In 2018, we first learnt that a small handful of companies in the UK had either developed or purchased handwriting robots.
These are robot hands that hold a pen and use AI to write a message using a built-in style/font.
They’re certainly impressive pieces of equipment.
They’re quick, they’re consistent and the finished product looks legible.
This meant that for the first time since starting our handwritten mailing house in 2013, we had some competition.
Not directly the competition we expected. But in terms of the finished product that we deliver and they deliver, a comparable outcome.
So, I wanted to take a moment to write a short blog post to share our thoughts on handwriting robots and their place in this marketplace.
Premium Brands
Since launching in 2013, the big reason that we go to the effort of handwriting each and every piece of mail is so that we can help premium brands to add a personal touch to transactions and show their clients their appreciation towards them.
In my personal view as the founder of this company, a premium brand using a handwriting robot is a potential disaster.
The reason for this is because if a customer feels like they’re being deceived or you’re trying to trick them into thinking something is handwritten, then you run the risk of making the customer feel cheated.
There’s nothing that we hate more than feeling like we’ve been lied to.
It can cause more damage than good to a brand.
It’s why the premium brands that we work with demand the real thing, so that their customers feel truly appreciated (rather than having the wool pulled over their eyes).
Database/Existing Customer & Outreach Mailings
Many of our clients use handwritten mailing for database campaigns to their existing customers or to cold outreach to prospects/ideal customers.
Whether this is to promote a new service to existing customers or attract new customers by introducing your services/products.
The truth is, both genuine handwritten and robot handwritten can work.
The challenge is that although many of your recipients will not notice the difference between real vs robot – a small percentage of them will.
Your challenge is deciding on the importance of the damage that not sending genuine handwritten mail is going to cause to the small percentage of your recipients that notice the difference.
For many of our clients, given the relationship and importance of the mailing, they want the job done properly and choose real handwriting
Large Volume Lead-Generation Mailings
The one area where I believe the robot has the advantage is on large-volume lead-generation mailers.
These are the campaigns where data is purchased and mailed with a large number of mailings to find semi-interested leads to feed into a sales team.
By sending with a robot, the costs may be lower and it will still give the impression that it’s handwritten – this means that the conversion will remain high, the costs potentially work and if the fake handwriting does annoy a recipient, they’re not a customer so it minimizes the risk.
The truth is, there’s certainly a place for both genuine and robot in this marketplace.
The question that you need to decide is which option is right for you based on who you’re mailing and the potential reputational damage.
The above shares a very honest and open breakdown of the benefits and negatives of each and I hope it helps you in your decision-making process.
If you believe genuine handwritten mail is the best option, then we’d love to work with you.
Call us today on 01530 215071 or click here to request your handwritten sample pack.