is growing. SMB firms report that their use of personalized printed materials is growing. A comparison of survey responses from InfoTrends’ 2009 and 2012 SMB studies indicated that the share of personalized promotional materials increased by 66%. At the same time, however, there is still great opportunity for personalized printing in the SMB market as only a quarter of promotional materials are personalized.

Although SMBs are interested in personalization, many lack the expertise and customer information required to take advantage of it. Service providers can address this challenge by providing data management services to help SMB firms harness marketing personalization. SMBs also lack an understanding of how best to use personalization, limiting its capabilities to placing the recipient’s name in cute or unique places. Guiding SMBs in converting customer data into printed materials with offers and images targeted at individual recipients will help increase their success.

The Marketing Automation OpportunitySMBs are looking to use all channels in integrated personalized media campaigns, but they have limited resources to execute and manage such campaigns. Cloud-based, self-service marketing automation software tools represent an attractive solution to this challenge. Marketing automation solutions provide a central location to manage and automate the creation, distribution and tracking of multichannel campaigns.

By creating automated workflows, communications are distributed when potential customers or leads trigger a series of steps that nurture them with information and reminders until they eventually become ideal candidates for sales reps to contact. Automation software enables sales reps to focus on customers that are ready to make a decision, rather than those that are simply seeking more information.

The SMB market’s interest in marketing automation presents a great opportunity for print service providers because today’s solutions focus primarily on fulfilling the digital components of marketing campaigns but ignore the print component that SMBs also need. Print service providers have the opportunity to bring print into the mix, providing marketers with a complete range of self-service marketing tools that will help to facilitate more print business. Print service providers have a leading edge in this area, as SMBs view commercial printers, office superstores and online printing services as their go-to resources for marketing services.

InfoTrends’ OpinionSMBs are seeking partners that can help them market and sell in today’s cross-media world. Print remains a valuable component of the multichannel mix. The SMB market represents a significant opportunity for print service providers that are willing to invest the time in creating automated, scalable, cross-media marketing solutions that leverage customer data to deliver personalized communications that drive results.

To read an executive summary of the InfoTrends 2012 Capturing the SMB Marketing Automation Opportunity study, go to www.xerox.com/SMBstudy.

About the AuthorsLisa Cross Associate Director lisa_cross@infotrends.com (781) 616–2192

Lisa Cross is the Associate Director for InfoTrends’ Business Development Strategies service. She is responsible for conducting market research, supporting market forecast estimates, managing custom consulting projects and reporting on industry events.

Stephanie Pieruccini Senior Research Analyst stephanie_pieruccini@infotrends.com (781) 616–2109

Stephanie Pieruccini is a Research Analyst for InfoTrends’ Production Workflow & Custom Communications Service. In this role, she is responsible for responding to client inquires, conducting market research and analysis and providing coverage of industry events.

1 to 9 Employees

15.2%

24.9%

13.8%

24.3%

16.9%

26.8%

10 to 99 Employees

100 to 499 Employees

2009 2011

N = VariesSource: Capturing the SMB Marketing Automation Opportunity, InfoTrends 2012

Figure 2: What percentage of your promotional print materials are personalized? (Means; 2009 vs. 2011)

2012 realbusiness · 23

Where do you go for support when facing the waves of transformative changes washing over our industry? Many industry leaders turn to the Xerox Premier Partners Global Network, an exclusive affinity group of top Xerox graphic communications customers for networking, learning and business connections. Formed in 2000 when digital color printing began to transform the industry, the Premier Partners network today counts more than 400 members from more than 40 countries on six continents.

“The Premier Partners is really a fantastic program,” said Waleed Ashoo, president and CEO of Lithexcel, Albuquerque, N.M., and United States representative to the Premier Partners Advisory Board. “It allows you to connect with colleagues from all over the world. It gives you visibility on a portal where you can be found by customers seeking print services. And there’s a lot of value in the webinars and training that are available. Plus it continues to grow and improve.”

Some of the program’s newest components, announced at the organization’s global forum at this year’s drupa trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, include:

• Free and discounted resources in the new XMPie Cross-Media Centre, including royalty-free personalization resources and a discount subscription to the XMPie Cross-Media Centre cloud-based personalization solution.

• Xerox University, a new source of professional training and development services.

• A planned managed print services offering for providing onsite management services for production and office printing using a Xerox® cloud-hosted solution, available now in Europe.

Color House Graphics, a 25-year-old book manufacturer in Grand Rapids, Mich., joined the Premier Partners in June. “We’re looking to network with our peers, because we believe the future of the industry is going to involve a lot of collaboration,” said Angela Nielsen, operations manager, Color House Graphics. “We’re also looking for industry news, updates from Xerox and the possibility of business referrals.” All are included in the Premier Partners program.

“The Premier Partners program is going strong,” said Gina Testa, vice president, Xerox Global Graphic Communications Business. “It’s very important to Xerox. It’s a collection of our most important customers. And we want to continue to be able to promote our members’ services, and to bring new benefits and offerings.”

Mary Roddy is the Xerox Premier Partners Global Network marketing manager, mary.roddy@xerox.com.

Gaining an Edge Through an Elite Network: the Xerox Premier Partners... by Mary Roddy

Entries will be accepted in January 2013. Start preparing your submissions and earn the industry recognition you deserve.

Visit www.xerox.com/bestofthebest for more information.

Attention Xerox Premier Partners: The Best-of-the-Best Program is coming.

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2011 Best-of-the-Best Books WinnerPazazz, Canada

Networking at the Premier Partner Congress at drupa 2012

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