Glossary
Resources of Variable Data Publishing (VDP) - Glossary
Glossary Index - A B C D E F G H I K L M O P R S T V W
A
Affinity Group Marketing
Target a group of individuals who share similar characteristics or needs, and the promotional offers are communicated via e-mail, online, or offline channels.
Application
1. A specific digital printing job; or
2. A general category of printing jobs; or
3. A software program in general
Attrition (= Churn)
Reduction in numbers of customer occurs as a result of normal turnover or some specific events - Good competitive offer or a failure on the part of the company.
Authoring Tool
A software package that allows the production of variable information jobs by defining layouts that contain variable and static elements.
B
Banding
Forming different groups of customers or prospects based on selected criteria.
Bang-tail
A direct mail’s envelope with the recipient’s name already printed on the second flap, which is perforated and designed for use as an order blank.
Bounce Back
An offer enclosed with mailings sent to a customer in fulfillment of an order.
Business Intelligence Software
A decision-support technology that used for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of company’s data.
C
Campaign Management Software
A tool that enables marketing automation by arranging the segmentation of the customer database and the development of offers. It coordinates data analysis with program execution.
Channel Manager
Software that allows a company to acquire relevant information from every point of customer contact, transfer it to the central information repository, undergo meaningful analysis, and finally deliver key data back to every point of contact for execution.
Churn
(= Attrition)
Classing
Assign value to groups of customers or prospects based on selected criteria.
Cleansing (= Scrubbing)
Remove any incomplete, inaccurate, or corrupt data from a database.
Coding
Identifying devices used on reply devices to realize the mailing list or other source from which the address was acquired.
Collaborative Filtering
An interactive channel through which a company can capture browsers’ information by tracking what pages are visited on its Website and where the most time is spent.
Collateral Management
A system that records details of marketing materials (printed and electronic) for use in any campaign. It allows a company rep to access the exact materials to which a customer has been, or should be exposed.
Component (=Element /Page Element)
A part of a page, (e.g. image, graphic or text) which would be printed on various pages in a VDP print run.
Component Caching
Improve VDP production efficiency by avoiding excessive re-RIPping of reusable elements. Without Component Caching, the element/page component must be re-RIPped every time it appears. But, a system with Component Caching enables the component to be RIPped only once. The press-ready bitmap can be saved in the system, so it is able to be imaged anytime during the print run.
Conditional Processing
A technique in the VDP system allows automatic change of a page’s layout or content based on specific fields in the incoming data stream, using logic rules.
Contact History
A record of the interaction between a company and the customer over time, and the outcomes of those interactions.
Content Management
Using managed text, images, and pages to produce a unique message for each customer.
Continuous Relationship Marketing
(Refer to Customer Relationship Management)
Corporate System Application (CSA)
(Refer to Enterprise Resource Planning)
Cost per Piece
The conventional measure of the cost of a direct mail marketing job per print.
Cost per Response
The parameter for measuring the cost of a direct mail job per response, or per dollar of sales, or some other results-oriented measurement.
Customer Information Repository
(Refer to Data Warehouse)
Customer Acquisition
The marketing goal of getting new customers — selling to non-existing customers.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
1. The overall process of marketing, sales, and customer service within organization;
2. The practice of targeting, getting and keeping the best customers to make profitable growth;
3. Communication dialogue with customers consisting of sequenced messages timed to individual needs and situations.
(= Continuous Relationship Marketing/ Relationship Management/ Relationship Marketing)
Customer Retention
The marketing goal of preventing your customers from going to the competition. It costs 5 - 10 times less to retain a customer than to get a new one. This is a major intention behind the move to CRM.
Customization
(Refer to Personalization)
D
Data Driven Graphics
Graphics (e.g. charts) are generated by sending the raw numerical data to the DFE or RIP instead of making individual charts in advance for each document in a print run, reducing the workload and bandwidth requirements for the earlier components of the digital printing system.
Data Mart
A subset of the information saved in a data warehouse.
