TransPromo Enters the B2B Space

Posted by Scott Bounty on August 04, 2010 in Messaging

The science of trendspotting is inexact. Yet somewhere there is a point where a fad becomes a mainstream movement. A stage where Twitter reached its “tipping point.” A moment when “Harry Potter” began its path from a few words on a page to a future Universal theme park.

Whatever the measure, the phenomenon of TransPromo—the technology that adds marketing messages to bills and statements and other transactional documents—has clearly moved from a much-talked-about projection to a widely implemented reality. One of the clearest signs of its embrace is the use of TransPromo in the business-to-business (B2B) space. The numbers are clear. An average 34 percent of B2B companies in the U.K., France and Germany have put personalized messages on their bills, statements and customer service communications. The USA records a similar figure of 31 percent. Those are mainstream numbers.

The idea behind TransPromo was initially embraced as an effective marketing tool by consumer-focused industries with heavy volumes of transactional documents. Categories such as banking and insurance quickly discovered the advantages of turning mandatory mailings into profit-building marketing tools. The latest Pitney Bowes research provides evidence that the technique is proving to be just as compelling for businesses looking to sell to other businesses.

One reason is the extremely high “open rate” of transactional mail. Transactional documents are also retained longer than direct mail. Marketing messages added to a statement, for example, not only gain immediate attention, but they are also often seen again and again as a statement is reviewed, usually by multiple audiences.

For this and many other reasons, businesses of every size are embracing TransPromo.  In fact, according to InfoTrends, forecasts are for a robust growth of 68 percent for the entire category with predicted output of 22.8 billion impressions in North America alone in 2012.

Impressive numbers when you consider the estimate that (again from InfoTrends) a mere 5 percent growth in current customer business can equate to as much as a 50 percent growth in bottom-line profits.

Sounds like a growing trend that shows every sign of turning into a mainstream marketing tool.  You tell us.  What examples can you cite of recent mailings you’ve received that have caught your eye? What are some of the most unusual?  Which ones have succeeded in getting you to respond by visiting a website or calling a toll-free number?

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Tags: customer invoices, customer statements, marketing messages, transactional documents, transactional mail, TransPromo