Why Using a Mailing House Will Increase Your Business Revenue

In this modern, tech age of self-driving cars, social media giants and easy-to-send emails, you’d be forgiven for thinking that some physical marketing tactics, such as direct mail, is becoming somewhat obsolete.

However, perhaps you would be surprised to learn that in 2015, over 150 million direct promotions were sent out by small businesses. Whilst also, in 2016, it was found that UK businesses spent over £1.5 billion on direct mail.

Even Google use direct mail!

One such business included in this spend was Google, one of the leading names in the tech world. If a tech-savvy business such as Google appreciates the need for direct mail, then it’s clear that this form of marketing is still very much alive and kicking!

Enlisting the help of a mailing house is a popular way to make full use of this form of promotion. But just what is it? And what benefits can they provide to your business?

What is a mailing house?

The Oxford Dictionary defines them as ”a company which arranges the large-scale dispatch of mail on behalf of other organisations”. In this sense, they help to simply print and mail your marketing materials.

But, in truth, the mailing houses of today offer a much more holistic service than this definition perhaps allude to. A good company will help you in the following areas:

Planning

The first step of any marketing campaign, be it online or offline, comes from thorough planning. While you’ll no doubt have your own team of marketing wizards working hard on your campaign, you can expect a mailing house to act as an extra member of your planning and project management team.

Data management

The next step to this planning comes from having high-quality data. The best companies will offer a data management service, helping you to not only stay compliant with all data laws, but to ensure that your data is also kept clean, up-to-date, and free of any corrupted records.

Personalisation

Involved in both the planning process and the audience targeting process, a mailing house can use this information to help you plan a highly personalised campaign.

Fulfilment

Next comes fulfilment, which involves the creation of your direct mail. Fulfilment is a large task and requires state-of-the-art equipment; something that the majority of businesses simply don’t have. A mail fulfilment house will help your marketing materials stand out. The fulfilment process involves everything from preparation to folding, inserting, poly-wrapping and poly-processing.

Print

The obvious part of the process is the printing of your direct mail. The difference to the printing that you’ve usually been used to is that your mailing house will have access to some of the highest quality equipment on the market.

Postage

The final stage of the process that is the postage of your direct mail campaign.

What are the benefits of using this type of company?

As you can see from the above, a mailing house will handle every part of the process, and be involved every step of the way. But the benefits that they can offer to you don’t just stop there.

One of the most important considerations for any business is both their costs, as well as their time efficiency. A mailing house will help you to both reduce your costs, while ensuring the whole campaign can be completed in a much shorter timeframe.

How can they help to reduce your costs?

• As with many items, you’ll receive a discount for bulk mailings
• You’ll be able to make additional savings on consumables, such as stationery, as your mailing house would have bought these items in bulk themselves
• Thanks to their robust data management, you won’t waste cash send mailings with bad data (e.g. duplicates, goneaways or error ridden data)
• Access to many accreditations, such as the Royal Mail’s Mailmark if in the UK
• Mail sortation can help to further reduce your costs too as post providers offer discounts for pre-sorted mail

Aside from cost savings, there are a wide-ranging number of other benefits too. By making use of the mailing house’s far-reaching relationships, you’ll be able to enjoy access to the quickest and most efficient mailing routes, all at a lower cost!

Some mailing houses will offer you stock management and storage space for any items you may have, such as brochures or stationery, keeping it safe for you until your campaign starts. Aside from your own equipment, the mailing house will also have their own range of top-quality, market-leading printing equipment; all of which they’ll use to ensure your campaign is as successful as possible.

Finally, a good mailing house will make sure that your campaign, and any direct mail involved, stays fully compliant with all the relevant rules and regulations, ensuring that you remain on the right side of the law.

With clear statistics supporting the benefits of direct mail, these services can be one of the best ways to help increase your business revenue.