Data Mining
Searching large volumes of data finding patterns that accurately predict customer’s behavior.
Data Model
A structured way of presenting a set of data — the design of the tables and their corresponding relationships in a relational database for supporting a vertical industry.
Data Warehouse (= Customer Information Repository)
1. An information infrastructure that allows companies to access and analyze detailed data and trends.
2. A segregate store of transactional data that provides a single integrated view of the customer.
Database Management System (DBMS)
Software used to establish and maintain a database, providing a layer of transparency between the physical data and application programs.
Database Marketing
The use of customer profiles saved in a database to market to customers.
Database Publishing
A process for managing, producing and publishing content by fully utilizing the database systems and content creation tools.
Decision Support Systems (=Executive Information Systems, EIS)
Software used to analyze data contained with a customer database.
De-duplication
Eliminate repetitive records from a database, especially when two or more databases have been merged to form a single larger list.
Digital Asset Manager
Software used to organize, track and manage graphics, logos, pictures and text.
Digital Front End (DFE)
(Refer to RIP)
Digital Printing
Using laser printer, inkjet printer or digital press to produce printed materials directly from a computer file, without using a film negative or an intermediate machine such as a plate-making machine.
Direct Mail Advertising
Using the Postal Service for distributing the advertising message.
Direct Marketing (= Direct Response Advertising)
A direct communication to a customer or business which aims to generate a response in the form of direct sales or a request for information.
Direct Response Advertising
(Refer to Direct Marketing)
Doubling Day
A point in time set by past experience when 50% of all returns to a mailing will normally be received.
E
Element
(Refer to Component)
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Multi-module application that helps a company manage its business in areas of product planning, purchasing, inventory management, supplier interaction, customer service, order tracking, finance and human resources.
Enterprise Customer Management (ECM)
Progressing ownership of the customer up to the enterprise level, and away from individual departments.
Events
Significant circumstances in either the life of the customer (e.g. marriage, birth of child) or the relationship with the customer (e.g. competitor activity) that may affect purchasing habits. Event-triggered communications are important to VDP.
Executive Information Systems, EIS
(Refer to Decision Support Systems)
Extract File
A subset of a large database used for analysis, usually formatted as a flat file for downloading to a personal computer or workstation.
F
Frequency Marketing (= Loyalty Programs)
A marketing program recognizing and rewarding customers based on their purchasing behavior.
G
Geo-coding
Analyzing geo-demographic data e.g. ZIP codes, counties, regions, etc.
H
Hard Benefit
A program’s benefit that the customer would have to pay for. E.g. free air travel, free hotel lodging, etc. (Refer to Soft Benefit)
Householding
The grouping of individuals by household or relationship patterns.
I
Interactive Marketing
Marketing products or services via the Internet.
K
Kill Bad Name (KBN)
Action taken with undeliverable addresses.
L
Lifetime Value (“LTV”) of Customer
View the value of a customer in terms of how much product or service he/she will purchase in lifetime, not just on the current transactions. LTV gives marketer a much more realistic picture of the value of retaining customers.
Loyalty Programs
(Refer to Frequency Marketing)
LTV
(Refer to Lifetime Value)
M
Marketing Automation
Automate the business marketing processes including campaign definition, creation, and implementation; segmentation and targeting; response collection and analysis; and response feed-backed into the system.
Marketing Campaign Lifecycle
The full cycle of events in a marketing campaign includes stages of planning, execution and measurement.
Marketing Velocity
The speed of cycling via the processes or stages in the Marketing Campaign Lifecycle.
Mass Customization
The ability to make mass production of custom outputs based on individual’s needs.
N
Needs-based Differentiation
To differentiate customers based on their individual’s needs or preferences.
O
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
An industry standard practice to make connection to a database to request and receive data records.
One-to-One Marketing
Personalized marketing which identifies a company’s customers on individual basis, differentiates among those individuals, interacts with customers and tracks responses, and customizes communications for each consumer.
