Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid with Your Mailing & Fulfillment Service
As a mailing and fulfillment service provider, there’s nothing more disappointing than hearing a client complain about receiving mail pieces back due to wrong information. And then having Elvis Presley lyrics stream through your mind: ♫ ♪ “Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no such zone.” ♪ ♪ ♫
Want to avoid the client complaints (and Evis lyrics)? Take a look at the following list of mistakes to avoid as a mailing and fulfillment service provider.
1.) Be a Hoarder
Nothing good can come from old information. Keeping your data clean and up-to-date is a must. Clients don’t like spending extra money—shocker. Avoid sending multiple mail pieces to the same address, or worse, the wrong address by keeping your data in tip-top shape. A more accurate list also means less undelivered or returned mail, which means higher response rates and happier clients. Plus, as if you didn’t need another reason, good data hygiene is also greener.
How do you go about keeping info on the up and up? Regularly monitoring databases internally and constantly checking for small errors is a huge step. Additionally, be sure to mind your in-house “do not market” lists, or customers who’ve said they do not wish to receive mailings from you. Finally, make it easy for customers to keep their information current. Every contact point you have (face-to-face sales, emails, online promotional content, ect.) should have a user-friendly method of submitting or updating personal information.
2.) Skip the Calculations
We don’t like math either. But skipping a background check on your mail pieces before they send out is a huge error. What’s a background check entail for a piece of paper? Researching the size and weight restrictions of your piece before you finalize designs. Contact the post office and get a quote. Be mindful of cost limitations made by your client before you roll with an idea. Measure twice, cut once.
3.) Do What You’ve Always Done
If the product you’re designing for your client involves printed letters and numbers on a flat piece of paper, you’re not pushing yourself. Complacency is the enemy of innovation. It’s easy to find a niche that works for your company and stick to it, but you are capable of so much more. These days, getting noticed via direct mail is difficult—color palettes and large fonts won’t do it.
Think for a moment about the craziest thing your company has ever mailed as a promo piece for a client. If your answer is “a piece of paper,” cringe. Push beyond the overused lumpy mail items including freebie pens, emery boards, koozies and notepads. Think of a random object and see if you can tie it into your client’s product—the more out of the blue your object appears, the more memorable it will be. You can mail bouncy balls, vinyl records, sponges and 80 million objects that are more interesting than a pen. Think outside the envelope.
What big mistakes do you have to add to the list?
Photo: BestStuff
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