TABLE OF CONTENTSHow to Speed Up Direct Mail DeliveryDirect mail is helping companies connect and bond with their audience more and more day by day. It helps brands build customers’ trust in them, leading to increased sales and more repeat business. More than 50% of buyers admitted themselves that they love receiving direct mail pieces from companies. After all, in these digital days, people hardly send tangible mails to each other. So, it’s a little more personal and helps bond with people easily. ![]() However, the biggest problem that remains for the companies is sending tens of thousands of quality direct mail pieces regularly. Don’t worry. PostGrid has got you covered. PostGrid API helps you send as little as one and as many as a million direct mail pieces quickly and without much manual effort from your side. To speed up your direct mail delivery process, you’d need to speed up your letters’ processing and deliver them as soon as possible once you get them printed. Later on, depending on the type of delivery option you have chosen, it’ll reach your recipient within one to seven days (or more). But the question is, how do you speed that direct mail delivery process up? Plus, what options can you choose to send your direct mail pieces within a minimum of two days. Well, the fastest way to get mail delivered by using PostGrid’s automation API. It helps you design your mailpieces quickly with the help of ready-made templates present in the resources library. If you want to create your direct mail yourself from scratch, you can try our in-built editor. Next, just select the correct details like your mailing list, the number of direct mail pieces you want to send, the size of your mail pieces, and the type of material you’d need your mailpieces printed on, and that’s it. Once you have set the details, you can click print and send. All of your mail pieces will be processed, printed, and shipped within two days. The only thing remaining is the delivery options. Here’s a complete list of different methods you can use to speed up mail delivery and decrease your shipping timing. 4 Ways to Get Your Direct Mail Delivered Faster1. Maintain Data Hygiene The first and most significant way to speed up your mail delivery timing is to have a clean database and an accurate mailing list. Most companies don’t understand the importance of this one step until they realize the difference in their tracking results and lost money and resources. A clean database and mailing list mean that all of the customer information present in your system is accurate and precise, has no information gaps, no duplicate addresses, and it’s updated. Apart from that, only correct data enters your system once you have it cleaned. It can be a lot of work when done manually. Hence, consider letting automated software do this for you. It’ll not just be done in little time, but it’ll also be highly authentic and reliable. PostGrid API checks all of the customer details present in your system against the official database of Royal Mail. Plus, it gives the point of entry data-cleaning, which means it’ll detect the wrong or incorrect data as soon as your prospects type that in and provide them with correct suggestions to make the required changes. Here are some great details on cleaning your database.
2. Postal Optimization You can find multiple ways to optimize your postal services. This step can help you speed up your direct mail deliveries threefold. Here are some excellent ways to do it.
3. Using Automation Software Automation API like PostGrid helps you decrease your overall turnaround time for launching direct mail campaigns. Plus, it makes it easier to handle the processes involved. From personalization and customization, while drafting to printing and mailing, everything goes seamlessly. Additionally, you get great deals on sending direct mail pieces in bulk without searching for options. PostGrid does it for you in advance and shows you the best offers that you can get. But this is not all. PostGrid also has some great features for better time management during your direct campaign launch. For example:
4. Other Aspects That You Should Consider Apart from investing in fast deliveries, you should also consider the aspects that can slow down the shipping process and result in delayed direct mail deliveries. Here’s a list of a few things that you should keep in mind to prevent your mailing process from slowing down.
In ShortPostGrid API helps you prevent any such activities from happening to you so that your mail pieces are never late for delivery. And for this very reason, we only have professional and trusted print vendors in our records. It helps ensure that your mailpieces are always shipped on time. Plus, it provides you with the tracking details of each of your direct mails, which helps you determine whether your mail pieces are running on time. This way, you can also estimate the exact time it’d take you to launch a direct mail campaign and how long it’ll take your mail pieces to reach the recipients under experimented circumstances. Use a better and smarter option to speed up the launch of your direct mail campaigns. PostGrid API can help you decrease your campaign turnaround time and help you get great discounts on various delivery services. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post How to Speed Up Direct Mail Delivery appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/how-to-speed-up-direct-mail-delivery/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/how-to-speed-up-direct-mail-delivery
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TABLE OF CONTENTSEasy Ways to Reduce Printing Costs and Save MoneyCompanies all over the world have been using printing technology for decades now, and many of them have still not realized that printing can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be expensive if you put some smart strategies in operation and find a couple of easy tricks to avoid wastages and keep printing costs under control. ![]() Did you know that an average employee uses 50 sheets of paper per day unnecessarily? Moreover, about 80.6 million tonnes of paper are thrown away each year, which is 24% of the total waste in the UK. Hence, it is obvious that businesses should pay some attention to their printing section and take the necessary steps to curb costs and unnecessary environmental damage. Saving on your printing costs contributes directly towards reducing the usage of paper and ink. These things help save the environment and also allows your business to spend less and save more. Who wouldn’t want that? So we have compiled a list of easy ways to reduce printing services costs. You can incorporate these steps into your day-to-day activities and start saving some pounds. 16 Ways to Reduce Printing Cost1. Incorporate the Duplex Printing FeatureDuplex printing means printing on both sides of a paper sheet. By adopting this method, companies can reduce printing paper by a clear-cut 50%, exactly half of what you were printing earlier. It is a very simple process but can bring a huge difference in your printing budget. Files for internal use and distribution can definitely be printed on both sides of paper sheets. These sheets are not to be sent to clients or used in any other professional capacity. Therefore, it doesn’t make a difference if the paper you are printing is printed on one or two sides. But, as said earlier, it cuts down printing costs by 50% and is a great headstart on how to control printing costs. By saving paper, you are also helping save water, energy, and trees. So, you can fulfill your environmental responsibility while also saving your firm’s income. With modern printers easily available, gone are the days when you needed to wait for the printer to print on one side so that you can flip the paper over, load it back again, and continue printing on the other side. These modern printers allow you to set your printer on duplex printing mode, enabling your printer to automatically flip papers and print on both sides. They have made duplex printing so much simpler and less time-consuming. 2. Use Economical FontsOther than paper, the next important factor in deciding your printing costs is ink. Print cost reduction is highly dependent on your ink usage. Hence, understanding this factor and coming up with ways to reduce its usage is a must. So, the question that arises is how to save money on printing by cutting ink usage. The simplest answer to it is: to consider using eco-friendly fonts. These fonts are very economical as they use less ink for printing. Arial is considered the best font for drafting documents. It is easily readable and looks impressively professional. But, if you want to save on printing, Arial is definitely not the ideal font. Rather, use the most economical font – Century Gothic, which is both light and thin. It is reported that Century Gothic requires 30% less ink than Arial, which is an incredible difference. Some more fonts require lesser ink and can be considered as your font options. Ecofont is one such font that was created especially for easing a company’s printing budget. Alphabets typed in this font have small holes all over them – the idea behind the holes is to keep those small spaces blank and hence reduce ink usage. Times New Roman is another cheap alternative for you. Though it doesn’t help save as much as Century Gothic and Ecofont, it is still cheaper than many other fonts. Similarly, Verdana and Calibri are also cost-saving font choices that you can consider using if the fonts mentioned above don’t go well with your document’s look. Dropping down the font size, avoiding big and broad headers, and eliminating the use of underline and bold features are all ways to reduce printing costs in terms of ink usage. 3. Stay Digital and Scan MoreStop printing every now and then and closing deals on paper: the more paperwork, the more your printing costs. Hence, companies should shift to digital means of saving documents, distributing files, and closing deals with their clients. Eliminate the use of printing as much as you can. When it is time for your employees to save and share a file, ask them to save it on their Google Drive and share the link or simply attach the file and email it to the concerned people, rather than printing hard copies and circulating them around. It is an easy way to reduce printing costs per paper as maximum paperwork is done digitally. Several digital signing platforms enable you to simply sign on the screen of your device and insert the signature on any document. With so many digital means of saving, signing, and sharing documents available, it is pointless to waste your ink and paper on printing pages that are more likely to end up in the trash. It also makes it easier and faster to send and receive documents. Is it cheaper to print or copy? Printing requires you to print directly from a file over your screen, whereas copying, as the name suggests, is a way of copying content from one page to another. The quality in printing is unmatchable, but copying saves money as the print density is quite low. The photocopier cost per copy is far cheaper than a printed copy. However, between copying and scanning, select scanning as it further saves printing costs. Staying digital is undoubtedly always the best option and allows you to send a file with unlimited and quick access to the recipient. Whereas, when you copy a document, you need to either physically mail it or carry it to the recipient yourself. 4. Proofread and PreviewAlways proofread your files or documents before you hit the print button. Many paper sheets are wasted because a person forgoes the proofreading process and continues to print the sheets, only to realize the mistakes on the paper. A single office worker in the UK uses about 10,000 paper sheets per year, 75% of which are thrown away. It cannot be emphasized anymore that paper needs to be saved – for your business and for the environment at large. Talking about reducing printing costs, you can choose to proofread your files and prevent costly reprinting. Encourage your employees to use the “print preview” option that enables them to check for layout issues, inefficient gaps, unwanted spaces, typographical errors, and misplaced page breaks. If an image is too small or too big, you will be able to see it using the print preview option – after which it becomes easy for you to know how much to upsize or downsize an image. Shrink or expand to fit the image as desired. Basically, by previewing a file, you check whether it looks how you want it to appear on paper exactly. If not, you can make the necessary modifications and then continue printing. It is a very simple step but can help in print cost reduction significantly. 5. Choose the Right Type of PrinterHow to save money while printing? Select a good printer that best fits your needs and helps to reduce printing paper. If you think inkjet printers are cheaper than laser printers, you should know that inkjet printers are less durable. On the other hand, laser printers have a higher upfront and maintenance cost but last longer. These are the types of considerations that you need to make while selecting the right printer. If you are focused on how to control printing costs, buy a printer that fulfils your basic requirements and does not have any additional features. Such printers are affordable, and their running costs are also low. Don’t fall trap to attractive printers with many features that you don’t even need. You also can lease a printer rather than buying, but it depends on the volume of your print requirements. In case you need to print out a lot regularly, it is advisable to invest in an expensive printer that works well and is long-lasting. Choosing a cheap printer that runs out fast or demands a lot of repairs is never a smart choice. Consider your exact needs and then decide on an ideal printer for your office. 6. Make a Careful Paper SelectionRoyal Mail size guidelines say that a letter should not exceed 24 cm x 16.5 cm. Hence, this size is quite common in the UK, and most companies use this size for printing their letters. It is natural that printers order paper stock in standard sizes. Now, imagine you want to print letters in odd sizes that are thicker or larger. In this case, you or your printer will have to order larger paper sheets to get the printing done. It will cost you way more than the standard-sized paper sheets. If you are finding ways to reduce printing costs, always select standard paper sizes to print all your files. For cost-saving in the office, you need to also concentrate on the paper quality. A bright white paper that weighs more and has a glossy coating on it is likely to be expensive. Businesses can come up with cost-effective printing solutions and select recycled paper instead of new that can fit their needs while also saving some pounds. You can use glossy and thick paper for your direct mail items. Unless it is for advertising purposes, you can go for a low-grade paper stock for print cost reduction. 7. Avoid Colour PrintingThe colour printing cost per page is around 10 to 15 cents, whereas the cost to print a page in black and white is only 5 cents. It clearly means that colour printing is expensive. It requires more time and consumes more power to print. Direct your employees to print in black and white unless it is required to print in colour. Normally, a lot of pages are printed for mere reference or internal distribution – such pages should only be printed in black and white. Many laser printers use colour cartridges even when you set them to use only black cartridges. This way, you cannot completely stop using the colour cartridges and can only slow down their usage. Therefore, if you do not print in colour often, get a low-budget black-and-white printer. You can have a colour laser printer as well, which you could only use when absolutely needed to print in colour. The upfront cost of buying two separate printers might seem high, but you can save a lot ultimately. 