By Erwin Busselot, Director Business Innovation & Solutions, Ricoh Graphic Communications, Ricoh Europe

Innovation and evolution are constants in the graphic arts industry. Ways to enhance, improve and perfect are always being explored.

Sometimes this is achieved with new capabilities and sometimes by revisiting existing technologies with fresh eyes.

Both approaches are true with three potentially future shaping trends currently making an impact:

1. Hyper personalisation

Hyper personalisation is being more widely adopted by operations looking to expand their offerings and grow their customer base. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time customer data to display relevant content, products, services, and information to each individual customer. It uses predictive analytics to understand individual behaviours and create relevant interactions. It has the potential to capture a great deal of business especially as 91% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that recognises them and present personalised offers and recommendations.

Among the operations developing a hyper personalised approach is Moonpig. The greetings card specialist is creating a curated customer journey with the delivery of personalised landing pages, hero messages, and a personalised promotions engine. Also harnessing hyper personalisation is Paragon Communications Group which said a comprehensive overview of the customer is essential for effective execution.

It is made possible by an intelligent platform that provides complete visibility across all consumer touchpoints and removes the operational silos between departments. This helps ensure all omnichannel communications are carried out via the customers’ preferred channels. It increases the likelihood that customers will see and respond to communications in a timely manner. The effectiveness of hyper personalisation can be magnified when used in conjunction with Programmatic Direct Mail. Print Service Providers (PSPs) can build direct mail workflows triggered by certain actions (e.g. if a consumer did not check out in the online shop, they are sent a postcard showing their basket containing the goods they had selected).

With the right software support PSPs can develop their ability to deliver hyper personalised capabilities on behalf of clients.
2. Resurgence of QR codes

The pandemic reawakened our use of QR codes in everyday life. They quickly became the communication method of choice for data. In Great Britain they were adopted by NHS Test and Trace check-ins in public spaces as well as in other European countries such as France, Italy and Norway. They were also used in a number of ways to enable contactless interaction: from ordering food and drink on a menu to discovering more about promotions.

As a result, Juniper Research has predicted that the global spend using QR code payments will reach over $3 trillion by 2025, rising from $2.4 trillion in 2022. The QR Code Payments: Key Opportunities, Competitor Leaderboard & Marketing Forecasts 2022-2026 predicted that loyalty schemes will encourage repeat use and foster consumer trust in QR codes for payments. It said this method of tracking social interactions has ‘increased general acceptance familiarity for the payment method in some Western markets’.

This provides the opportunity for QR codes to be adopted more widely in printed format to link to a number of next steps to keep the consumer engaged. This could be an opportunity to buy, a call to action, or a request for more information. The simple to print code allows packaging, leaflets, books magazines, and newspapers to deliver a long lasting, interactive connection. The QR code is a great way to enable readers of printed communication to visit a digital landing page or app. Especially as many smartphones can now read QR codes through their standard camera function.
3. Big Data and improved analytics

Supporting the first two, and becoming increasingly important across the global printing industry, is managing Big Data and harnessing improved analytics. They are providing more marketing insight into consumer preferences as highlighted by Smithers’ The Future of Digital Printing to 2032. This is important says Smithers because digital print markets will develop inside the broader print market and these markets will depend on end user preferences.

Quocirca agreed in its Print Industry Trends for 2022, stating leaders should become data driven and embed a data driven culture across their organisation. The data should improve product design and deliver new business models to drive better customer engagement.

It added that one of the many challenges facing the print industry is understanding the changing digital customer and connecting disparate data silos to predict customer needs. Predictive analytics is key and provides a means to uncover further revenue opportunities. The easiest way to do this is by discussing predictive data options with your clients, eg.by suggesting the use of appropriate CRM and Campaign Automation Systems like Eloqua or HubSpot.

These three innovations and evolutions can help PSPs open doors to a number of new opportunities.

They can enable the delivery of value added services and support broader application versatility.
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