Transpromo Use Among B2B Firms Growing, Finds Pitney Bowes Survey

STAMFORD, CT—Oct. 06, 2010—According to a survey from Pitney Bowes Inc., the use of transpromo among business-to-business (B2B) firms is on the rise. Pitney Bowes surveyed more than 4,000 B2B companies in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany. In the United States, 31 percent of B2B firms surveyed reported that they have put personalized messages on bills, statements and customer service communications. In Europe, the figure is a bit higher at 34 percent.

Transpromo customer communications is the practice of adding targeted promotional messages to bills, statements and other transactional documents. The report reveals that the rise of transpromo is not confined to large B2B companies—firms with fewer than 50 employees reported they are adopting transpromo communications at virtually the same rate as the largest companies.

“Direct mail continues to be one of the most powerful tools in the multichannel mix,” said Ramesh Ratan, president of Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies. “An invoice, or any transactional document, is a highly relevant channel that connects with B2B customers. In the broad mix of customer communications management, transpromo plays a lead role in starting customer conversations.”

A white paper based on the survey—"Transpromo Takes Off for B2B Communications"—is available free for download and is the first in a series of reports from Pitney Bowes focusing on B2B marketing in the United States and Europe.

At a time when every business is under pressure to generate revenue, B2B transpromo creates opportunity to increase marketing productivity through cross-selling. For example, a telecommunications invoice for VOIP phone service might also deliver a message about videoconferencing capabilities. The transpromo message might even promote services from an alliance firm. For example, a bill for air conditioning repair work might also advertise electrician services from another B2B company.

The transactional document is an especially appealing medium for promotional messages because it is so trusted, according to Ratan. He cited a 2008 InfoTrends study that revealed that recipients concentrate on transactional documents on average for 2-3 minutes, with 20 percent studying these documents for five minutes or more. Transactional documents are also retained longer than other documents.

One of the most innovative developments on the transpromo scene is the ability to deliver full color messages on envelopes. This application begins the one-to-one messaging before the customer even opens the transactional document. The personalized conversation continues right on the document itself.

About Pitney Bowes
Celebrating its 90th year of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business. Pitney Bowes is a $5.6 billion company and employs 33,000 worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity. www.pb.com