8. Eliminate Using Bleeds and Reduce MarginsReducing your page margins from 1.25” to 0.75” can actually save up to 5% of your paper usage. The words are still readable, and you can fit in more lines on a single page. If you have always wondered how to reduce printing and stationery costs, ask your employees to reduce margins for every page before printing and cut down paper usage. You can even eliminate double-line spacing to avoid wasting paper unnecessarily. Avoid using bleeds. For saving additional paper, avoid using page layouts or artworks that have bleed designs. Basically, bleed is a printing term used for a page that has the contents printed right up to the edge of the page. Normally there are small margins around the page as the grippers of your printer need those small margins to hold the paper and get everything printed properly. But, if you are using bleed designs, you will have to order larger or oversized paper sheets so that the entire design fits in properly. Bleed designs are attractive and can be used for direct mail items. However, it is expensive and can drain up your printing budget. Hence, in order to promote print cost reduction, reduce your page margins and avoid using bleed designs for your direct mail items or any other documents. 8. Eliminate Using Bleeds and Reduce MarginsReducing your page margins from 1.25” to 0.75” can actually save up to 5% of your paper usage. The words are still readable, and you can fit in more lines on a single page. If you have always wondered how to reduce printing and stationery costs, ask your employees to reduce margins for every page before printing and cut down paper usage. You can even eliminate double-line spacing to avoid wasting paper unnecessarily. Avoid using bleeds. For saving additional paper, avoid using page layouts or artworks that have bleed designs. Basically, bleed is a printing term used for a page that has the contents printed right up to the edge of the page. Normally there are small margins around the page as the grippers of your printer need those small margins to hold the paper and get everything printed properly. But, if you are using bleed designs, you will have to order larger or oversized paper sheets so that the entire design fits in properly. Bleed designs are attractive and can be used for direct mail items. However, it is expensive and can drain up your printing budget. Hence, in order to promote print cost reduction, reduce your page margins and avoid using bleed designs for your direct mail items or any other documents. 9. Reduce Print DensityIt is not always necessary that your pages are printed in the best quality and look extremely professional. How to reduce printing costs? Play with your printer settings in a way that helps you reduce paper and ink usage. One such setting is the “print density.” If you reduce the density, your pages will use less ink for printing and appear lighter. Again, these pages are readable and can do their job just as well. A multifunction printer having fax, print, and scan features can be set to a low-density mode for copying or printing. Usually, the copied documents are by default printed in low density. You can check the settings and even reduce the density for printing. This way, you use so much less toner and save a lot on printing costs. Please note that you might have to increase the density for an acceptable output if your cartridges wear out. Keep an eye on these settings and reduce your colour printing cost. 10. Don’t Keep Hitting the Print Button.Many people are quite impatient with their printers and keep hitting the print button several times until their document starts getting printed. But, cost reduction comes with patience. If you hit the print button and nothing happens, you should wait and a cheque for any notifications on your screen or the print queue. It might happen that the printer is still processing the previous print requests. Sometimes, the printer stops working due to the lack of ink and loaded paper. Check for these things and give it what it requires. Then wait for your print request to get completed. Impatiently clicking on the print button can lead to paper and toner wastage as the printer will print ten pages if you hit the button ten times when you only needed a single page. So, you can see how impatience with your printer can lead to massive wastage. Hence, slow down and check your print notifications before doing anything else. 11. Let Your Printer SleepYou can put your printer in “sleep mode” when not in use. It can help save a lot of energy and will keep your running costs low. When you are away during the weekend, simply put your printer to sleep. This mode allows your printer to stay on but uses very little energy. Letting your printer switch to sleep mode automatically after 10 minutes of non-use is a good practice. Why can’t we just turn the printer on and off as required? When printers are turned on, they require a lot more ink than usual to get ready for printing. The greater the number of times you turn it off and back on, the greater number of times it will use more ink while getting ready to print – that is a lot of ink wastage. Hence, you should rather put it in sleep mode to save ink. Many inkjet printers require repair due to clogged ink nozzles caused by dried-up ink. This situation is created when you don’t use your printer for a long time. A simple solution to it is to keep printing at least one page a week to keep your printer running smoothly. It may happen if you use your printer only half the year. Make sure to print out a few pages every now and then in the no-use season as well. This method saves you from costly repairs. You don’t need to print out a 15-page document. Simply print out one single page in one week. The Google homepage seems appropriate for such printing as it has all the colours but uses very little ink. 12. Print Only What is NeededMany times, your employee scrolls a page online, having a few important lines that need to be printed out. It is very common for people to print out the whole online page rather than copy-pasting the required content in a Word file for printing. When you print the whole page, all the ads, banners, formatting, graphics, and more things get printed. It is a clear waste of ink and paper because you don’t require those ads and banners on your page. Spending some extra minutes to filter out what you need and then printing exactly how much is needed could help save a lot of ink and paper. There are many websites that allow you to paste the link of an online page and eliminate the extras like images and banners from that page. You can use such tools and print according to your needs. Talking about saving ink, have you considered printing draft copies? As mentioned earlier, scanning and emailing are your best options. There might be times when you need to print out something to check its content, spelling, and grammar. These pages are not final copies and are just printed out as drafts or working copies. If you are using word processing software, select the “draft output” option. It helps you print only the written matter, and most of the formatting features are removed. Check whether your printer supports this feature and accordingly make the selection through the print dialogue box. This way, you can print faster and by using less ink than usual as draft copies require only a fraction of the regular ink usage. 13. Print Multiple Pages Per SheetPrinting more than one-page per sheet allows you to use less paper. PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, and even web pages can all be printed using the “multiple pages per sheet” option. Here, you fit in around 2 to 4 pages per sheet, cutting down your paper usage considerably. Check for your printer settings and select this option. Many printers refer to it as the “n-up” option. Moreover, many printers allow you to manually select the number of pages you want to fit in every sheet. For rarely accessed or one-time-use files, this option can be very cost-effective. The readability can be compromised sometimes, but at least two pages per sheet should be a good start. 14. Purchase Compatible Ink CartridgesOriginal ink cartridges offer several benefits like durability, leakage prevention, and high-quality printing. However, they are expensive. Hence, it is smart to find an affordable replacement that can work well enough to fulfil your printing needs. Compatible ink cartridges are very cheap and offer appreciable quality. There are recycled ink cartridges available as well, which cost even cheaper. You can ultimately reduce the cost per paper when you opt for such affordable ink cartridges. 15. Revisit Stationery SuppliersBusinesses require to restock their printing supplies from time to time. Some suppliers sell the same things for a much lower price than what you are paying at the moment. Hence, it is essential to get quotes from multiple suppliers and stay updated on the current market rates. Sometimes, you get your supplies really cheap, but the quality is not up to the mark. On the other hand, expensive items also do not guarantee good quality. So, keep testing some samples before you order in large numbers. Good suppliers will give you competitive prices for excellent quality supplies. Purchasing from such suppliers can help keep your printing costs under control while also keeping up to your quality expectations. Hence, make sure to ask around, make some inquiries, and then select a supplier. 16. Use Managed Print Services (MPS)When your company has several printers located at different places for different tasks, having a centralized printing environment with a single configuration point is the right way to go. Consolidate all the print requests to a single server for having better control over your printers. Furthermore, eliminate personal printers. Rather, use multifunction printers in fewer quantities with a centralized monitoring system in place. These printers are easy to maintain and help you manage the permission and access settings. They enable you to know the print logs used by every employee each month. Multifunction printers also allow you to allot print quotas and restrict excessive printing. Always look for printers with Energy Star labels as they are much more efficient than the other printers. Optimize your printing environment and decide how much printing should be done every month. Accordingly, you can control your budget. MPS is a service offered by printing vendors that helps you control your printers cost-effectively and efficiently. Stop stressing about the increased printing costs and stocking inventory regularly. PostGrid’s print and mail solutions can help you print and mail at low costs and with high efficiency. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Easy Ways to Reduce Printing Costs and Save Money appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/reduce-printing-costs/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/easy-ways-to-reduce-printing-costs-and-save-money TABLE OF CONTENTSHow to Write Letter to Employees About New Or Change in Policy Effectively?Companies occasionally develop new policies or change their existing ones, depending on various requirements and situations. With time, every business organisation has to inform or notify its employees about a specific policy change or introduce new policies. Mention the reason clearly with a rational explanation of how it benefits the company and its employees. Your employees will likely accept the new changes positively if they understand them well. It would be best to refer to a sample letter introducing the policy, including all the necessary information and how to make it formal. ![]() A policy change letter helps the employees stay updated on the company’s code of conduct, policies, and rules. It also helps the organisation maintain discipline and efficiency internally. You should know how to notify employees of policy changes because writing a notification letter can get tricky. Writing such a letter requires consideration and preparation to convey the news successfully and maintain the employer-employee relationship. Always express gratitude towards your workers and politely ask for their cooperation. Read further to get some writing tips, samples, and a template that you can use to draft your letters. Tips for Writing a Policy Change LetterNotification letters can be written for various occasions, like informing your homeowner about your plans to move, notifying someone about a lawsuit initiated against them, or informing some important entities about your name change. In all small and large companies, these letters are used as circulars to inform workers about something that directly or indirectly affects them. This information could be about anything from a change in the office location to a change in the paid leave policy. Some important considerations are essential while sending a sample memo to employees about changes. Below are some tips for writing a notification or a policy change letter. Be ClearWhile writing a policy change letter, be transparent, clear, and upfront. Disclose the necessary information you think is crucial for the employees. Clearly state the reason for the sudden policy change or introduction of something new in the company. Explain the possible benefits. If the news is negative, be as considerate as possible and provide a valid explanation for the management’s decision. Notifying something negative without being transparent about the exact reason can infuriate the employees and affect internal operations. Every employee should be able to understand the contents of the letter and have enough knowledge to accept and implement the same. Use a Relevant ToneThe tone of your policy change letter should match your message. Suppose the sample letter of policy change is about bringing some strict rules to curtail the misbehaviour of the employees. In that case, the tone should reflect the need to stop that behaviour immediately. Also, mention the consequences of not following the new rules. On the other hand, if some new policies improve your employees’ work–life, the tone should suggest the same. Regardless of the news, make your employees feel it is in their best interest and is the need of the hour. SummariseAlways summarise everything, whether writing a letter or drafting a sample email to employees about the new process. As discussed earlier, you should disclose all the relevant information. However, make sure not to get stuck on minute details. Get to the point and write everything in a way that is understandable and does not leave any scope for confusion. Mentioning every minute detail can leave the letter open for discussion and negotiation, and employees might remove certain loopholes. For example, imagine you must inform your employees about the overuse of the free coffee-vending machine in the cafeteria. It is not essential to mention who did it. You can summarise an issue and provide a solution, like limiting two coffees per day for every employee or starting to charge for it. The letter should not be a report about an incident. Instead, it should summarise crucial issues and the management’s ways to tackle them. Make a CopyIf you must send a policy change letter to your employees, clients, or suppliers by law, make a copy of the letter for your legal department. Moreover, ship the original letters with a certificate of posting, which helps you retain mailing and receipt proof. Ensure to send the same letter to all the employees if the notification is for general conveyance. Keep It FormalChoose your words wisely. Be polite and formal. Being polite in a letter reflects professionalism and creates a positive atmosphere for the company. For official communications, use letterhead and a sample letter of policy change. Mention the contact details of the person your employees can contact if they need clarification or have any queries. Apologise (if needed)There is no harm in delivering an apology if the policy change is sure to cause an inconvenience to your workers. For instance, your store’s closing time has been changed from 8 pm to 9 pm. It can cause trouble for your workers who live far away or have other things happening past 8 pm. Hence, your new policy about the changed timings will affect their lives. A kind apology in the letter can make the situation better and preserve your relationship with your workers. Always Wrap Up on a Positive NoteIn the letter’s closing, mention a clear CTA you need your employees to do. For example, submitting the leave sheets or updating their details on the company website. Always wrap up the letter on a positive note that answers the potential employee’s questions and portrays that you have considered their views. You can use a sample letter introducing a new policy to draft a proper letter. How to Write a Change in Policy Letter?Announcements and changes in policy letters must appear in a specific format. Follow the steps below to draft it:
Policy Change Letter TemplateIf you don’t know how to notify employees of policy changes, use the template below. You can fill in your details accordingly. Moreover, you can make as many customisations as possible based on your needs. A policy change letter template can be handy for occasionally sending out such announcements and notification letters. It speeds up the process, and you can print and mail all the letters smoothly. PostGrid’s direct mail automation platform has several in-built templates you can use, customise, save, and edit. Sample Letter: Change in Policy(Company name) (Address) Date: ________ (date on which you drafted the letter) (Recipient’s full name) (Address) Subject: New policy/policy change notification Dear employee, We are announcing some changes that have been made to our company policies. OR We wish to announce a new policy, effective from (mention when the policy will be effective). The changes are listed below: OR The new policy states that: (Mention the required details in brief) We hope every employee adheres to all the changes and that everyone helps make the new system successful. We apologise for any inconvenience. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, (Your name) (Your designation in the company) Sample Letter to Employees About Change in PolicyA policy change letter is written and sent to the employees for several reasons. Typically, you address all the employees, and the rules are for general adherence. Find below a sample memo to employees about changes in company policies: Sample #1Human Resources Department Sunshine Media 35 Shore Street Stoke Ferry PE33 5DP Date: 5th January 2023 To, Mr. Jim Helberg Subject: Introduction of a new policy regarding late reporting to work Dear Employees, It has come to our attention that many employees are misusing the buffer of 15 minutes given to them for reporting to work. From the beginning of this company, we have been granting 15 minutes, from 10 am to 10.15 am, as buffer time for employees to report. However, almost all the employees enter the office past 10.15 am. Hence, we are adding a new employee policy wherein we can deduct one day’s pay for every two days of late reporting. This policy is effective starting today. To date, we have never had a policy regarding latecomers. But, this introduction has become the need of the hour as our productivity has been severely affected in recent months. Introducing this new policy will enable us to maintain internal discipline – helping us increase our clientele. It will also enable us to retain more employees and provide good incentives. We look forward to getting the cooperation of all the employees to make Sunshine Media a better workplace. Regards, Kaley Smith Head of Human Resources. Sample #2Chuck Prady Inc. 52 Whitchurch Road Enniskillen BT74 8DY Date: 27th December 2023 Emily Bravo 7 Kingsway North Findochty AB56 2SF Subject: Changes in the medical examination requirements Dear Employees, This letter concerns the annual medical examination mandatory for all permanent employees. The management has decided to change this policy to ensure that all employees’ health and well-being are monitored and protected. The changes are:
We will implement the above changes from 1st January 2023. Please upload the details before this date. We want to thank you for your dedication and continuous cooperation. Sincerely, Lucas Bialik Vice President, Operations. Note: If you are emailing the policy change letter to your employees, you will need to send a sample email to employees about the new process. Many companies use the mail merge feature to personalise and send emails to all employees. Email Sample #1From: [email protected] Subject Line: Introduction of cab services for early morning employees Dear Employee, As we already know, cab services are available for employees whose shift timings end after 9 pm. After careful consideration, we have introduced the same services for employees whose login time is before 9 am. This new policy is for all those employees who must report early and face trouble commuting during early morning hours. Effective Monday, 11th January, all employees who have an early morning shift can avail of the cab services for pickup. Such employees are requested to submit their details to Ms. Alex from the HR department by replying to this email and copying [email protected]. We hope this policy helps employees reach the office on time without hassles. Thank you for your services. Regards, Allen Smith HR Department. Why Should You Consider Using Direct Mail Automation?There are a lot of advantages to using direct mail automation to send your policy change letters. Even if you know how to notify employees of policy changes, you can use a print and mail automation platform to make your tasks easier and faster. Save TimeBusinesses already have tons of administrative and operational tasks. Drafting, printing, and mailing policy change letters can be time-consuming. You can save time by automating the entire process and skipping manual activities. Traditionally, companies employ a separate admin department to handle these jobs. It costs more money for the organisation. Moreover, companies with fewer administrative resources need to deploy some other employees for this task – which wastes their time and burdens them with additional duties. Direct mail fulfilment services can help companies save time while printing and mailing their letters, thereby increasing productivity. Use Several TemplatesFor sending a sample memo to employees about changes, you can use several templates offered by a direct mail automation program. Various policy changes or new additions demand a different template for drafting a policy change letter. With the help of the built-in templates offered by platforms like PostGrid, you can draft letters in any situation speedily. Templates offer a ready-made draft; you need to fill in the details. The outline is already made for you – allowing you to draft professional letters without missing any crucial points. Print and Mail Done TogetherThere is no longer a need to find separate print and mail vendors. Manually, you must find a printer and print your letters through it. Then, the printed letters undergo steps like enveloping, labelling, and mailing. The next step is to drop off the letters at the post office and collect the tracking numbers. In the case of automation, you can order the platform to print and send all the letters to your employees on your behalf. Save ResourcesInventory handling is a hectic hurdle in manually printing and mailing your letters. If you plan on not using automation, paper, ink cartridges, labels, and stamps always need to be in stock. Furthermore, you will also need to purchase a printer or use your already purchased printer for printing all the letters. If your organisation’s employees are large, your printer will also be seen as busy with letter printing. Using PostGrid’s print and mail network, you can save your resources and avoid inventory handling. Maintain Consistency and ProfessionalismMaking use of tools like PostGrid makes your letter look more professional. Additionally, you can maintain consistency throughout your communications. It helps the company maintain a good image in front of its employees and improves their morale. Using an effective automation platform to draft a perfect sample letter of policy change is better. How PostGrid's Automation Platform Help You Send Change in Policy Letters?PostGrid’s direct mail automation platform helps you draft, print, and send any direct mail item like postcards, checks, statements, brochures, SWAG kits, and more. Find out how it can help you print and mail policy change letters to your employees: Integrate with Your Human Resource Management SoftwarePostGrid’s platform and letter API can integrate with your HRM software. It can help you quickly import your employees’ details to draft all the letters. This integration reduces manual effort as it automatically imports all the required data. Moreover, you need not make any separate entries into your HRM. All the mail records will be automatically stored. Personalise All LettersAdding customisations gets easier when you write your letters through an efficient direct mail platform. Personalising can be hectic without a direct mail automation program like PostGrid. Even if you use a sample letter introducing a new policy, you must personalise every letter with at least the employee’s name and address. You can draft the same letter for everyone, but eventually, you will need personalisation to mail it. In short, you need a platform to personalise your letters and make them mail-ready. PostGrid’s automation program helps personalise all policy change letters using variable data printing. Add CustomisationsAdding customisations gets easier when you write your letters through an efficient direct mail platform. Companies can add their logo, taglines, colours, personalised texts, fonts, and other customisations. They can use their letters to strengthen the company’s relationship with its employees. People easily ignore emails because companies bombard them with dozens of spam messages daily. But, a formal and well-customised letter gets everyone’s attention. You can send tailored letters to announce crucial policy changes. Get High-Quality PrintingPostGrid has partnered with trusted printers nationwide to print your letters at the best quality possible. These printing vendors are experts in their field. You can choose the paper type and other things on the platform and order them to print your letters. We have a two-day SLA, meaning your letters are ready for shipping without time waste. Mail FulfilmentAfter printing, you must mail your letters through Royal Mail or another courier service. PostGrid’s print and mail program can help you directly mail the letters to your employees. You don’t need to get the letters from the printer. Stuff them into envelopes, and stick labels and stamps. PostGrid offers complete mail fulfilment, wherein everything from start to finish happens online. You need not go anywhere or put in any manual effort. Track Your LettersTracking your mail has never been easier. PostGrid’s easy-to-use dashboard helps you track your mail in real time. It can help you see at what stage your letters have reached and their estimated delivery date. This step lets you know the status of your letters hassle-free. You can get a clear idea of the progress of your mail. The best part is that you can track bulk mail in one place. If you send your letters manually, you must also track every letter manually. The Royal Mail’s website allows you to enter only a few tracking numbers at a time. Our dashboard, however, will enable you to track many letters altogether. Draft, print, and mail your policy change letters, postcards, cheques, and other mail items through PostGrid’s direct mail API and automation software. Get started now with a demo to eradicate manual effort and double efficiency! Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Policy Change Letter appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/policy-change-letter/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/policy-change-letter TABLE OF CONTENTSTransactional Printing Companies and ServicesThough emails work just fine for sending order confirmations and invoices for small purchases, you might have to look for another solid option to deal with your more important communications. We have seen how direct mail marketing has always proved effective and result-bearing, so why stop at marketing? Companies can consider sending transactional mail to communicate with their clients or customers. Invoices, order confirmations, bills, receipts, and statements are all considered transactional mail. Emails are likely to be ignored and forgotten. But, sending something in the mail creates an impact. It makes people open and read the mail content attentively. Moreover, it builds trust among parties. ![]() What Is Transactional Printing?Transactional printing is the process of creating and printing official documents. But it is not that simple. Such official documents contain sensitive and confidential information. Hence, security, data privacy, and accuracy are all to be taken into consideration. The best way to go about the process is by using the services of a transactional printing company. Unlike regular mail, transactional mail uses customer data based on transactions known and initiated by the customers themselves. It is the exact opposite of marketing mail, where you are still in the process of convincing prospects to initiate a transaction. Transactional printing uses a common format and then auto-fills the variable data pulled from a system. Examples of Transactional MailTransactional printing is also called statement printing by many companies. It may seem limited to printing documents that summarise transactions, but indeed the scope of transactional printing is quite large. Order ConfirmationsOrder confirmations, as the name goes, are meant to close deals and confirm purchase orders. Also known as purchase receipts, they are sent out to buyers right after they place an order. Usually, order confirmations are printed and mailed when the orders could take some time to complete, and the transactions are done on a credit basis. Account StatementsBanks are not the only type of firms that print account statements. Businesses keep a record of all the purchases and payments made by their customers and clients. It is mostly drafted in the form of a ledger. Account statements are used to give a consolidated view of all the transactions taking place between the company and the customer. InvoicesInvoices state all the details of a particular transaction, such as the customer name, date of purchase, amount, payment terms, and particulars. Invoices are sent to customers after they purchase something so that they are aware of their dues and clear them as per the payment terms. Policy UpdatesThe introduction of new policies or changes in the current ones should be communicated to all the related parties. Companies can use transactional printing solutions like PostGrid to print and mail professional policy update letters. Printing of notices, explanation of benefits, debt-collection