I’ve seen customer communications change drastically over the past few decades. I started in the direct mail business back when we were doing variable printing on computer-controlled Xerox 2700 laser printers. This was revolutionary back in the 1970s and the 1980s. We could print two pages a second, and we could put a different name and address on every letter.

That was the beginning of digital printing. The next big thing was digital spot color. This allowed us to put a blue signature on a sales letter, so it looked less like a photocopy and more like a personally signed document.

After that came data segmentation. In the early days, we simply sent things out to every address on a giant mailing list, but as computer hardware and software evolved, the industry changed dramatically. Improved data processing saw companies go from mailing out millions of pieces to targeting a few thousands consumers who fit a specific profile.