Hop on the train of profitable TransPromo, the new ROI king!

Just when we thought all paper statements, invoices and notices were about to be replaced with digital documents, and hard copies were on the verge of disappearing forever, something happened. Powerful advances in digital colour printing technology over the past 15 months and the genius of certain experts in market demographics and competition dynamics have led to the rebirth of the paper document and its transformation into a TransPromo marketing tool.

In any case, any announcement regarding the death of the transactional document might be a little premature, since 91% of invoices are still printed up and mailed out.

The TransPromo revolution is spreading around the planet and has really caught on in Australia, the United States, Japan and Europe. It is time for all marketers to get on board. They need to get out of inserts and envelopes and into "onserts" on intelligent documents.

Australian giant, Salmat, has already copyrighted the acronym TRM (Transactional Relationship Management) as a trademark in order to take full advantage of this major trend. Nine of Australia's ten banks are Salmat clients and the transactional printing specialist is reaping the benefits. And it is not alone. Major Service Providers such as NBS, DST and DDM in the United States have also begun using TransPromo to meet growing client needs. The financial sector, telecommunications companies, cable broadcasters, insurance companies and the automobile industry have also followed suit. Last August, the first European TransPromo summit was held in Brussels, with nearly 400 service providers, agencies and business leaders attending.

All the experts agreed: TransPromo is the new ROI king, set to take over. According to InfoTrends (2007), over 10% of the transactional documents produced worldwide are already personalized and full-colour, and the figure is expected to reach 33% by 2010, less than a years from now.

But just what is this new marketing strategy? Just a few years ago, the term TransPromo would bring puzzled looks, but it now puts a sparkle in the eye of the strategists who use it. Basically, TransPromo marketing maximizes client penetration and optimizes transactional documents, turning them into powerful marketing tools.

For years now, marketing specialists have been aware of the value of transactional documents and have endeavoured to take advantage of the mailing envelope, which is opened by the recipient 95% of the time. However, 90% of the recipients toss the envelope, and therefore its promotional message, into the wastebasket without even a cursory glance; 10% glance at it (less than 30 seconds on average), and even fewer are prompted to action by the generic message that often does not match their consumer profile.

Some companies, such as American Express, have successfully used the blank spaces in their documents to deliver promotional messages printed in black and white. However, there is now overwhelming evidence that providing less information that is more personalized with more graphics and more colour is the best way to turn this type of document into a powerful tool for generating revenue and profits. In addition, new high-performance digital printing presses have reduced costs by nearly 60%, while increasing productivity.

TransPromo enables businesses to use their transactional documents to send their clients personalized, full-colour messages, graphics and photos. A company can, therefore, keep the lines of communication open with its clients, engage in cross-selling, increase its share of client purchases and provide clients with highly relevant information matching their environment, profile and spending habits-an all-in-one solution. The latest InfoTrends report published in the fall of 2009 reveals that 50% of customers spend an average of 4 minutes a month looking at their statement or invoice. Not too many advertising channel bring such high exposure time.

TransPromo is the powerful kid in the block and increasingly becoming the king of ROI, on-line and off-line!