Our Digital Color Press has been turning out job after job lately.  Here in St. Louis Missouri anyway it seems there is an increase in digital demand.  It seems the down-turn with the economy is leading companies to desire smaller, lower overhead, and more targeted project requirements.

Many of our clients are cutting back costs on their traditional offset printing.  Their opting to shift their resources to the more highly targeted and personalized pieces that digital print technology can offer.

It just goes to show you that time tested and proven direct mail marketing is still the most persuasive and, if done correctly, the most effective means of 1:1 marketing available.

You can read the article here:

PeC Traffic Report: The Direct Mail Solution

The USPS will treat detection of Move Update Compliance like any other verification test.   The same rules will apply to a Move Update Compliance failure as a barcode failure or presort error.  The presenter will have the options of paying additional postage or taking the mail back to resolve the problem.

This doesn’t change the fact that the document signed is a legal document.  The 6014 or any similarly signed document would hold as an agreement between the mail preparer and their client.  The document was never meant to serve as an agreement between the USPS and the client of the mail preparer.

The options for Move Update Compliance are:

• OneCode ACS™ (Address Change Service) in conjunction with an Intelligent Mail barcode and a mailer ID or Address Change Service used with an ACS participant code and an appropriate on-piece ancillary service endorsement

• NCOALink™ processing.

• FASTforward® MLOCR processing (letter mail only).

• Ancillary Service Endorsement.

Input Technology is asking clients to use one of the above methods for all mailings.  Most of our clients simply take advantage of our cost-effective 48 month NCOA processing service.  We require all clients mailing through us to sign a PAF (Processing Acknowledgement Form), if not using an alternative addressing format or one of the above methods.

The Processing Acknowledgment Form is required by the USPS to adhere to the Privacy Act of 1974.  The purpose is to assure that the processing and returned data isn’t used for any purpose other than updating a mail list.

Alternative addressing includes using simplified addressing such as “Current Resident” or “Postal Customer”.  It can also be exceptional addressing such as “Or Current Resident” as well as “Or Current Occupant.”  If the client uses alternative addressing, we require nothing additional from them, since Move Update does not apply.

ITi NCOA Forms and Info ->

The Postal Service has released Vision 2013, its new five-year strategic plan that balances near-term priorities with long-term needs to adapt to changing customer need.

Read more here…

Economy-Driven Mail Volume Decline Contributes to Loss

The Postal Service finished up 2008 with a net loss of $2.8 billion as the economic slowdown lowered mail volume and as the Postal Service bore additional cost mandated by the Postal Act of 2006.

Read more here…

USPS Updates three IMB Technical Guides

The Postal Service updated three technical guides for the Intelligent Mail Barcode and added a new one.  Customers are encouraged to use the guides and can find them at:

http://ribbs.usps.gov/files/fullserviceguides/

Read more here…

The industry as a whole has changed tremendously over the past year.  We have the USPS raising postage rates, and implementing new Move Update Standards.  They also announced the planned implementation of the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB).  We also have the economic struggles our country began to face.  Those struggles have impacted the printing and mailing industries both.

We have, despite the ever changing industry, settled into our new facility.  We’re beginning to grow our operations to match the new facility’s production floor and warehouse space.  We are planning all necessary improvements to equipment to meet the needs of clients and grow our company.   In addition, we are acquiring new technology and software to improve our solutions.

One notable improvement we made in 2008 was our decision to acquire Unlimited Full Service NCOA (National Change of Address) processing agreement.  We have the ability to process any number of records in minutes through the USPS NCOA Database.   This allows us to help our clients meet the strict demands of the new 95 day minimum Move Update Standards.

We look forward to 2009 for the opportunity to serve and provide quality/on-budget solutions to our clients and friends.  We hope you have a safe and Happy New Year!

Input Technology, Inc.

Move update refers to methods for making sure that the person or business you are mailing to is still at the address you have for them.  We have partnered with a leader in mailing technology to offer NCOA Full Service Processing.  This will enable us to provide our clients with quick and easy adherence to the new standards.

Learn more about it here:
http://www.inptech.com/ncoa_processing.php

The USPS is going to begin checking mailings for compliance using their current MERLIN program.  MERLIN program, an acronym for Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup INstrument, is a tool that is used by the U.S. Postal Service to assist with the acceptance of business mail.

