What’s in an E-Name?
It's no secret that personalization sells. From individualized direct mail to monogrammed pen sets, people have been making money off the human "Oh hey that's my name, how cool" impulse for years and years. What's slightly new to the personalization field, however, is the personalized web address, or "PURL." Much more than a monogrammed pen, PURLs can have an enormous impact on your business, especially in any print-to-web cross-marketing efforts.
How do they work? Why are they so advantageous for print products? How do you even get them made? Read on to learn all you need to know about PURLs and what they can do for your business.
WHAT THEY ARE
"PURLS" are personalized URLs that connect users to webpages designed specifically for them. They're similar to variable printing, where a list of names will be printed individually across an order, except instead of just names you're creating a list of individual, unique webpages. Examples of PURLs include: "www.irs.gov/StevenJenkins" or "www.mcdonalds.com/MarlaSmith." Once on that website, Steven or Marla would see a page made just for them, something like, "Welcome, Steven! Your taxes are late, please file online form 17-WJ for an extension."
Much like variable printing, part of the appeal of PURLs is that their personalization is a useful marketing hook to draw in users. But, PURLs go beyond the simple allure of personalization since they can offer a deep set of collected statistical and behavioral data about each user.
Since PURLs are webpages, they can make use of all the tracking tools available to the online world. Date, hour of day, how long a user spent on the page, what web browser the recipient was using—PURLs can gather all of that information with a standard web traffic metric program such as Google Analytics, let alone to what is offered by PURL providers. Because they're personalized, you'll have that data for each person who visits his or her specific site.
The marketing implications here should be obvious. Besides providing a clean, easy ROI to your clients ("We sent X direct mail pieces, and through our PURLs we see that Y recipients reached your website"), you'll also be able to provide further data to your clients on their targeted audience down to the individual. What was the male/female breakdown? Which users are going to the client's site and immediately leaving, and could they possibly be removed from future mailings? Who seems to be interested in what services, and would a follow-up phone call or mailing help you sell a specific product to them?
Depending on the database depth a PURL campaign is based on, its strength also can be bolstered by details you or your client already possess. Coupons that activate on birthdays, follow-up e-mails, notifications to salespeople when a PURL is accessed and a phone call may be in order, are all possibilities with PURLs if you already have the necessary information.
IDEAS FOR USE
PURLs are handy whenever print-to-web cross-marketing is called for, whether it's through direct mail, tax or bank forms, or even business cards. Because of their ability to blend print and web features, however, PURLs offer plenty of creative marketing options that go far beyond the idea of a "website with a name on it."
Below are a handful of ideas that can help you take your PURL usage to the next level:
• E-mail Nudges for Direct Mail. Brian Byer, director of business development for Easypurl.com, explained a way to improve PURL direct mail open rates through the use of e-mail. "We can track the direct mail through the use of an intelligent barcode," he said. "So when someone receives the direct mail piece, we can send a trigger to e-mail the recipient five days after the piece is received if they haven't seen the PURL. We can send them something along the lines of 'Hey Mike, we created a personalized URL just for you and we noticed you haven't had a chance to look at it yet, please come look at that PURL,'" he said.
• Social Media Integration. To improve a PURL's marketing reach, consider social media integration. The basic "Share this" buttons are of course an option, though Byer discussed several more advanced tactics. "You can incentiv[ize] people to share direct mail on social media, giving better offers based on the number of people they share it with," he said. He also noted the value of analytics and tracking with social media, mentioning that Easypurl.com's PURL dashboard can provide information such as who is sharing what on social media, how the sharing is moving geographically and more.
• Build By Region, Not By Name. To tweak the personalization theme and approach data-gathering from a different angle, consider setting up PURLs by geographic region like "www.OldNavy.com/Dallas" or "www.payless.com/OceanCity." The geographic shift opens up different marketing doors, such as holding a contest among recipients to see which region gets more web traffic versus others.
• E-commerce Integration. Web traffic and data-collection are certainly enticing elements for PURL use, but don't forget that just like any other webpage, PURLs can be pointed to or integrated directly with an e-store as well. "We did a campaign recently with UNICEF where we were taking donations on the Web and integrated our PURL with them so all the donor records were updated in real time to reflect the donations they made," said Byer.
• Think Mobile. Is your PURL going to be placed somewhere people will only have smartphone access? Why not design a mobile-specific PURL? The sites can be merely optimized for mobile browsing, or can incorporate more advanced features like personalized QR codes. "We are seeing a lot more of personalized URLs on QR codes," said Byer. "We can create personalized QR codes that can bring them to a mobile site, and bring the same kind of data-driven landing page environment on the mobile site."
• What About Promotional Products? Paper isn't the only PURL-friendly product out there. Pens, T-shirts, mugs and the rest of the promotional products crowd also can be fitted with PURLs, provided the items can be decorated through some form of variable printing. Look for suppliers who can decorate through digital printing or those who are used to working with personalization (such as pen engravers or badge vendors). For instance, an item like a personalized toothbrush is small enough to work as a mailer, and could be tagged with a PURL that takes a recipient to his or her own personalized "It's time to schedule a cleaning" page from his or her dentist.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PROVIDER
If you're a particularly Web savvy company, it's possible to make simple PURLS on your own. To really drill into the depths of the concept's potential, there are specialized PURL vendors out there who can provide the service for you, adding a great deal of features and reach for the personalized websites. In-house analytics, web design, even sales distribution deals—there is a lot PURL vendors can offer. What matters to you in a provider obviously will depend on your and/or your client's needs. There are a few general traits, however, that require attention.
Reporting and analytics are important, but beyond that, consider looking for PURL providers who have strong artistic and web design skills. The reason, as Byer explained, is that larger clients like GM or Sprint often require a PURL that is off-template and designed from scratch. Furthermore, they typically have explicit branding and artwork requirements that need to be followed accurately to the last pixel in order to complete the job. A solid art and design department can be a great boon for PURLs meant for larger (or just picky) clients.
Similarly, technical depth and programming skill are worth checking out. Byer mentioned the value of hardware considerations, such as server strength and the ability to handle extremely large lists of PURLs, as well as programing skill in regard to integrating sophisticated client platforms like e-commerce or in-house CRM systems. 
- People:
- Brian Byer
- Michael Cornnell