Many printers are – and have been – adding direct mailing to their list of services. Some are equipped to process direct mail in-house, and many outsource this part once the direct mail media is printed. This marriage of the two industries is a relatively new concept, mostly brought on by the recent economic downturn.
Seeing profits fall during these hard economic times, and watching as their competition is continually closing their doors…a sense of urgency has led printing companies to diversify as much as possible.
Adding direct mail services means purchasing additional machinery and software, as well as, hiring new employees or cross-training existing ones, and – the most daunting of all – becoming well versed in the overwhelming amount of ever-changing direct mail postal rules.
While It Is Appealing to Utilize the One-Stop Shop Concept, You Could Be Jeopardizing Your Direct Mail Marketing Efforts.
We, at Personal Touch Mailing, have had to correct many mistakes after receiving printed direct mail media from printers, designers, or customers, who were unaware of applicable direct mail postal regulations. We have heard many stories of mistakes, delays, and outrageous pricing from customers.
Once we have had a chance to review the costs, we have found many times that customers paid much higher postage rates due to using a non-local mailing house. The post office awards you special postage discounts for sending your local direct mail locally. We find this “hidden” expense most often with internet postcard printers, who offer direct mailing services, and are mailing from out-of-state.
In my opinion, it is very important to have a reputable mailing house check the quality of your direct mail media before it goes to print – to ensure that your expensive media meets all the postal direct mail requirements, and that it is optimized in its design – to fully take advantage of all postage discounts.
Unfortunately, I have seen many printed flyers and postcards that are thrown in the trash, or suffer much higher postage and labor costs, due to faulty designs and printing.
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Personal Touch Mailing Services is a full-service direct mail located in Orlando, Florida. Call 407-857-9090 for a quote.
