A print operations manager’s checklist

The number of mail pieces moving through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is on the upswing, and marketers are again eyeing traditional mail as a viable vehicle to reach customers and prospects.

Unfortunately, Direct Marketing News estimates that returned mail or “undeliverable-as-addressed” (UAA) mail costs direct mailers more than $6 billion every year. [1]

Chances are, your clients are looking to produce such documents every day, and you might worry a great deal about how to outfox the UAA mail phenomenon. With a savvy staff who knows the ropes about USPS discounts and postal optimization tools, you can help extend the life cycle of these communications.

It is important to show your customers that you can deliver the services and capabilities they may not realize are possible today, while saving them every cent possible on postage — the major portion of mailing costs.

Do you demonstrate such expertise to your customers today? You certainly should, and with this checklist, you are much closer to doing so.

A print operations manager’s checklist

1. Do you have Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) solutions to help you qualify for the steepest discounts possible, as well as provide tracing services, critical for time-sensitive documents?

2. Is your shop equipped with the latest postal optimization solutions? This is essential. It includes address cleansing and postal sorting, which guarantee that an address actually exists, eliminating non-deliverable mail and ensuring that your document is mailed to the right person at the right address.

3. How up-to-date are your data integrity tools? The right tools can help you to ensure that missing or damaged documents are replaced. Software can track and verify individual documents, providing simple verification or complex audit-ready reports — a capability that can eliminate potential fines.

The cost of preparation, materials and postage is high and going higher. Your operations manager should have a checklist similar to the one above when evaluating new postal optimization technologies, which can help keep these costs down and your clients happy.