Managing Marketing Fulfillment: Tips for Winning New Business

Published On August 07, 2018

This is the seventh in a series of blogs focused on getting the most from your marketing fulfillment program. It includes insights drawn from an Iron Mountain-sponsored Mighty Guide titled 8 Experts on Marketing Fulfillment.

Our previous blog in this series discussed the importance of using a fulfillment vendor that can grow with your business. This post looks at how a good fulfillment program can actually help your company grow.

Wait, what?

No, I’m not saying your fulfillment vendor is going to replace your sales team. Just that even basic pick and pack fulfillment is a tremendous sales support tool, in that it provides fast delivery of materials that engage and influence your customers. But a better fulfillment partner can offer tools and capabilities – plus insights gained through experience – to take your sales and marketing to the next level.

Brian Kemp, director of marketing and compliance technology for Nationwide’s financial services arm, is a believer.

“If you’ve ever signed up for a 401(k) through your employer, they usually give you a nice folder with some marketing literature inside, along with [enrollment] forms to fill out,” Kemp says. He believes targeted, professional-looking materials, assembled in a convenient, attractive package, is key to his company’s successful enrollment campaigns. “It gives consumers confidence that they’re making an informed decision in their own best interests,” which is why he puts fulfillment “front and center” in Nationwide’s efforts to gain new clients.

For David Gaber, Senior Marketing Manager for Epson’s sensor product line, another key to winning new business is continually refreshing his division’s marketing materials. He says his team reviews and updates materials every 30 days, without exception. Although the practice began as an initiative to increase loyalty among existing customers, it ended up bringing the company new customers, as well.

“By keeping our marketing materials fresh, we’re attracting people to our website more often than they normally would come. They’ve come to trust that we have new stuff getting pumped out all the time,” he explains. At the same time, the emphasis on fresh content has created a 30 to 40 percent daily increase in new unique visits, he notes.

Some of the capabilities your fulfillment partner can bring to bear on these and similar tactics for winning new business include:

• Design-on-demand customization. In today’s incredibly busy and noisy marketing environment, most of us suffer from too much information. So your messaging needs to be relevant if you want it to make an impact. The ability to change up copy and images and add personal touches is a powerful way to make a connection and rev up response rates.

• Digital and variable data printing. Decades of studies prove that personalization increases response rates, and variable data printing lets you add personalized touches cost-effectively. Digital printing is also ideal when, like Epson’s David Gaber, you want or need to frequently update or refresh documents. Because underlying documents are stored as electronic files, making a change is quick and inexpensive. Then, just order the exact quantity you need, as you need it, eliminating storage costs and obsolescence.

• Custom kitting. As Nationwide’s Brian Kemp has discovered, appearances count. And you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. So packaging multiple materials – whether print, media or samples – into a well-organized kit goes a long way toward impressing your prospects. Better fulfillment companies offer online kit building tools so you can select your content and packaging; add graphics, logos and/or personal touches (including prepopulating enrollment forms); then let your fulfillment partner print, bind and deliver your materials.

These are just a few of the ways a good fulfillment partner can help you cut through marketing “clutter,” ensuring that your messages are read and generate more leads. If you’re looking for more good ideas like these, download 8 Experts on Marketing Fulfillment or contact Iron Mountain to see how we can help you grow your business.