Yesterday, we discussed personalization in marketing from the consumer standpoint. As technology continues to allow more customization, and big data allows us to learn more than we ever thought we wanted to know about our target customers, personalization opportunities abound.

Here are some personalization ideas for direct mailers.

Basic:

1. Name and address on the envelope, in the window
2. Name on the letter

Intermediate:

1. Show products/features they’ve shown interest in
2. Different graphics/messages for men and women

Advanced:

1. Different graphics/messages for different geographical areas
2. Talk about different benefits based on personal details: HHI income, professional, children, other interests

Bonus:

A piece of mail I recently designed was identical with one exception. We divided the country up into six regions and changed the graphics used in the letter based on where the recipient lived. The response rate increased 37%.