When you start a small business, it can feel like everyone wants a piece of you—whether they’re selling something useful or… well, something not so useful.
Have you ever tried solving a simple problem, only to find yourself drowning in marketing jargon and technobabble? Suddenly you’re knee-deep in phrases like “real-time predictive adaptation” or “seamless AI-assisted data augmentation for mission-critical action items.”
Small business owners tend to shirk away from these kinds of pitches (and who could possibly blame them), because it makes the product or technology being sold sound intimidating, expensive, and out of their league.
Here’s the thing, though. Some technology is surprisingly practical and affordable once you strip away the jargon—and variable data printing definitely fits that bill.
Don’t Let This Misconception Cause You To Miss Out: Variable Data Printing Isn’t Just for Big Companies
Variable data printing lets you personalize your marketing materials based on who’s receiving them. That means things like names, locations, purchase history (basically any customer data you have) can be used to customize each individual mailer, flyer, or postcard so it feels a little more “just for them.” We discuss the how and why of this technology in more detail in our post How Forward-Thinking Businesses Profit From Variable Data Printing, so we won’t dwell on it here.
Nevertheless, variable data printing is might sound complex, something reserved for big enterprises, but the reality is that it can be really effective for small businesses too.
One of the case studies Xerox highlights on their XMPie Personalized Communications page recalls the story of a farmer’s market that used variable data printing to create postcards that included personalized QR codes. When returning or potential customers scanned the codes, they received tailored offers and promotions directly on their phones. This approach helped the market attract new customers and encouraged existing ones to return more often.
Xerox’s XMPie PersonalEffect Print Is an Easy Way for Small Businesses To Start Reaping the Rewards of Variable Data Printing
Xerox’s XMPie PersonalEffect Print is a great choice for small businesses interested in using variable data printing. It’s compatible with Adobe InDesign, which makes it possible for businesses to create professional-looking designs without hiring outside designers. It’s also easy to connect just about any type of data source to your project, like spreadsheets or even simple comma separated text files.
Revisions, changes, and adding new data to your project is easy—because the tool allows you to stay within InDesign from start to finish. There are no complicated (or error-prone) conversion processes. You can output customized documents to most standard formats you’re probably already familiar with, like PDF or PostScript (among many others).
Ready To Start Using VDP and Making Practical, Profitable Connections With Your Audience? We’re Here To Help
Variable Data Printing with one of the tools from Xerox like PersonalEffect is really one of the easiest and most effective ways small businesses can build meaningful relationships with their customers. There’s no reason to send out generic mailers anymore—this technology is being used right now by multinational corporations and garage startups alike.
If you’d like to learn more about how to get the most out of your Xerox equipment and software, our team would be more than happy to help. Please feel free to contact us today or request a free online quote.