Online Analytical Processing
A method that looks for trends and patterns in corporate data in real-time.
Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)
An application that assists in the transaction process and provides all the necessary information such as product information, pricing, availability and delivery options to complete the transaction.
P
Page Caching
Running all the static elements on a VDP job only once, and then saving the result for reuse on every page in the print job. The variable elements for each sheet are then merged with the cached page to make the final printed piece.
Page Element
(Refer to Component)
Personalization (= Customization)
Customize a printed/electronic document by varying the text, graphics and layout to meet the needs of an individual consumer.
Portable Document Format (PDF)
A file format created by Adobe Systems based on its PostScript® page description language. PDF file supports graphic arts production which is much easier to “port” from one user’s system to another without errors arising.
PostScript
The ‘de facto standard’ programming language created by Adobe Systems for the graphic arts. PostScript instructions made by application software and the printer driver are delivered to a PostScript output device to describe the page the user intends to have output.
Propensity Scores
Scoring, based on customer history, which can presume a customer’s action.
Pull Marketing
Communications that are actively originated by the customers.
Purge
The process of erasing duplicates and/or unwanted names and addresses from the lists.
Push Marketing
Communications that are originated by the company to the customers.
R
Raster Image Processor
(Refer to RIP)
Recurring Content
(Refer to Reusable Component)
Reflow
Dynamic hyphenation and justification of a text block caused by insertion of variable content. (= Re-justify)
Re-justify
(Refer to Reflow)
Relational Database
A database built using the relational model, based on tables linked by a common key. It does not have any predefined access paths. The records within each table are in arbitrary order.
Relationship Management or Relationship Marketing
(Refer to Customer Relationship Management)
Response Rate
The percentage of recipients who respond to the direct mail/eDM. It is used to measure the success of marketing campaign.
Response Tracking
Record responses received in answer to a marketing campaign.
Reusable Component
Elements reused within a personalized print job. (= Recurring Content)
RFM Market Analysis
Segment customers based on Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value of transactions.
RIP = Raster Image Processor
1. Noun: Hardware or software that converts a page description from abstract language into a "raster image" — a pre-computed pattern of individual bits that are ready to be imaged on a digital output appliance such as laser printer, image-setter, or digital press. In the graphic arts industry, “RIP” may refer to something that reads PostScript.
2. Verb: To transform a page description file into bits, using a RIP. The RIPping process is also known as 'Rasterizing'.
S
SAS (Statistical Analysis System)
A complete statistical and graphical program that includes modules for various types of specialized analysis.
Sales Force Automation
Automate the sales processes such as contact management, information delivery, and proposal configuration.
Remarks: In 1998, Sales Force Automation Association renamed itself CRMA (Customer Relationship Management Association). This reflects a trend that’s significant to the VDP industry: marketers realize the increasing importance of managing the customer relationship over a lifetime, not just via a one-time sales process, and CRM demands frequent communication, which often relies on VDP.
Scoring
A method used to predict customer behavior. The score assigned to each individual in a database indicates that person's particular habits and behavior.
Scrubbing
(Refer to cleansing)
Segmentation
Divide and itemize customers into groups, each with common demographic attributes.
Soft Benefit
A program’s benefit that creates customer a sense of special status while does not yield high cost to the sponsor. E.g. Discounts, Advance notification of sales, etc. (Refer to Hard Benefit)
Suppression
An indicator for not communicating with a specific consumer or group of consumers.
T
Transactional
Representing a business action of financial exchange.
V
Variable Data Publishing (VDP)
A digital print-run making each printed page to be unique and personal, with the variations usually determined by matching the content to customer information in a database. (=Variable Information Printing / VIP)
Variable Information (VI) or Variable Information Printing (VIP)
(Refer to VDP)
Versioning
A kind of short-run printing for different versions of a document going to different geographical areas or people with different income levels.
W
Workflow
Decisions, procedures and information paths taken in creating and producing a digital document.
