Direct Mail

DMA calls on distributors to speak up on USPS issues. By Sarah Lerow On June 30, The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) raised its rates for the third time in 18 months. Undoubtedly, this increase was felt throughout the printing industry, but perhaps the first place one would experience the impact is in the realm of direct mail. The biggest problem for distributors, according to Ed Gleiman, a Washington-based consultant to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), New York, is that the rate increases have exceeded the rate of inflation. "It is troublesome for any businessperson to have one of his or her major costs of

Take small, manageable steps on the way to big direct mail profits. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. A step-by-step approach can turn seemingly impossible tasks into manageable projects. That's something forms distributors need to remember when considering the direct mail market, where high-volume, high-dollar projects can be a bit daunting. Dick Kuntz, president of GBF Graphics, Skokie, Ill., pointed out that forms sales are fairly straightforward and tend to repeat, while direct mail almost always in-volves new copy—not to mention a proofing process and press checks. "If a forms distributor gets a $10,000 or a $15,000 order,

Offering direct mail services can help distributors penetrate accounts and boost shrinking revenues. Like lava slowly flowing down a mountain, the proliferation of distributors offering direct mail products has spread slowly but surely over the last decade, fueled by the twin fires of cost-consciousness and demand. As people throughout the forms and labels world desperately try to figure out what the future holds for this maturing industry, attention has turned toward finding new products and services to take the place of older, more commodities-oriented offerings. Direct mail products, with their ability to offer users significant savings over traditional stuffed envelopes, as well as

Platinum Award: Direct Mail. Promotions Made Easy. Designing direct mail pieces isn't rocket science, but it sure helps to know some fundamental rules of marketing. And one of the most im-portant ones is to know who you're writing for. Rick Lewis, president of ProForma Preferred Systems, Long Beach, Calif., never seems to have any trouble remembering who his audience is. Unfortunately, that's not always the case for everyone else. "So often, designers design for themselves," opined Lewis, "They design for what they like, not what their clients would like." Lewis, however, does just the opposite—and it's working.

Generate repeat business by selling in the direct mail arena. With knowledge of the processes involved, distributors can successfully sell direct mail pieces to generate profits and repeat business. Bob Nesbit, vice president of sales and marketing for CDCI in Dayton, Ohio, believes that one factor that contributes to the popularity of direct mail is that it can always be measured and tested. "After establishing a control group that doesn't receive mail at all, different creative approaches and offers can be tested," noted Nesbit. "The idea is to try to continually beat the control group so that distributors may provide a package that

Intelligent databases provide more focus and desirable results Many distributors agree that direct mail is an ever-popular tool. Customers want to get their messages—whether through ads, surveys or benefit fulfillment pieces—into the hands of potential end-users, and mass-mailing directly to homes and businesses is an effective way to do so. But a mailer is only as effective, and as profitable, as the suitability of its recipients. In other words, significant profits can be lost on wasteful mailings. As a result, distributors are finding ways to better target their customers' markets with the help of new technology. "Anyone can take an item and

Efficient and more accessible than ever, mailers are everywhere. Denoting any format that doesn't require an outer envelope, mailers not only eliminate the labor costs for folding, sealing and stuffing, they can prevent embarrassing mismatches, making them affordable and, ultimately, very effective vehicles. And while industry professionals report that the traditional peel-back mailer market is maturing, the use of self-mailers and pressure-seal products is on the rise—another effect of the boom in laser printer usage. "One-part fold-and-seal is the fastest-growing market for mailers today," offered Dick Dennis, vice president of Bannockburn, Illinois-based Latitudes, a Moore Business. "Anything that is put into a

Value-added opportunities arise as customers increase demand for unique, personalized products By Eric Fiedler It's no wonder postal workers are among the most disgruntled of the nation's masses—each direct mail sale means more work for them. Direct mail sales have been on the rise for more than a decade—at a clip of about 7 percent per year—and show no signs of stopping. "There will be some changes in the frequency or the size and weight of the pieces that are mailed out after the postal increase in January, but I do not believe the opportunities will decline for a long time," said Lee

Know-how is necessary to break into the direct mail market By Misty Byers When it comes to succeeding in the direct mail business, it's all in the approach. "Manufacturers and distributors don't just jump into direct mail," explained Allen Simon, president of Monaca, Pa.-based Datatel Resources. "It's a whole different in-dustry [from traditional business forms] that operates a completely different way. If you attack it like you attack the business forms industry, it won't work. "You don't just go out and install a four- or six-color press and say, 'I'm in the direct mail business.' You have to make a very strong commitment to do business the way