Direct Mail

The responsibility for multifaceted mailroom expenses can be distributed across several departments, with each managing a separate budget. Analyzing and controlling total costs require a cooperative, holistic approach. Organizations must study the entire process, including the pieces to be mailed, the purchase and storage of mailing supplies and the costs of preparing and shipping mail pieces. Traditionally, businesses have focused on shipping supplies as an area to trim. Now, shape-based postage has changed the situation to some extent by enabling businesses to choose more efficient packaging to minimize postage expenses. Yet businesses must also look at the costs of fulfillment, freight and storage and, for a

A recent survey commissioned by Stamford, Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes—a mailstream technology company—and conducted by International Communications Research (ICR), revealed even in today’s digital world, consumers still prefer mail to other communications vehicles for receiving product information, offers and confidential business communications. This is the fourth mail preference survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes since March 1999. The study found 73 percent of respondents prefer mail for receiving new product announcements and offers from companies they currently do business with, while only 18 percent prefer e-mail. Mail is also preferred by 70 percent of respondents for receiving unsolicited information regarding products and services from companies they

Many Americans have adopted the “I want it, and I want it now” mentality. Few individuals enjoy waiting the five- to seven-business day standard delivery time when expecting an important package. Until our order arrives, we run to our mailboxes with the same enthusiasm as a child on Christmas day. But before finding what we want, we often confront a mailbox overflowing with unsolicited pieces of direct mail, or what many consider “junk mail.” Nevertheless, a lot of companies continue to incorporate direct mail into their business strategies. According to an article published in The New York Times, the United States Postal Service (USPS) estimated

On May 14, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will enact shape-based postage. For the first time, postage rates will reflect the fact that certain types of mail require higher processing costs. First-class mail will see an average increase of 7 percent across the board, but postage rates for certain classes of mail—flats and parcels—will rise as much as 40 percent to 60 percent. However, the new system includes pricing incentives to encourage mailing efficiency, giving businesses an unprecedented opportunity to reduce the impact of the new pricing system. Bob Makofsky, general manager for Conformer Expansion Products, Great Neck, N.Y., pointed out that

Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Pitney Bowes has added production intelligence to the mail stream with its new Sure-Feed AT3 Product Attaching System, bringing industry-leading processing speeds, unique product attaching opportunities and high-quality documents to service providers and transactional mailers. It features a synchronized servo card feeder for precise product placement, and an operator-friendly touch screen for on-the-fly adjustments. The AT3 boasts changeover times of less than 15 minutes for new applications, and a 6' collection conveyor for easy unloading. Typical applications include attaching phone cards, real estate cards, business cards, credit cards, insurance cards, gift cards, magnets and certified mail. The product is especially useful

For the first time ever, the USPS is implementing a shape-based mailing rate system. The current weight-based system fails to address the fact that certain types of mail simply cost more to process—usually because they require human handling. On May 14, postage rates for certain classes of mail, such as flats and parcels, will rise as much as 40 percent to 60 percent. However, the new system does offer significant price incentives that reward efficient, automation-friendly packaging. Bob Makofsky, president of Conformer Expansion Products, Great Neck, N.Y., offers the following tips to take advantage of the incentives while tackling shape-based postal rates: 1. Educate

By Maggie DeWitt This month’s mystery product not only makes a strong impression, it just about guarantees mailers will be opened. Essentially, a manufacturing innovation is now providing an attention-grabbing enhancement to an already stand-out envelope product. Best of all, it facilitates the market’s growing demand for short-runs. Guess what the product is by checking out the following clues: • It is a specialty envelope with a distinct look and feel that showcases materials in a unique way. • It features custom, screen-printed designs using ink that mimics thermography. • It fosters an aesthetic appeal even prompting some recipients to save

On May 14, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will enact its most sweeping change since the 1996 Domestic Mail Classification Schedule and Rate Schedule Change. A new weight- and shape-based postal rate system designed to reward mailers whose items are compatible with the USPS’s automated equipment is going into effect. Items requiring manual processing because of size or shape are going to cost more—a lot more. Mary Ann Bennett, president and CEO of The Bennett Group, Rochester, N.Y., and a leading expert in mail and postal regulations, explained the USPS is designed to move mail, not store and warehouse it. Mail must move

In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward had a burst of inspiration. In the tradition of the general store, he printed a single sheet featuring 163 items and mailed it to potential customers, allowing recipients to receive what they needed through the mail and with a discount, rather than paying higher prices at local stores with lower inventories. It was the beginning of an onslaught of direct marketing that has continued for more than 100 years. Throughout the 20th century, many other innovators followed in Ward’s wake. Sears-Roebuck took the mail order idea a step further, offering the Sears Modern Home, available from 1908 through 1940

Direct mail can be a very rewarding business-generation tool, but it has to be done right. There are things marketing directors should consider before championing a direct response campaign in their organizations. If marketing leaders would ask themselves the following five questions, their meetings with digital printing and mail house partners can be more effective—and mail campaigns more fruitful: 1. What is the plan? Simply starting is often the hardest part, but having a documented plan allows you to begin changing and modifying the plan. The way I learn, is often characterized by behaviorists as “visual spatial” learning; I need to