Photo by Ged Carrol, Creative Commons License
As marketers, we live in a world of never-ending postal rate increases. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to offset those costs. To make the value even sweeter, those steps can make your marketing more effective, too.
Let’s look at a few of them.
1. Clean up your database.
On average, businesses not using CASS address standardization find that up to 20% of their addresses are inaccurate or undeliverable (Experion). By using CASS certification, you can identify these addresses before mailing. The result is fewer returned pieces and cost savings up to 20%.
2. Target your mailings.
Work with us to determine key customer groups. These might be your most active and inactive customers or segments based on customer preference or need. Target your communications rather than mailing to your entire customer base each time.
3. Personalize kits or catalogs.
If you’re sending out large, undifferentiated kits, newsletters, or catalogs, mail only information relevant to each recipient. You see insurance companies, colleges and universities, and financial institutions doing this frequently now.
4. Adjust design elements to reduce cost.
Start with database cleansing or targeting to reduce postal costs. You can also make design adjustments, such as switching from over-sized mailers to standard-sized postcards or reducing the weight of your stock. Keep in mind, however, that while this might save money, it might negatively impact your effectiveness, as well.
Nobody likes to pay more postage than they need to. Think of today’s postal expenses as an opportunity to push you out of your marketing box and do things in more targeted — and effective — ways.