Ready, Set, Mail!

Recent client meetings have certainly had a common theme: mail. This week I'll be highlighting some of the key steps in planning for a mailing and some options you may not have considered...yet. Let me start by giving you some background on BPI Media Group's mail capabilities.

In 2004, BPI added a mail department to bring this service in house. Our mail specialist, Doris, was shipped off to training and continues to go through continuing education training every time the postage requirements change (which is pretty often!). In 2008, a second mail machine was added to the mail department to keep things moving quickly out the door and into your mailboxes. Our mail equipment has the capability to inkjet addresses, apply tabs or wafer seals, apply scratch-off tabs with "winning numbers" underneath and print variable messaging in a variety of colors. BPI's mail machines can mail handle everything from a postcard or self mailer to approx 1" thick catalog or magazine. On average, we process 800,000-1,000,000 pieces of mail/month. Got multiple pieces to insert? We can handle that too. We cass-certify every mailing to offer the best, automated postage rates. We also run all mail lists through NCOA (national change of address) in case someone has moved.

Now that I've brought you up to speed on our equipment and what it can do, here's some info that I hope you find helpful in planning for the mailing. This is the fun part because you can do so much with mail!

• The most important piece of the mail puzzle is the data, or list. You wouldn't just randomly send your company's offer or promotion to just anyone and expect stellar results, right? Of course not! You plan and analyze the data by researching the demographics of who buys your product/service, when, how often, etc. After this info is gathered and reviewed, you can compile and/or purchase a list that is the best fit for your company's product/service. Put your data to work to help do one of the following:
• Resurrect a dormant customer relationship.
• Proactively cross sell and upsell.
• Create ongoing purchases via a loyalty program.
• Timing is imperative. If you have a specific event or a window of opportunity for a promotion your company is offering, think about when you need to mail. Sure, you can always mail first class if your budget will allow it, but for those who want to stretch their marketing dollars and save on postage, plan to allow time to mail presort standard (formerly known as 3rd class many years ago). If you mail presort standard, you'll want to allow about 3 days for every mail processing center your mail will travel through on its journey to the recipient. (We can help you with this too in order to time the mail out perfectly!)
• Mail smartly. Part of this goes back to messaging and images, but in our "me" society, try variable or personalization on your mail. It really isn't a high-cost luxury. Adding a person's name or spelling out their name in a graphic definitely boosts response rate because it gets attention.
• Make mail part of a multi-channel campaign. While 36% of US respondents across age groups trust mail more than email, pairing print and online messaging combined further improves your ROI & boosts results of your mail campaign exponentially. (Source: "Finding the Right Channel Combination: What Drives Channel Choice," ICOM 2010) Click here for a great article on driving traffic through mail.
• Track your mail. I'm not just referring to the IMB (intelligent mail barcode) you now see on all direct mail, but try adding a QR code, which is highly trackable and capitalizes on the mobile culture, or include a landing page. This requires a call to action and will be sure to get responses and provides a way to track your responses via online dashboards.

• Lastly, make your mail noticeable. How, you ask? Do something different and try lumpy mail (aka, dimensional mail). If you receive a package in the mail, aren't you more likely to open it than a flat envelope or a postcard? Click here for an interesting article on the power of lumpy mail.

BPI did a lumpy mailing of a message in a bottle as part of a campaign earlier this year, and it definitely got noticed! Our feedback from this piece was phenomenal! Brainstorming with customers about projects, especially mail, is one of my favorite things to do, so please give me a call or email if you'd like to bounce ideas around on ways to get ready to mail! For more great articles about mail, check out Deliver Magazine. To join BPI's mail list or offer feedback, click here.