Direct Mail Tips: Getting More Out of Your Postal Budget
Savvy direct marketers know a successful direct mail strategy isn’t focused solely on reducing postage costs—you must also improve deliverability and increase response.
Here’s some ideas on how to maximize the value of your postal spend.
Use the appropriate mail class
Mail class is one of the primary drivers of postage cost. Most marketers use either Standard Mail or First-Class Mail to distribute their marketing messages.
First-Class, the U.S. Postal Service’s flagship product, promises priority in the processing network, faster delivery, and a suite of ancillary services (such as forwarding or return to sender) built into the base price. But this higher level of service is reflected in the cost.
Standard Mail is a lower priority in the processing network, and the delivery cycle is longer. Ancillary services are available on an “a la carte” basis. Due to these differences, the base cost for Standard Mail is about 70% the cost of First-Class. In addition, Standard Mail offers more opportunities for worksharing discounts, such as Destination Entry.
Marketers need to consider whether they need, or will use, the additional services offered through First-Class or whether they can plan a production schedule to accommodate Standard Mail delivery to take advantage of the savings opportunities. (Keep in mind that some communications, such as bills or statements of account, are required to be mailed First-Class.)
Watch size and weight of the mailpiece
The other primary drivers of postage cost are the size and weight of the mail piece. Mail larger than 6-⅛”x 11-½” or thicker than ¼” must be mailed at Flats rates, which can be up to 50% higher than the corresponding rate for a Letter-size piece. Also, Standard Mail over 3.3 ounces or First-Class Mail of one ounce or more incurs additional postage.
Marketers should work closely with their service providers to ensure their mailpieces don’t unintentionally cross one of these thresholds. Flat-sized or heavier mailpieces may drive higher response, thereby offsetting the higher postage costs. But savvy marketers typically test into a larger mailpiece to ensure the response rate justifies the higher cost.
Use high-quality addresses
No matter what cost-saving strategies are employed, marketers get no value from mailings that don’t reach their intended recipients. Be sure your service providers are using all the available tools to make certain the addresses in your mailing lists are complete, correct and current.
There are tools available from the Postal Service, such as CASS-certified address processing, that confirm your addresses have all required elements, all elements are correct and the address actually exists. Another tool is NCOALink, which ensures that you are keeping up with the more than 40 million Americans who change their addresses each year.
In addition to USPS tools, there are a number of proprietary databases that capture moves not reported to the Postal Service.
Take advantage of all available discounts
The Postal Service offers a variety of “worksharing” discounts for mailers who do more to prepare and transport their mail, assuming some of the workload that would otherwise be borne by the Postal Service.
* Presort discounts are given for grouping mail together into bundles or trays for more efficient processing.
* Automation discounts are earned for mailpieces with suitable barcodes that meet the physical parameters to be handled by USPS sorting equipment.
* Participants in the Intelligent Mail Full Service option gain discounts for using unique Intelligent Mail barcodes on mailpieces, handling units and containers; providing electronic documentation and statements, and making appointments for all destination-entered mail using the USPS’s on-line scheduling tool, FAST.
* Destination Entry discounts recognized cost savings by the Postal Service when mail is entered at processing facilities near its final destination.
Kurt Ruppel is marketing services manager at IWCO Direct.
