Archive for the ‘Banking’ Category

The UK’s direct marketing industry generates £205 billion in sales annually in the UK, according to the findings of new research published by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The DMA’s inaugural Value of DM Report, which provides a detailed picture of the total financial contribution the direct marketing industry makes to UK commerce, cites the retail sector as the biggest beneficiary of direct marketing. More than £102 billion in sales are attributed to direct marketing – 36 per cent of the £285 billion in retail sales recorded by the British Retail Consortium in 2009. Direct marketing is also responsible for nearly £76 billion in revenue for the consumer financial services sector.

The Value of DM Report also addresses the economic worth of the direct marketing industry aside from the sales it generates. UK companies spend £43.3 billion on direct marketing activities every year; nearly £17 billion is earned by workers employed within the industry; and companies spend an additional £12.5 billion on employee overheads. More than 1.1 million UK workers are employed by or are indirectly connected with the direct marketing industry.

Commenting on the findings of the Value of DM Report Chris Combemale, executive director of the DMA, said:

“At a time of tremendous economic turmoil, the Value of DM Report shows that direct marketing has been a consistently solid sales generator for businesses throughout all sectors. As well as the financial contribution direct marketing makes to UK PLC, the report also shows the value it adds to peoples’ lives through employment and empowering them as consumers.”

Elsewhere in the Value of DM Report, the findings reveal the spread of expenditure on the spectrum of direct marketing channels. Over 30 per cent of direct marketing budgets are now allocated to online and email, with catalogues and direct mail accounting for 28 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

The Value of DM Report can be downloaded from www.dma.org.uk/research

Stay ahead of carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme’/'green tax’ we recycle all waste paper lowering carbon footprint

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'Green Tax', Banking, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail | No Comments »

Cornwall the sea and making money

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Been a bit slack on updating our blog of late. There are reasons:

  1. We had four days in St Agnes Cornwall staying with Kirsty’s (my wife) sister and what a week for weather. We love Cornwall, we have been going there four or five times a year for 20 years and we particularly love the north coast winter or summer the walking and beaches are spectacular and if you like surfing the place to be. I find the rhythm of the sea spiritually healing and we although it was only a short break it’s good to switch off. http://www.porthvean.com/
  2. We are undergoing a strategic review of our business and the need to up the security to meet the scrutiny of compliance departments of major financial institutions.
  3. Last year was terrible for so many SMEs financial services mailings dropped by 80% and then we had the mail strikes.
  4. Keeping pace with the shear volume of information and social media is onerous but it’s here and it’s a part of the future embrace it or die. Check out check out http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-the-fk-is-social-media-one-year-later. the numbers confound.
  5. Reviewing our web site we are always looking to improve ways of engaging with customers present and new your feedback is important. As a service company we want to give you the best service we can and we are here to tailor our service to meet your needs. Direct Mail will be around for a few years yet and we can:
    • make yours more efficient
    • targeted
    • save you money, (we know we can)
    • help enhance your brand image
    • mitigate opportunities for identity fraud
    • and cut your carbon footprint

You I am sure would like to make more money/cut costs we are in business to make a profit we can both benefit from talking.

PS Ask us about the huge savings and efficiencies to be made from using CodEffect 2d Bar Code

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Banking, Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Hotels where to stay put up your customers, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, SMEs | No Comments »

Home workers is this the way forward?

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Mobile computing, phones, Internet access, text messaging, instant messaging and email

Collaboration software products such as Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange/Outlook
Home office programs
By deploying the types of technology-enabled solutions discussed above, businesses and governments are able to implement a broad range of scheduling and work location options for employees. Popular programs that take people off the roads and reduce commuting and related auto maintenance costs include:

Telecommuting from home one or more days per week

Full-time home-based employees who share temporary offices at the corporate site when required for meetings, eliminating the need for a permanently assigned corporate workspace

Working from remote or decentralized office facilities that are closer to the employees’ homes to reduce commute times and distances
The Canadian Teleworker Association (CTA) estimates that organizations can save, on average, one office per three teleworkers, at an average real estate cost of $2,000 per teleworker per year. As discussed in the power management cost reduction examples above, these numbers only become compelling when viewed in the context of their cumulative effect. From the larger perspective, real estate savings can rapidly add up. Sun Microsystems, for example, has recently estimated that their telecommuting programs have reduced their requirement for office space by about 6,000 office seats. Based on the CTA numbers, this would represent a real estate expense offset of $12 million annually.
By aggressively pursuing telecommuting, home office and other employee-focused programs, Sun estimates an overall cost reduction of approximately $63 million annually. Sun also reports through their website that employees are saving an average of 108 hours of commuting time per person annually and that these programs have cut employee gas and car repair costs significantly.
www.cgi.com  Emerging Trends in Green IT

Posted in Banking, Business Link, Carbon Footprint, Chester, Environmental responsibility, Home workers, IT Costs, Moral questions | No Comments »

Goldman Sachs and Haiti

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Anyone prone to thinking that investment bankers are geniuses should look at their catastrophically maladroit handling of the bonus issue this year. Goldman Sachs clearly thought they were exercising heroic self-denial by awarding themselves a compensation pool amounting to a mere $16.2 billion.

Haiti’s total GDP is $7 billion, and even before the earthquake one child in eight died before its fifth birthday; imagine Goldman turning over half its trough to Haiti in an attempt to change those numbers.

Instead they praised their own ‘restraint’ in awarding themselves only 36 per cent of their revenue in pay pool, down from the usual 50 per cent. News of these restrained bonuses came out the same day as Obama’s bank proposals. The Goldmaners must have been left wishing they hadn’t bothered.

The Great British Economy Disaster John Lanchester http://www.lrb.co.uk

Posted in Banking, Haiti | No Comments »