Case Study: Sylvan Learning
Creating a new 1:1 direct mail and digital printing service bureau
The challenge: establishing direct marketing efficiencies
Sylvan Learning needed a new direct marketing platform for their 1,100 and growing franchisee base. The company used an offset commercial print operation that was no longer able to meet the needs of the Sylvan franchisees. Poor response times, outdated inventories of print materials and franchisee frustration resulted in a significant drop in the direct mail volume.
According to Sara Costello, Director of Direct Mail and Conversion Marketing at Sylvan, limited ability to customize direct mail pieces and a lack of dedicated customer support also added to the reduction in the direct mail volumes.
“We needed a direct mail program our franchise operators could customize and distribute on demand.” We needed to bring back a new and integrated program that worked for us and our franchise owners.”
– Sara Costello, Director of Direct Mail and Conversion Marketing, Sylvan Learning
A Technology Platform for Marketing Excellence
Sylvan Learning contracted QuantumDigital to implement a flexible web-to-print direct marketing solution. As part of the initial discovery sessions, Sylvan franchisees participated in a number of surveys in order to create a system that was customized for them. As a result, Sylvan now has the ability to provide branded marketing collateral to their franchisees through a branded web portal, called the 1:1 Direct Mail Service Bureau.
With the old system, the franchisees could not easily tailor, customize and personalize their messages for their local markets. The new online system provides each franchisee with this new functionality. They simply select the direct marketing piece they need, personalize their message, select their mailing list and their marketing pieces are in the mail the next business day. The web-to-print solution provides flexibility at the local level, but allows Sylvan Learning to protect their overall brand integrity.
Enabling true differentiation
Sylvan’s franchise operators have embraced the new direct marketing system, moving from a 10% adoption rate in the legacy system to more than 75% this year. “Our results prove how effective the new web-to-print model can be, and we are planning to increase and expand our direct marketing programs to continue to add value for our franchisees,” stated Costello.
“Exceptional customer support, 24-hour turn times and flexible technology is a must for our franchisees.”
– Sara Costello, Director of Direct Mail and Conversion Marketing, Sylvan Learning