reminders, and all other official documents can be counted under transactional printing. How Can Transactional Printing Companies Help You?Data Privacy and SecurityTransactional printing solutions like PostGrid offer exceptional security and data privacy throughout your print and mail process. Being compliant with GDPR UK and the Data Protection Act, 2018, you can be assured that you are lawfully printing and mailing your documents while also ensuring your own security. Incorporating Modern TechnologyTransactional direct mail is popularly used by several organisations. However, it can truly grow as only an industry when it is combined with today’s technology. Variable data printing, envelope printing, digital colour printing, including QR codes to scan and pay, and other such technologies are all part of modern technology that transactional printing companies help you use. DesigningPostGrid’s print and mail API can help companies integrate with their system and start printing right from there. You can also select from among the pre-built templates and use them for drafting your transactional mail, taking off the pressure to look for a designer. Print and MailTransactional printing companies can help you get your documents printed in high quality through reputed printers. They can assist you in printing compelling and attention-grabbing mail items along with saving costs and time. You can make your choice about the paper stock, ink, envelope, and such things. Not every transactional printing company provides mailing solutions, but PostGrid does. Getting printing and mailing both done altogether can help save a lot of effort on your part, plus improves the overall efficiency. Transpromotional printingIt is not a hard and fast rule to only communicate about a transaction or about something official through transactional mail. Smart marketers have started using transactional mail as a means of marketing too. It is referred to as transpromo or transpromotional printing. Printing marketing messages on transactional mail items can help you do two things at the same time. Sometimes, it even attracts repeat business and quick clearance of payments. For example, printing “get a discount of 10% on your next order” on all your order confirmations. Bulk PrintingBusinesses require transactional printing solutions regularly, and sometimes they also need to print in bulk. A transactional printing company can help you with both on-demand and bulk printing. Hence, it doesn’t matter if you need to send out one invoice to a client or a thousand policy change notices. CRM IntegrationYou can integrate PostGrid’s transactional print and mail API into your payroll, human resources management, marketing, or accounting software. Thus, you will be able to pull the required details speedily, plus create, print, and mail directly from your system. Record-Keeping and ReconciliationOnce you send mail through PostGrid, you can track everything through your dashboard. By integrating, you can also have the reconciliation with your accounts are taken care of. PostGrid can help you keep complete records of sent mail, follow-ups, and more. Address VerificationAs we said before, transactional printing requires security and accuracy. Therefore, you cannot afford to send transactional mail with sensitive information to the wrong addresses. Using PostGrid’s print and mail API, you can also have access to its address verification solutions. Benefits of Outsourcing Transactional PrintingEnsure Data PrivacyAvoid data breach risks by outsourcing your transactional printing activities to a trustworthy solution provider like PostGrid. It can help you comply with all direct mail laws and can protect your data privacy under any circumstances. Reduce Print and Mail CostsNot only does a transactional printing company provide printing at lower rates, but it can also help you avail of huge postal discounts from Royal Mail. Get Repeat BusinessTranspromotional printing can really help you get your customers hooked to your company and keep purchasing from you repeatedly. PostGrid can help you plan and print marketing messages smartly on your transactional mail. Skip Inventory StockingWhile printing in-house, you would need to purchase a high-quality printer, other sorts of equipment for sorting and labelling, and perishables like paper, ink cartridges, stamps, and more. By outsourcing, you can skip through purchasing and maintaining anything. No More Manual EffortDrafting transactional mail regularly and getting them printed one-by-one on your printer is extremely monotonous and time-consuming. Not to mention, it is prone to mistakes. You can prevent all that by simply outsourcing transactional printing. Wrapping UpTransactional mail is mostly used by healthcare, banking, insurance, and other heavily regulated industries. However, companies of almost all sectors have been using transactional mail for quite some time. Transactional printing solutions like PostGrid can help businesses streamline their transactional printing activities and carry on with them with much more flexibility, precision, and efficiency. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Transactional Printing Companies and Services appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/transactional-printing-companies-and-services/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/transactional-printing-companies-and-services5757971 TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction into B2B Direct Mail MarketingHave some highly relevant accounts in your list and don’t know how to convert them? Well, the answer is crystal clear – Marketing. But how? What marketing channel should you use, and how to get the best out of it? First, let us be clear about what B2B marketing is; it basically comprises marketing activities conducted by B2B companies – those who sell to businesses. B2B marketing is different from B2C marketing (wherein a company’s products and services are advertised directly to customers). ![]() The best way to reach out to your corporate customers is direct, which is why direct mail marketing is your best choice. Businesses can use direct mail as a lone marketing medium or by collaborating with other forms. Many marketers think that direct mail marketing is still expensive, untrackable, and difficult to conduct. However, with new direct mail practices, these things are turned into mere myths. 70% of direct mail recipients think direct mail makes them feel special. Using direct mail, B2B businesses can establish strong relationships with their clients and increase ROI drastically. We have put together a B2B direct mail guide to understand direct mail better and all the possibilities you can explore. Best Practices for B2B Direct Mail MarketersDirect mail marketing becomes easier when you clearly know what things you are supposed to do. Moreover, by understanding these things, you can improve your chances of getting responses and driving conversions. Find below the best practices for you to incorporate into your B2B direct mail marketing strategies: 1. Align Marketing with Sales and Define Prospect Profile CarefullyIn B2B marketing, you target a company that is most likely to be converted into a customer. It is important to note that employees of your prospective company can shift positions or leave the organization. Your direct mail activities can go to waste if you send mail to an employee who has already left. Hence, it is vital that you align your marketing efforts with your sales team to guide you about the concerned persons and add them to your mailing lists. Always take notes from your sales team and then mail accordingly. Furthermore, define your prospect profile clearly and target the right ones. 2. Include a Straightforward CTAYour call to action should be no mystery to your direct mail recipients. Hence, include a straightforward CTA, which can be completed by them easily. Including a CTA in your direct mail pieces is very important as it fulfils the main purpose of the campaign. Tell your customers about what is expected of them. Sending a mailer without any CTA can never get you any responses as the customers are not directed towards the next step. Therefore, always include a CTA; it could be anything from signing up on your website or requesting a demo. 3. Step Into Your Prospect’s ShoesYou should be aware of your prospect’s preferences, life stages, likes, dislikes, lifestyle habits, and needs. Only then will you be able to know what they exactly want? Advertising to the right audience is simply reaching out to people who actually require your products or services. Companies should make sure that their direct mail is curated in a manner that answers their prospect’s questions. Avoid complicated language and explain your brand in a way that appropriately suits their needs and can induce them into buying your product. 4. Personalize Your MailersSending plain mailers with no personalization can lead to campaign failure. Personalization can be used in any manner – you can do as little as insert the first name of your prospect on the item. This simple step can help you connect with the person instantly. Sending personalized direct mail to existing customers also helps in retention and repeat business. Always make your customers feel special as it results in increased brand loyalty and reputation. 5. Get CreativeCreativity can do wonders. Advertising is all about grabbing attention and nothing can do that better than an eye-catching and appealing direct mail item. Get as creative as you can and send mail pieces that do not miss any eye. You can add your logo, include some jaw-dropping graphics, draft a persuading copy, and use bright colours. The right combination of these things can make your direct mailer a conversion driver. 6. Follow Up RegularlySending a mail just once and waiting for a response won’t help it. You need to follow up and know what is in the minds of your audience. An email after receiving your mailer is the first step of follow-up. Further, you can send another mail piece or even call them up. B2B marketing requires strong and frequent follow-ups. You might have to invest a little more in sending follow-up mail, but it is worth it. B2B Direct Mail Use CasesDirect mail can be used for a number of things like increasing customer engagement, driving online traffic, and more. Keep reading to explore the opportunities that direct mail marketing offers to B2B marketers. 1. Reach Out DirectlyCreate a concise yet attractive direct mailer to be sent out to your prospects. You can directly reach out to your prospects and secure a one-to-one connection with them through direct mail marketing. With the help of targeting, you can reach out to the right people with the right message, which will surely get you somewhere. 2. Grow Your NetworkWhether it is growing your network offline or increasing your social media followers, calling out to people to know about your brand is an excellent strategy for any business. Especially in B2B business, companies are focused on growing their contact lists and inviting more and more people to know them. Companies can send direct mail to people engaged with their business through social media platforms as they already know about their brand and are more likely to be converted. 3. Engage New CustomersGetting new customers is one of the most important use cases of direct mail marketing. It is because sending direct mail to someone who has never heard of you can help such people know you, ultimately increasing brand awareness. However, it is needed that you first study your audience, personalize your direct mail, and then launch a campaign. Reaching out to someone for the first time with an impressive mailer that solves their queries and offers a solution to their needs or problems is something you can root for using B2B direct mail. 4. Keep Your Audience UpdatedIt is a great idea to keep in touch with your audience and side-by-side promote your new product launches, services, discounts, season sales, and any events or conferences hosted by you. This twin approach to keeping your audience updated by educating them on the latest affairs and advertising your brand can help you engage more and more people. Some people might not be interested in your new product but might want to participate in your contests and vice versa. B2B direct mail marketing enables you to develop new ways of communicating with your prospects and luring them into completing the desired CTA. B2B Direct Mail Examples
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![]() There are two popular direct mail items that any B2B company can use. Both of these items are highly professional but at the same time have attention-grabbing features. 1. PostcardsPostcards are both concise and appealing. They can communicate your message to your prospects in short and simple messages and in a very professional manner. Undoubtedly, postcards are appealing, and many people tend to collect postcards – which offers your brand more exposure when you print your logo on them. Nowadays, postcards come in various sizes and types. There are dual-fold and tri-fold postcards available that companies can use as per their messaging. Pop-up postcards are also getting popular. Hence, postcards offer great versatility and are also very cost-effective. 2. LettersLetters can be hyper-personalized according to the requirements of your prospects. You can simply put out their whole range of needs and offer solutions to each one of them. Such letters can change the whole game as they are capable of commencing a deep personal bond with a person. The talks through letters are down-to-business and straight to the point. Like postcards, there are some variations in letters as well. You can either use single-page or multiple-page letters. Some companies also use oversize envelopes to stand out from the crowd. Things to Take Care of While Conducting B2B Direct Mail Campaigns1. Take and Implement Customer FeedbackDon’t forget to collect customer feedback and implement the same in your upcoming campaigns. You can ask your direct mail recipients about what they liked and disliked about your direct mail items and what they are exactly looking for. Such reviews or feedback can be really valuable as they give you an outsider’s view of your organization which can be very helpful. 2. Add Inducing Offers Against Your CTAAsking for a favour in return for nothing seems dull and will not land you anywhere. If you expect your prospects to complete the CTA, you should provide something in return. Like we said earlier, CAT’s B2B direct mail campaign was successful as they offered a great deal in return for a CTA. 3. Always Test and Measure ResultsIn order to have an idea of what your audience likes, send out some test samples and measure the results. Launching a large-scale campaign without any research and testing can lead to great losses. Instead, test and learn first, then you can proceed to launch a big campaign. It can help you save a lot of money, time, and effort. PostGrid’s direct mail automation solutions can help you test and measure results through detailed campaign analytics and insights. How to Track Your B2B Direct Mail?There are a lot of trackable features that you can include in your direct mail pieces. Adding such features in direct mail is very important as they form the base to measure your campaign results. 1. PURLsPURLs are personalized links that take your prospects to a personalized landing page. This page might include their name or other aspects specific to them. You can also include their name in the customized URL, like www.xyz.com/steve-matthew. Such links make it easy for you to record your mailers’ open rates and make your prospects feel special. 2. Trackable Phone NumbersAlways insert a contact number that is unique to your campaign and easily trackable. You can create a dedicated phone number and use it for a particular campaign. Hence, every time you get a call on this line, you know it was prompted by your direct mailer. Measuring campaign results this way is easy and highly productive. You can also record all the calls on this line to trace respondents and follow-up accordingly. Make sure that the number is toll-free. 3. QR Codes and CouponsAdding coupons and scannable QR codes is the easiest way to track your B2B direct mail marketing campaigns. Whenever a person scans a QR code, it will take them to a landing page where they can complete a CTA. The coupon codes also offer companies a way to track results as every coupon is redeemable on either an online purchase or by taking it to an offline store. 4. AutomationDirect mail automation solutions like PostGrid can help you track results, and get timely reports and insights. They can help you measure everything appropriately and design your future campaigns accordingly. Be it including pURLs or trackable phone numbers. You can do it all through a direct mail automation API. PostGrid’s API is completely designed to suit your B2B direct mailing requirements and makes it easy for you to design, launch, and track your campaigns. With PostGrid, you can:
ConclusionB2B direct mail marketing is the most impactful way to reach out to your corporate customers and convince them to try out your brand. PostGrid’s direct mail solutions can help you conduct successful direct mail campaigns capable of driving results and boosting sales. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post B2B Direct Mail Guide appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/b2b-direct-mail/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/b2b-direct-mail-guide1552581 TABLE OF CONTENTSWhat Is Royal Mail and How Does Its Shipping Options Help You?Have you ever heard about Royal Mail UK? Maybe or maybe not! Perhaps, you have received some mail items from the UK through the Royal Mail Group. If you are still unaware, let us throw some light on this esteemed company. To begin with, Royal Mail is one of the primary and oldest postal organisations worldwide. It has been providing its postal services for centuries and is perhaps the best service provider in the UK and globally. ![]() In short, Royal Mail is the national mail service in the UK. It delivers postal mail to millions of people in the United Kingdom as the United States Postal Services (USPS) does in the US. Apart from domestic services, it is also well-equipped with international postal services. Royal Mail does an excellent job delivering mail items to over 230 countries. So, if you live in the US, you can quickly receive mail from the UK via Royal Mail. However, the time frame to deliver international mail is longer than domestic mail. So, you have to be a little patient. But, again, there are specific options that help you get your mail faster. But… wait! What are these options? How long does Royal Mail take to the USA? What is the fastest Royal Mail delivery? This blog covers everything you need to know about Royal Mail. Also, we will discuss the answers to the above questions to give you a better idea of the workings of this organisation. What Is Royal Mail?Let us start by knowing: What is the UK postal service? As we said above, Royal Mail is the prime postal service provider in the UK. It offers mail delivery and collection services through its Post Offices. Every year, Royal Mail delivers billions of letters and parcels. Hence, you can imagine the number of people working with Royal Mail and the huge chain that it has created across the country. As of 2019, there were 162,000 permanent workers employed with Royal Mail. Also, around 18,000 more workers were employed temporarily during November and December to handle Christmas mail as the demand increased massively during the holidays. Royal Mail has several mailing options for sending mail within the UK. But its international mailing options are no less. You can avail of these options at reasonable prices compared to other courier companies that charge a lot more. Drop your letters and parcels in a post or parcel box whenever you need to ship something. If you own a business, you can request regular pickups from your local Post Office. These mail items go to the Royal Mail sorting offices, where the postal employees process them for delivery. Also Read: What Is Transliteration, And How Can It Help Your Business Communication? The Rich History of Royal MailThe British mail service first came into existence in 1516 as Royal Mail Group plc. Royal Mail Group Limited is a subsidiary of Royal Mail Group plc. With time, the Royal Mail Group developed two brands, Royal Mail (for letters) and Parcelforce Worldwide (for parcels). It all started in 1516 when Henry VIII assigned the ‘Master of the Posts’ position to someone. He created and appointed this position to manage the incoming and outgoing mail in the country. Later, in 1710, this position was renamed ‘Postmaster General’ as we know it today. This event was the first significant milestone in Royal Mail’s establishment. Another vital highlight is the introduction of postal stamps—a concept all countries adopted later. The first ever stamp, ‘The Penny Black,’ came into use in 1837. Following the Royal Mail’s footsteps, France also adopted the concept of postage stamps in the next decade. Like other postal organisations, the Government controlled Royal Mail for hundreds of years. But things began to change in 2006 when the Government opened the postal market for competition, leading to the end of a 350-year British Empire monopoly. In 2013, the British Government listed most of its corporate shares on the stock market. Two years later, it also sold the remaining shares making Royal Mail a publicly owned company. This way, centuries of government ownership over postal services saw an end. Now, UK citizens enjoy shipping options from a modern company offering a far better service than a crown corporation. Now that you know what is the Royal Mail, let’s move ahead and learn about its functioning! Royal Mail Address Format and Guidelines.This section is beneficial as it tells you how to format a mailing address according to UK standards. Please find the Royal Mail address format below: Recipient’s name House/unit number and street address Locality name Town Postcode (print or write in capital letters) Recipient’s name: It is best to use the person’s full name with an appropriate title, like ‘Dr’ or ‘Cptn.’ This line should always come above the mailing address. Refrain from writing the recipient’s name anywhere else on the envelope. Suppose you are mailing something to an organisation. In that case, add the organisation name on the second line, below the person’s name, followed by House/unit number with street address: These two aspects of your mailing address should always be on the same line. Take care to add directionals to your street addresses whenever needed. Locality name: You can skip this line if you can. However, if you use this line, write the correct village or area name. Town: Write the town name in capital letters. This line should not have anything else other than the town. Postcode: Write the postcode or print it in uppercase letters. Make sure to leave a space in between. Find an example of a UK address below: Miss Jane Holland 5 Castle Street LIVERPOOL L16 5NT Find some additional tips below to write a UK mailing address correctly:
It goes as follows: Mr. Joyce King 036 Krog Street ATLANTA GA 30307 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA It is preferred to add ZIP+4 codes, though 5-digit ZIP codes are also acceptable. Also, you can write the abbreviation “USA” instead of the whole thing. Postcodes in the UKPostcodes in the UK are a bit more complicated than US ZIP codes. They work almost the same way, but there are some minor differences. For starters, ZIP codes are a coding system in the US to identify the destination and speed up deliveries. On the contrary, postcodes help track the mail’s location. Also, ZIP codes are numeric, and UK postcodes are alphanumeric, making them more similar to Canadian postcodes. Now, UK postcodes are called postcodes. They are six to eight characters long (including a space) and have two sections—outward code and inward code. The outward code forms the first part and has three to four characters. In contrast, the inward code always has only three characters. There are four parts hidden inside these two sections:
The postcode area denotes a geographical location divided into postal districts. Furthermore, postal sectors are subdivisions of postal districts, and postcode units are subdivisions of postal sectors. Hence, postcodes help narrow down the mailing destination. But they also describe the entire location to give a bigger picture. To understand postcodes better, let’s take an example: AB1 9TH
Outward CodeThe outward code is two to four characters long and consists of the postal area and district. As said above, it indicates a prominent geographical location and is often the city code. For example, the postcode area ‘B’ is for Birmingham, ‘EH’ is for Edinburgh, and ‘AB’ is for Aberdeen. Outward codes consist of Postcode area: In our example, the postcode area is AB which indicates the city of Aberdeen. Postcode areas are one or two characters long and often correspond with city names. Postcode district: The length of postcode districts is also between one and two characters, and the second character is sometimes an alphabet. In the above example, the digit ‘1’ is the postal district. Inward CodeThe inward code is always three characters long and follows the digit-letter-letter format. Its components are: Postcode sector: This one is tricky! The postcode sector is the entire outward code, the space, and the first digit of the inward code. So, in this example, it is AB1 9. Postcode unit: The last two letters of the inward code are the postcode unit (TH). These characters are like ZIP+4 codes that indicate delivery routes. They could correspond to an entire street or small sub-sections of large buildings. Sometimes, businesses receiving a massive volume of mail get unique postcode units. We understand that postcodes can be confusing. So, use the Royal Mail postcode finder here to confirm postcodes before writing them in your mail. Also Read: What Is Royal Mail Redirection, And Why Does Your Business Need It? Post Offices and PO Boxes in the UKThere are 11,500 Post Office branches spread across the UK. So, you will likely have a Post Office nearby you can visit during working hours. Some are standalone stores, whereas others are part of certain retail outlets like WH Smith. You can recognise Post Offices in the UK by red oval signs. Larger Post Offices have machines that allow you to calculate and print postage yourself. Such self-service machines can help speed up the work and attract lesser crowds. But, if you plan to visit smaller Post Offices or those inside a retail outlet, it is advisable to avoid peak hours. Aside from mailing letters and parcels, you can find other postal services at UK Post Offices. Some additional services that specific Post Offices offer are:
Please remember that the scope of these services differs from branch to branch. Along with Post Offices, there are also several PO Boxes. By several, we mean- 115,000 Post Office boxes in the UK. Consider using PO boxes if you want to keep your mailing address private. It is also an excellent option for home-based businesses and individuals with shared accommodation. Royal Mail Domestic ServicesRoyal Mail provides many domestic mailing options that differ in price, convenience, tracking, and mailing speed. So, you get to select many options depending on your needs. Royal Mail 1st ClassIt is one of the most commonly used Royal Mail services, and you may have questions like how long does 1st class Royal Mail take? But first, let us clarify what is Royal Mail’s first class takes. The prime feature of this option is that you can get your mail delivered the next day, including Saturdays. However, deliveries are done only on working days and are not guaranteed. So, you cannot mail one day before Christmas and expect your mail to land on the recipient’s doorstep on Christmas day. The other features include:
What is Royal Mail Signed For?It requires Royal Mail to take the recipient’s signature on delivery. Hence, you get proof of delivery, which is crucial for sending documents. Many ask- How long does 1st class mail take to the USA? But please note that 1st class mail is only a domestic mailing option. There are a completely different set of mailing options for international locations, which we will discuss ahead. Royal Mail 2nd ClassThe second class mail option is very similar to the 1st class, except that its deliveries take up to 3 days. Hence, you can send less urgent mail at a slightly lower cost through this option. Other features include:
Royal Mail Tracked 24The above two options have no tracking options. So, if you are thinking about how to track a letter in Royal Mail, here’s your solution. As the name suggests, Royal Mail Tracked 24 is about completing deliveries within 24 hours. Hence, if you want to send something urgently, you can use this option. Find below its features:
Royal Mail Tracked 48After knowing what tracked delivery is, let us discuss more options that offer mail tracking! Tracked 48 helps you send your mail within 48 hours. Again, you get a tracking number to help you track your mail items until delivery. Though the postal service aims to deliver your mail within 48 hours, it can take up to three days. The other features are the same as Tracked 24, and rates start at £3.60. Special Delivery GuaranteedDo you want an option guaranteeing delivery? What is Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed? With the Special Delivery Guaranteed option, you can ensure your mail arrives the next day. Hence, this option guarantees both delivery and arrival time. It also comes with a money-back guarantee. You get full tracking, a signature on delivery, and insurance coverage of up to £500. There are two broad options for you:
They have a massive rate difference, even though both options won’t look very different to you. 1 pm deliveries cost you only £6.75, whereas 9 am deliveries cost you a whopping £22.26. Royal Mail Same-DayIt is one of the fastest delivery options available with Royal Mail. Some fancy features that come with this option are:
What is Royal Mail express delivery? Well, express deliveries are related to sending parcels. All the above options are for sending letters. If you want to send packages up to 30kg, use Parcelforce Worldwide. The delivery time is between one and two working days, and prices start at £12.12. International Mailing OptionsHow long does Royal Mail take to deliver to the USA? What are Royal Mail international delivery times? There is no way of answering these questions without discussing Royal Mail’s international mailing options. So, find these options below: International EconomyInternational Economy is one of the cheapest ways to send letters and lightweight parcels abroad. You can send a maximum of 2kg through this option, but the rates start as low as £1.45. Other benefits include free returns on failed deliveries and a £20 cover. But, use it only when you are not in a hurry because deliveries can take up to 2 weeks. Find the delivery timeframes for different countries below:
But the question remains- how long does Royal Mail International Economy take to the USA? Well, it takes six weeks to deliver to North America and eight weeks to South America. International StandardIf you don’t want to wait many weeks to get your mail to its destination country, this option can help you. Find below its features:
But how long does Royal Mail International Standard take to the USA? The answer is – only 6 to 7 working days. Yes. This option can help deliver your mail to the US in a week. International SignedIf you want to track your mail items, you can use the International Signed option. However, Royal Mail only offers to track until the mailpieces are within the UK. The best feature of International Signed is the signature on delivery. It doesn’t matter where your mailpiece is going; you can get the recipient’s signature as proof of delivery. Other features include:
If your mailing address is within Europe, Royal Mail can deliver your mail within 3 to 5 working days. Mailing to the US and other international countries can take anywhere between 5 and 7 working days. Please note: You cannot use this option to send mail to PO Boxes as the postal workers cannot take a signature in that case. International TrackedThe above option may not be ideal for those who want to track their mail until delivery. So, Royal Mail also has the International Tracked option to help you with it. You can track everything from when you drop it off at the Post Office to the delivery time. Other features include:
It takes 3–5 working days to complete Europe deliveries. Other international deliveries can take around 5 to 7 days. International Tracked & SignedDo you want a mixture of the above two options? Royal Mail has got you covered with their International Tracked & Signed option. This way, you can get the benefits of both options. You can track your mail until its delivery point and get a signature on delivery. Other features include:
All deliveries within Europe take 3–5 working days. Worldwide deliveries can take up to 5 to 7 days. What Is Royal Mail Tracking Number?After discussing tracking options, you may ask, “How do I track my Royal Mail International?” Tracking your mail items through the Track and Trace service is easy. But ensure that your items are eligible for tracking. You can enter the reference number on the Royal Mail’s website to track your mail. Also, you may get a reference number at the time of posting. It is also often known as the tracking number. How many digits are in a Royal Mail tracking number? Most of the time, a tracking number is alphanumeric and has nine digits. However, several other tracking number formats also exist. The different tracking number formats that you are likely to come across are UK Tracking
The tracking number and its format depend on where your mail is going. International Tracking (Exports)
So, if you send something to the US or any international location, expect your tracking number to look like this. International Tracking (Imports)
You can find the tracking number on your receipt or the mail item’s label. If it’s on the label, note this number before mailing the item. It is your responsibility to keep your receipt safe. Once it is lost or torn, getting the number again to track your item is tough. Also, please note that no other information like the address and recipient name can help you track your items. Reasons Why Your Tracking Number Is Not WorkingSometimes, your Royal Mail to USA tracking does not work due to some reasons, and they are:
In these cases, the Track and Trace website won’t return results. So, be patient and enter the correct tracking number to get your mail status. On What Days Does Royal Mail Deliver?Royal Mail delivers on all working days from Monday to Saturday. However, Saturday deliveries are only available for an added fee for some mailing options. Does Royal Mail deliver on a bank holiday Monday? Well, the answer is no. It doesn’t matter what day a bank holiday falls on. Royal Mail does not accept mail deposits or complete deliveries on any bank holiday. Find below a list of public holidays when the Royal Mail is not functional: England and Wales1 January- New Year’s Day 2 April- Good Friday 5 April- Easter Monday 3 May- Early May Bank Holiday 31 May- Spring Bank Holiday 30 August- Summer Bank Holiday 25 December- Christmas Day 26 December- Boxing Day Northern Ireland1 January- New Year’s Day 17 March- St. Patrick’s Day Bank Holiday 2 April- Good Friday 5 April- Easter Monday 3 May- Early May Bank Holiday 31 May- Spring Bank Holiday 12 July- Bank Holiday 13 July- Non-service Day 30 August- Summer Bank Holiday 25 December- Christmas Day 26 December- Boxing Day Scotland1 January and 2 January- New Year’s Day Bank Holidays 2 April- Good Friday 5 April- Easter Monday 3 May- Early May Bank Holiday 31 May- Spring Bank Holiday 12, 19, and 26 June- Local Holidays 3, 10, and 30 July- Local Holidays 14 August- Local Holiday 30 August- Summer bank holiday 20, 27 September- Local Holidays 4, 11 October- Local Holiday 25 December- Christmas Day 26 December- Boxing Day Please note that the above dates are from 2023 and are subject to changes. If you plan to send something on any of these days, reschedule or mail it earlier. It will help you get your mail items delivered without any delays. Undelivered Mail ItemsWhy does Royal Mail fail to deliver some items? Perhaps, we can list all the possible reasons:
So, before thinking about how long does Royal Mail takes from the UK to the USA, ensure you don’t want to mail prohibited items. Royal Mail Prohibited and Restricted ItemsBefore you mail anything, please read this section so you can avoid having your items rejected by Royal Mail. Now, there are two types of items, according to Royal Mail. The first type is prohibitive, where you can’t mail the product at all. On the other hand, the second type is restrictive, and you can ship it with certain restrictions. Find below a list of prohibited items:
Some restricted items listed by Royal Mail are:
However, this is not an all-inclusive list. Plus, there are some more restrictions and prohibitions when you mail internationally. Please visit the Royal Mail’s website to get a deeper understanding. ConclusionRoyal Mail, the national mail service of the UK, has been in operation for a long time now. It has a vast range of mailing options for you to select from! So, you can mail to any part of the UK, the US, and the world without any issues. If you need help creating, printing, and mailing your items, try PostGrid to modernise and automate your campaigns. Our features include
We can assist you throughout the process so you can send your items effortlessly and conveniently. Contact us today to learn how we can help you send your items via the British mail service! Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post What Is Royal Mail appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/what-is-royal-mail/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/what-is-royal-mail TABLE OF CONTENTSTriggered Direct Mail Marketing (UK)Triggered direct mail is gaining a lot of attention in the direct mail marketing industry. It is known to gather more responses than non-triggered mail due to higher relevancy, personalization, and perfect timing. Let us understand what is triggered by direct mail. ![]() Triggered direct mail marketing is a form of marketing wherein a company sends out direct mail items on the basis of certain “triggers.” These triggers could be anything from cart-abandonment, subscription expiry, a new purchase, social media onboarding, and events like birthdays and anniversaries. For example, you can send out a triggered direct mail to any customer who has posted a query on one of your social media platforms. The direct mail item hereby sent out will be tailored to solve the query and induce the person into buying. In short, triggered direct mail marketing is conducted on the basis of customer actions. Since you are sending a direct mail item to a person who has already engaged with your brand in some way, the conversion chances are extremely high. Hence, triggered direct mail becomes an excellent example of targeted marketing, wherein only engaged customers are targeted. Benefits of Triggered Direct Mail1. Faster EngagementCompanies that respond to leads faster have more chances of converting those leads as compared to companies that work on old leads. It is because the brand recall rate is obviously high just after an engagement is recorded—for instance, a person filled in their contact details for an online demo. You responded within 5 minutes; that customer is definitely going to remember your brand and follow your further instructions that can lead to conversion. Triggered direct mail can help companies respond faster and hence grab conversion opportunities. 2. Smart CTAA smart CTA is something that relates to the customer’s recent activity and considers their exact need. Triggered direct mail makes it possible for companies to include a relevant CTA and an interesting offer that can catch the attention of the audience. 3. Highly-Relevant LeadsTriggers are customer actions. Hence, the leads generated through them are of good quality. When companies work on such leads, it gives them access to a relevant and easily convertible, and valid database. 4. Higher Open and Conversion RatesDirect mail generated and sent through triggers is more likely to be opened and responded to. On the other hand, direct mail pieces that are sent as part of general marketing are not able to gather a lot of responses. Hence, triggered direct mail leads to higher open and conversion rates. 5. Increased ROIIf companies want to increase the ROI on their direct mail campaigns, triggers are the best choice. These triggers allow you to avoid sending any unwanted mail. Hence, you save a lot and increase the ROI ultimately. 6. Customer RetentionSend triggered mail to your already existing customers to strengthen relationships and increase retention rate. It is an excellent way to identify customer needs and keep up with them. 7. Targeting and SegmentationMarketers can save up quite some time otherwise spent in building mailing lists, selecting a target audience, and segmenting. Triggered direct mail automatically targets and segments the relevant audience. Different Types of Triggered Direct Mail1. Cart-Abandonment TriggerWhenever a customer visits your website, adds things to their cart, and abandons it without ever checking out, perhaps a direct mail prompting them to complete the checkout can help. A cart-abandonment trigger allows companies to send out a mail piece to such customers automatically. Hence, the cart abandonment rates reduce and companies are able to increase sales. 2. Renewal-Reminder TriggerHas your company ever faced subscriber churn? It happens when subscribers do not renew their subscriptions or memberships with the company after the end of a certain subscription period, say one year. Any business is likely to face losses due to this subscriber churn, which is why noting the subscription expiry dates and sending out direct mail pieces as a renewal reminder becomes essential. A renewal-reminder trigger exactly does this job. 3. Meeting-Confirmation TriggerAfter talking to clients over the phone or email, sending thoughtful and relevant direct mail can help build a fruitful relationship. People appreciate when companies go beyond the formal sale deal and do something special for them. A meeting confirmation trigger sends out a personalized mail piece whenever a client confirms a meeting in either digital or telephonic form. 4. Welcome MessageSet a trigger for every time somebody purchases from you or signs up for a subscription. The welcome triggers enable businesses to send out direct mail with a warm welcome message to make them feel appreciated. It shows that businesses care for their customers and are at their service. 5. OthersThere are many other triggers that companies can use in order to establish better relations with their audience and induce them to purchase. Triggers for website visits, online activities, store visits, survey form completions, and other similar activities can be used to send out the right direct mail item to the right people at the right time. How Triggered Direct Mail Marketing Help Save Marketer’s Time and Reduce Any Errors?Triggered direct mail uses customer-data rather than rented mailing lists or the company’s own database. In short, the customers themselves contribute towards this database, hence making it highly relevant and valid. Hence, it saves hours of data entry work, and marketers can proceed using this data. Moreover, triggers allow personalization, leading to no more missing out on opportunities. Companies can now send direct mail immediately after a person takes action – increasing the conversion chances. You can automate triggered direct mail by using a direct mail automation API or software like PostGrid. Automation can help save time, effort, resources and enables better planning and execution. Marketers can define the different types of triggers and create different campaigns for each of them. Once these things are fed in, the automation API can take care of everything without any manual interference. Use Cases for Sending Triggered Direct MailNow that we have established that triggered direct mail marketing can prove beneficial for businesses in many ways, the next step is to know what you can do with it. There are certainly endless possibilities of collecting consumer data and incorporating it into triggered direct mail. Read below some of the prime use cases of triggered direct mail that can help strengthen an organization’s overall base. Build Brand AwarenessSending triggered mail items can actually make a person recall your brand several times. It is like a cross-channel marketing form where prospects view your brand on several platforms simultaneously. The motto behind cross-channel marketing is to create increased brand awareness. Triggered direct mail can help companies communicate with prospects right during the starting stage. From here, they can start engaging their prospects through different ways and induce them to take action like making an online purchase or simply filling up a form. Reach Your Customers FirstTriggered direct mail marketing always has the edge over general marketing. Here, the audience is already aware of your brand and is trying to make the right selection. For instance, a person visits your website, it is obvious that the person is looking for something similar to your product or service. Sending thoughtful, well-curated, tailored direct mail to such people based on the website visit trigger can help you beat your competitors and contact your prospects first. This way, you can grab maximum attention and can drive conversions easily. Direct Prospects Towards ConversionsYour prospects might have followed you on social media, added things to their cart from your website, or filled a survey form. Either way, it is your responsibility to reach out to them and inform or induce them to complete the further steps. Triggered direct mail allows businesses to connect with their prospects and guide them toward conversions. If a person’s subscription is coming to an end, a magazine publication can send a triggered direct mail with an offer exactly one month before the end of it. Hence, the subscriber is induced to renew the subscription and is now aware of how to do it and its benefit. Companies in any sector can make use of triggered direct mail in this way – to direct prospects in the right direction and help them complete the customer journey. Maintain Customer LoyaltyOne of the most important use cases of triggered direct mail is customer retention and gaining customer loyalty. Most of the business comes from repeat customers. Hence, they are very important to a firm, and their needs should be tended to at all times. Using triggers, you can know whether they are looking out for other brands or need something different from your offering. In this case, sending a direct mail item addressing their exact needs and offering an undeniable deal can really help you induce them to buy from you again. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Triggered Direct Mail appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/triggered-direct-mail/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/triggered-direct-mail TABLE OF CONTENTSDirect Mail For Banks: Why should you invest in it?Direct mail is undoubtedly the best marketing channel for establishing 1:1 customer relationships that are profitable and long-term. Banks and financial institutions have been widely using direct mail to promote their products and services. It helps them communicate complicated financial messages in a simplified and personalized way. Moreover, direct mail marketing can help banks build brand image and gain the trust of their customers. ![]() How Do We Know that Bank Direct Mail Marketing is Still Effective?Let us get to the statistics – direct mail attracts an average response rate of about 4.4% by mailing to existing customers and about 1.2% by mailing to potential customers. The ROI can increase up to 900%, depending on the product or service that is being marketed. Talking about case studies, Lloyds banking group can be presented as one of the best examples of how direct mail still works for banks. In one of its direct mail campaigns, Lloyds managed to convert 707 SME prospects, which was 280% above their target. It is just one of the many examples of how direct mail marketing induces people and drives conversions. If you are still not convinced that direct mail marketing is far from being dead and has been continuously doing wonders in the banking industry for the past decade, let us dive deeper and see how effective it is. Direct Mail is Attention-GrabbingPeople tend to be excited by the idea of getting mail. It creates nostalgia for the time when there were only offline means of communication. Hence, many people look forward to receiving mail and are curious to know what is inside – increasing the open rates. Undoubtedly, direct mail gets a lot of attention, and recipients spend a lot of time scanning through their mail. If you have included eye-catching graphics and an interesting offer, your direct mail items are likely to fetch some valuable responses. Direct mail is the key to getting people hooked and then communicating a deal. Direct Mail is PersonalPersonalization helps create personal bonds. Banks can send personalized direct mail with tailored messaging as per their audience’s needs to get maximum responses. Financial services are very personal in nature, and the needs of different people vary considerably. Hence, personalizing becomes important. Direct mail offers a smooth way of personalization – that can impact your outreach positively and boost engagements. A thoughtful direct mail with personalized features such as the customer’s first name or mention of their life stage can be a very powerful marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter if you are sending out small-size postcards or oversize letters. Personalization through variable data always works in a good way. Direct Mail Solves ConfusionIt is often hard to explain financial brands and their services in layman’s terms. Financial decisions are tough to make and naturally lead to a lot of confusion and hesitation. Using direct mail, banks can level up their marketing strategies by reaching out to people and simplifying things. Personalized direct mail helps people get their facts straight and know exactly about the offerings of a bank. They can know better this way and respond accordingly. Direct Mail Faces Lesser CompetitionNo spams, no competitions! Since fewer companies use direct mail marketing, people are not spammed with direct mail like social media ads and emails. Direct mail is apparently less common and hence more appealing. Digital advertising does not guarantee that a person will see your advertisement, but in the case of direct mail marketing, it is sure that a person will at least view the mailpiece once. Due to this reason, banks conduct direct mail campaigns to announce new interest rates, offers, and loan discounts. Direct Mail is Appealing to the MillenialsIt is easy to speculate that millennials are more interested in digital advertising and aren’t excited about receiving physical mail. However, the reality is that millennials are crowded by online ads and need a break from them. 77% of Millenials pay attention to the direct mail they receive and are likely to take out the time to read their mail. It makes them feel special. Therefore, direct mail can help banks reach out to millennials (their prime prospects) personally. Direct Mail Helps Reach Senior CitizensSenior citizens also use banking services to a great extent. Hence, the marketing efforts of banks should also be focused on targeting senior citizens. One great way to do that is direct mail. The answer is simple – direct mail is offline and tangible, both of which are aspects that are preferred by the elderly. Though they might be using online communication channels, they still prefer things offline. Direct mail can greatly help banks and financial institutions communicate with senior citizens and convince them to use their services. Direct Mail Builds TrustIn simple terms, direct mail is capable of building trust. It helps improve brand reputation and increase awareness among people. Companies should be able to prove themselves as trustworthy. Direct mail patches up any trust issues and concerns of the customers by creating a trustworthy relationship with the bank. From establishing emotional bonds to persuading prospects to complete the call-to-action, direct mail is still highly effective. Direct Mail Has a High Response RateAs discussed earlier, direct mail receives an average response rate of about 4.4%. Even while mailing to prospects, the response rate is more than 1%, which is pretty good for banks. However, we even discussed earlier how Lloyds was able to get 280% more conversions. Hence, it is clear that direct mail marketing can fetch high response rates when done right. Direct Mail is Cost-EffectiveUnlike digital marketing which requires high investment to launch campaigns and track results, direct mail marketing is comparatively very cost-effective. The overall campaigns’ costs are affordable, and you can get further discounts by using direct mail automation solutions like PostGrid. You can easily track direct mail campaign results by adding pURLs or dedicated phone numbers — both of which are again affordable. Direct Mail is ScalableBe it one direct mail item or one million, the amount of effort and time required to conduct a direct mail campaign is the same. With the right strategies in execution, banks can easily send any number of direct mail pieces to their potential customers. Furthermore, a print and mail automation API like PostGrid is scalable and can accommodate your needs effortlessly. Now that you know why direct mail still works for banks, it can also be useful to know the best direct mail marketing tips and strategies to improve results and get the best out of your campaigns. Automate Direct Mail MarketingBanks are more concerned about dealing with their operations than building mailing lists or sorting through mail items. They likely want their employees to focus on productive things for which they hired them. Hence, it is of utmost importance for them to automate their direct mail activities and eliminate the manual effort. With PostGrid’s automated direct mail solutions, banks can easily build segmented mailing lists, draft mailpieces using in-built templates, and track everything. Provide ValueNo matter what you are writing in your direct mail, it should be valuable and enhance your prospects’ knowledge. Content matters a lot, and banks should take care to tailor their message and target relevant people only. Make Clear ProposalsIf you are offering something to your customers, clearly mention it in your mail. Similarly, your CTA should be impressive and straight to the point. Refrain from including complicated sentences or vague statements. Make clear proposals that are easy to understand and accept. Build Your Own Mailing ListsThe best mailing lists are the ones that have been built in-house. Rented or purchased mailing lists appear to be useful but cause more losses than profits. There is no guarantee that the records are relevant and correct. Banks can rather use a direct mail automation API like PostGrid and start building their own mailing lists. Personalize and TailorAlways tailor your messaging according to your intended audience and personalize as much as you can. Gather all the variable data that you have and incorporate it into your direct mail marketing strategies. The best way to do that is by using automated direct mail that not only helps you with variable data printing but also assists you in every step of getting high conversion rates. Take Care of the QualityA blurred image or a simple spelling mistake is enough to ruin your campaign. It can annoy your prospects and leave a bad impression. Hence, make sure to proofread thoroughly before printing out anything. Test MoreIt is not enough to send out a single combination of messaging, design, and offer to test and gather results. Make different variations and keep testing. You can then compare results and go ahead with the best combination. Direct mail marketing is clearly one of the best marketing channels for banks, and by using PostGrid, you can be assured that you are doing it right. Furthermore, businesses can streamline their offline marketing efforts, ensure data safety, facilitate bulk mailing, and do much more with PostGrid’s direct mail marketing solutions. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Direct Mail for Banks appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/direct-mail-for-banks/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/direct-mail-for-banks TABLE OF CONTENTSDirect Mail Response RatesThe direct mail response rate is the percentage of total reactions, inquiries, and engagements derived from your audience as a reply to your direct mail items. Marketers need to ascertain the response rates beforehand in order to determine the budget, ROI, and other related aspects of the campaign. Keep reading below to know more about direct mail, response rates, and ways to track and increase responses. ![]() An Overview of Direct MailDirect mail includes sending marketing collaterals to your target audience directly to their physical mailboxes. This form of marketing is adopted by marketers to cut through the advertising clutter and connect with the decision-makers or purchasers personally. A well-designed direct mail campaign with excellent copy and eye-catching graphics can help achieve all your marketing objectives. When we start comparing digital marketing with direct mail marketing, we should first get our statistics straight. According to the DMA, direct mail response rates are around 10 to 30 times higher than digital marketing response rates. Therefore, it is not wrong to say that direct mail is a powerful marketing channel and can produce great results when done right. To increase responses, companies should select the right type of direct mail. Some of the popular types are:
Please note that response rates are calculated only for marketing direct mail like postcards and letters and sometimes for invoices as they are used to prompt payments. What Is A Good Response Rate For Direct Mail?A common question asked by marketers is, “What direct mail response rate should I expect from my campaign?” Other common questions include “What makes a good response rate?” and “How to calculate responses?” There is no one answer to these questions as the response rate depends on the quality of responses, marketing objectives, type of mailing lists used, campaign costs, and more factors. The direct mail response rate is calculated as a percentage, obtained by dividing the number of responses by the campaign’s size. For example, the response rate will be 2% if you mailed 50,000 mail items and 1,000 people responded. In general terms, 2% can be considered as a good response rate. But, it is considered so if the mailing list was bought or rented from a mailing list vendor. 2% is also classified as a good response rate when a paid CTA was included. However, if you have used an in-house mailing list and included a free offer, 2% might just seem average. It is because more people are likely to reply in exchange for something that is available for free, but that doesn’t guarantee a paid conversion. Targeting Your Audience for Maximum Response RateBe it small startups or huge corporations, segmenting and targeting your audience can always be a direct mail response rate booster. However, keep in mind that not all responses are productive. Here, we need to know what a good-quality response is. Basically, a good-quality lead or response has the potential to convert a prospect into a paid customer either right away or in the near future. Some people do respond initially but are never converted into customers, even after a lot of follow-ups. It leads to time and effort wastage. Let us get deeper into it. If you get a response rate of 2% from a particular campaign, but your conversion rate is only 5%, then your net response rate is only 0.1%. But, if you get a response rate of only 1%, but the conversion rate is 30%, it’ll bring your net response rate to 0.3%. Hence, quality matters, and mere percentages can’t decide the success of your campaign. Your responses might be great quantitatively but can still lack quality. What Steps Should Be Taken to Target an Audience Better and Improve the Quality of Responses? Below are some steps that marketers can take to target the relevant audience and get better responses. 1. Conduct Market ResearchMarket research can be conducted either by using primary or secondary data. Preliminary data consists of information taken directly from your prospects or customers. Secondary data, on the other hand, is based on findings from other sources. When you conduct market research, it gives you a glimpse into your audience’s thinking. Marketers are able to know about the recently prevailing market conditions and trends. Companies can circulate questionnaires, compare their offerings with their competitors, follow different direct mail strategies, and form reports based on all these things. The group that is more responsive towards your market research activities is likely to respond to your direct mail items. 2. Segment Data According to DemographicsSegment your audience according to various demographics. Targeting becomes easier when you classify your market and are clear about your buyer profile. Your prospects’ age, income, gender, marital status, and location are examples of the factors you should use for better segmentation and targeting. Targeting the right people according to this information can help receive valuable responses. 3. Ask for Feedback and Implement ItThe easiest way to collect and record feedback is to ask your current customers. Ask them what they like and dislike about your brand campaigns and mention that any suggestions will be appreciated. Make sure to implement this feedback in your upcoming campaigns to boost response levels. How to Calculate Direct Mail Marketing ROIThe quality of your campaign responses is highly dependent on the overall ROI. You need to know a few figures related to your campaign to calculate the ROI:
Now, we need to put these numbers together in formulas that can help us calculate the direct mail marketing ROI.