MERLIN will read the addresses of mail pieces and check them against USPS Change of Address Database to determine if the mailing is compliant.  When a mailing is found to be Non-Compliant the USPS can (an likely will) levy fines against the mailer.

Mailers (that would be us) will require their clients to fill out a Form 6014 (Certification of Move Update Compliance) and/or submit their mail list through NCOA and fill out a PAF (Processing Acknowledgement Form).  It will be required of all mailers to be able to present to the USPS proof that the mailing is Move Update Compliant.

View the 6014 as well as a presentation by USPS on the Move Update:
http://www.inptech.com/resources.php

Meanwhile here is a Quick Message from John Potter, Postmaster General/CEO United States Postal Service.

“Our objective is to reduce the amount of undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail by 50% by 2010. Fixing addresses is a high priority to reduce costs and improve service”.

John Potter, Postmaster General/CEO. USPS®

Many organizations/companies start direct mail campaigns with unrealistic goals.  Expecting a one-time mailing of a postcard or offer to return substantial profits immediately is idealistic, but impractical.  The key to getting your return on investment is consistency and a time-commitment.

I’m assuming you’ve taken the time to hire a professional advertising agency to create a great strategy, offer, and design.  I’m assuming too, that you have a great product/service and call-to-action.

You should expect on your first mailing a response rate of about zero.

The key to direct mail is consistency; a company must give the campaign time to grow.  In general statistics have shown it takes a person being exposed to an offer 2-4 times before they’ll even notice it.  Then 5-7 times before they take any action on the offer.

This doesn’t mean you should flood your prospect mailbox with weekly mailings or even bi-weekly mailings.  What I’m suggesting is giving your campaign time to mature, a 6-month time commitment minimum.  Each month you can tweak the offer and the overall strategy.  So by the 6th month your plan is 6 times better than before and your prospects have been exposed to the offer 6 times.

After 6 months you’ll notice a change.  It’s a mistake to consider Direct Mail a cost.  You need to think of Direct Mail as an investment.

The best option for everyone during these times is not to abandon your direct mail campaigns completely, but to evaluate them and look for ways to increase your return on investment.

The first tip I have is to remember your audience has a short attention span, especially going through their mail.  You’ll have limited opportunity to catch their attention and keep it.  Use short and concise sentences, that are easily scanned, but are also easily understood.  You should have a clear action for the potential customer to perform.  Such as visiting your website or calling your business number.

My next tip is to be creative with your offers.  If “buy one get one free” or “50 % off” isn’t affordable, then a solid and informative telemarketer becomes a “Free Consultation” or a “Free Quote”.

Don’t forget this old rule “Garbage in, Garbage Out”…

My third tip is remembering that your results will only be as good as the data you start with.  Remember to purge Duplicate Names/Addresses and Opt-Out Persons from your database or Mailing List.  In addition, having a solid Move Update process is important too.  Mailing pieces twice to a person that will inevitably be returned is an obvious waste.  Not only a waste of your money, resources, and time, but a waste of USPS money and resources.

Keeping the amount of UAA mail down will (possibly) save you money in the future too.  The USPS has recently increased rates.  They have to spend money dealing with UAA mail.  Eliminating it from their system will save them money.  Which in turn (hopefully) will keep their rate increases to a minimum.

1. Focus on what matters most to customers.
2. Leverage our strengths to create customer value an profits to invest in continued improvement.
3. Embrace Change in the way we respond to emerging customer needs and a rapidly evolving business environment.

The 37 page document talks about the current economic situation and factors the situation into the plan.  It refers to this period in economic history as “challenging times” and a period of “economic uncertainty”.  Basically the document is a road map for the USPS to continue to improve its core strengths.

The plan covers topics from customer relationships to technological advancements.  The plan specifically covers the commitment of the USPS to implement and improve on the IM Barcode (Intelligent Mail).  It also states that it will not only embrace change, but will be a leader in many fields.  The document also has a section explaining the need to use the Internet to its full potential.

More information can be found at the USPS website… Just follow the links below.

Main Page: http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/vision2013.htm

Full Document: http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/_pdf/Vision2013FullDocument.pdf

Overview: http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/_pdf/Vision2013Overview.pdf