The ROI can be positive, negative, or even break-even. However, marketers should always focus on getting maximum quality responses and achieving a positive direct mail marketing ROI. How to Track ResponsesThere are a number of ways of tracking responses and measuring campaign results. One of the most common ways is to include a unique contact number in your direct mail. Ensure that the number is trackable and is not mentioned anywhere else other than your direct mail items. Personalized URLs are also becoming increasingly popular for tracking direct mail responses. Insert the pURL at a place that is easily visible on your mailpiece. Coupon codes and QR codes can too provide the path towards efficient response tracking. Using coupon codes, you can convince your prospects to visit your store for redemption. QR codes, when scanned, can take your prospective customers to a personalized landing page. Hence, you can easily track their responses. Be ready to store all this data and put together detailed reports that can be used as references for your future campaigns. Improve Your Direct Mail Response Rate With These Practical TipsWith so much competition in the marketing field, businesses should do their best to make their direct mail items stand out from the crowd and get opened. Moreover, these marketing items should be able to garner more and more responses. For that to happen, you need to try out new things. Marketers can opt for using glossy paper stock for printing their letters or postcards. Alternatively, they can simply select attention-grabbing envelopes with interesting designs. Do not skip on the personalization part, as they are known to drive conversions. If you expect someone to respond to your direct mail, at least address that person with their name and not some generic term. A handwritten letter can work great. Another trick is to mention benefits rather than features. It adds value to your brand and helps connect with the audience instantly. Furthermore, add catchy titles and bright colours to make your direct mail appealing and easily readable. Get More Responses with Least Amount of Time and EffortThough it might seem that conducting direct mail campaigns in-house can save a lot of money and gather more responses, the reality is far away from that. If you want to save time, effort, and money truly – go for an automated direct mail solution like PostGrid. With timely follow-ups, quick deliveries, detailed reports, campaign insights, segmented mailing lists, verified addresses, and more, companies can increase response levels significantly and maximize their ROI. PostGrid’s print and mail solutions can help you with everything from designing to mailing your direct mails with the highest efficiency and response gathering capabilities. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post Direct Mail Response Rates appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/direct-mail-response-rate/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/direct-mail-response-rates TABLE OF CONTENTSThe Complete Guide to Print Your Own Cheques OnlineEver ended up in a situation where you need to make some urgent payments with no cheques left? It can often happen, and ordering new cheques can take quite a while. Banks take around 1 to 2 weeks to print and mail cheques to you. If you want them immediately, your bank can probably get it arranged if you are ready to pay for expedited shipping. While all of this sounds hectic, there is always an option for you to print your own cheques at lesser costs and with added personalisation. But, before deciding on that, let us have a look at the prerequisites. ![]() Advantages of Printing Your Own ChequesIf you know how to print your own cheques, you can avail several benefits like: 1. Never Running Out of ChequesRunning out of cheques can become worrisome if you have to make urgent payments. Not making payments on time can tarnish your brand image and cause several troubles. Hence, it is advisable to have a cheque printing set-up in place that enables on-demand printing. You can never run out of cheques if you have the printing supplies and know-how to print your own cheques for free. 2. Saving Printing CostsBanks offer cheque-books at a fee. Furthermore, if you need some cheques urgently, you have to purchase counter cheques that are even more costly. The cost per cheque reduces significantly when you print them on your own. You can even opt for online cheque printing solutions like PostGrid that can help save on administration, electricity, and inventory costs. 3. Branding Your ChequesBrand your cheques by adding your logo and several other customisations. This way, you can present your brand in front of an audience impactfully. Adding customisations to your cheques makes them complete transactions along with advertising your brand. 4. Print at AnytimeIf you are wondering, “Can I print my own cheques?” The answer is yes. Plus, you can do it with far more efficiency and flexibility. You can print any number of cheques at any time and from anywhere. There is no need to hear from your bank or visit the branch to get counter cheques. Requirements to Print Your Own ChequesCheque Writing SoftwareCan you print your own cheques without using cheque writing software? If you have the necessary graphic designing skills, you can. Otherwise, you can use software to print valid cheques that look the same as printed by your bank. Cheque writing software enables you to draft all your cheques accurately. It can help you insert all the required cheque fields at the right spots. Cheque PaperThough you can print using any type of paper, it is recommended to use cheque paper stock. Other types of paper stock may make your cheques look fake, and your bank may not process those cheques. Furthermore, even your vendors might refuse to accept these cheques. Cheque paper stock is difficult to be tampered with due to its various security features and adds validity to your cheques. PrinterYour printer should be compatible with the cheque writing software you are using. Make sure to cross-check these things before deciding to print your own cheques at home or office. You can use an inkjet printer, but it is better to use a laser printer as it facilitates high-quality printing. MICR FontThe MICR line at the bottom of the cheque is supposed to be printed using the MICR font. It helps cheque scanners decode the cheque information and store it digitally. Magnetic InkYou also require magnetic ink to print your cheques. Magnetic ink helps prevent bleeding. However, nowadays, most scanners read cheques using optical means rather than magnetic. So, you can use any ink. Steps to Print Your Own Cheques1. Download and Install a Cheque Writing SoftwareIf you are planning to use a word processor to draft your cheques, you should know about some things. Firstly, you can use this method only when you have pre-printed cheques. For designing cheques from scratch, you should download and install a cheque writing software that supports your bank’s cheque design. 2. Purchase Cheque PaperAs discussed earlier, you need cheque paper stock for printing cheques. Make sure to purchase it before starting the printing process. 3. Download the MICR FontDownload the MICR font on your device and use it for writing all the elements of the MICR line. Your device should be compatible with this font. 4. Add Your Bank’s DetailsOn the top-left corner, you need to add your bank’s logo along with the branch name and address. This part must remain constant for every cheque. 5. Insert the Payee FieldLeave a little space after your bank information and insert the payee field. Write the word “Pay” at the beginning. Whenever you fill in a payee name, make sure to draw a horizontal line to fill in the rest of the field. 6. Insert the Amount FieldThis field should be inserted below the payee field and consists of the cheque amount in words. It is filled in to avoid any confusion, in case the numbers in the amount box are not clear. 7. Add the Date LineThe dateline should be added towards the right side. You can either include the date of the day when you are writing the cheque or you can choose to post-date it. 8. Add the Amount BoxIt is a rectangular box below the dateline where you need to mention the amount in numbers. For example, £58.77. 9. Add the Memo LineThough it is optional, it is recommended so that you can fill in the reason for issuing the cheque. It helps in record-keeping. 10. Add the MICR LineNext up is the MICR line, which consists of the cheque number, branch sort code, and your account number (from left to right). Verify these details before printing. The branch sort code is also supposed to be printed on the top-right corner of the cheque, above the dateline. 11. Add the SignatureAbove the MICR line and towards the right side, you can add your account name. The signature is supposed to be added below the account name. 12. Review and PrintAfter checking all the fields and the filled information, you can print your cheques. If you want pre-printed cheques, you can only add the fields and leave the remaining spaces blank. Different Approaches to Print Your Own ChequesManual ApproachThe manual approach requires you to draft and print your cheques all on your own. Though you can use cheque writing software, your employees still need to add the payee details from time to time, stock inventory, and carry out the printing process. Semi-Manual ApproachThe semi-manual approach would be to outsource printing to a vendor. This way, you can get rid of purchasing inventory and printing the cheques. You can even reduce some administrative costs by outsourcing printing. Automation ApproachYou can automate the entire process of drafting and printing cheques. PostGrid’s online cheque printing solutions can help you draft your cheques speedily and accurately and also takes off the printing workload. Moreover, it also offers cheque mailing. This automation approach can help you draft, print, and mail cheques altogether in one go. Other things that our cheque print and mail API can perform are:
Use of Counter Cheques in Case of EmergencyCounter cheques can be availed from your bank by paying a certain fee. It is a good option for availing cheques for making urgent payments. You would be needed to show an ID, so don’t forget to carry an ID along. Though they seem to be convenient during emergencies, there are certain disadvantages associated with counter cheques. The fee is quite high, and many vendors do not accept these cheques as they look temporary. Therefore, it is always advisable to print your own cheques rather than visiting the branch and availing counter cheques for a fee. You can now write, print, and mail your cheques easily at any time without having to visit the bank or wait for weeks. PostGrid’s print and mail API can get it all done on your behalf. Ready to Get Started?Start transforming and automating your offline communications with PostGrid The post See What You Need Before You Print Your Own Cheques appeared first on PostGrid UK. Via https://www.postgrid.co.uk/print-your-own-cheques/ Via https://postgridunitedkingdom.weebly.com/blog/see-what-you-need-before-you-print-your-own-cheques |
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