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Direct Mail/ Catalogues Save up to 50% on your returned and ‘gone way’ mail

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

In partnership with Arbutus Ridge we process their CodEffect 2d barcode, a powerful method of encoding large amounts of data. Successfully used by many organisations including HMRC and Tesco, reults for the latter in the first six months – a 50% reduction in its operational costs for returned mail.

It attracts a lower charge rate to capture than standard alpha/numeric data and we can return the data files on a daily basis if required.

Veridata now offers this encrypted 2d bar-coding system which means that capture of name & address, campaign codes etc. is considerably cheaper and enables us to offer our customers great savings for processing their returned mail.

CodEffect capture solution offer a fixed charge, regardless of the amount of data captured.

The CodEffect service has two distinct elements – simple data capture from returns and

data verification & enhancement. If required it can explain the reason for returns by

running them against a number of industry wide data sets.

The discreet two- dimensional barcode can be set in various places in or outside the envelope

For the ‘core’ data capture service the price is simply based on the number of scans performed – the amount of data captured is irrelevant. There is no charge for the software or creation of a barcode.

Also included in the cost is the destruction and responsible disposal of all waste paper, which is recycled locally; this helps reduce your carbon footprint. Our service also helps you to comply with EU Directives on Landfill PAS2020 and Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail.

Technical Requirements

Veridata in partnership with Arbutus Ridge will provide all software required to manage the printing of the CodEffect 2d barcodes free of charge and will work alongside the Client and chosen print company to install and test the process. Full technical requirements will be produced on agreement of contract.

Supplied as Windows DLL’s, which you can integrate using Visual Basic

For further information please contact

Tim Craig Business Development Director

Tel: 07970 759282 email: tim.craig@veri-data.co.uk

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable 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:

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/
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.
Last year was terrible for so many SMEs financial services mailings dropped by 80% and then we had the mail strikes.
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.
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 »

Millions wasted on inaccurate mailings

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Did you know that on average business data decays at 27% annually and that businesses waste £220 million each year on inaccurate mailings?

By using our Returned and Undelivered mail (and catalogues) service you can can help cut that cost, save your company money, protect your brand and send out positive green mess age to all your customers.

I hate waste and I see it all the time, piles of ‘junk’ direct mail, duplicate letters to myself and then again to my wife it’s poorly badly targetted mail.

I have nothing against Direct Mail I have been prompted to buy goods from Direct Mail but there is an iniquitous amount of waste through sloppy targeting and duplication and it does piss people off.

It’s not rocket science and we have been doing it for fourteen years so we know our service can reduce this waste and we can prove how we do it (and by using CodEffect we can reduce that even further), and we recycle all the waste paper.

Few businesses monitor the amount of mail they send out, or the cost of returned mail or the potential damage to their company or brand and for every piece of poorly targeted business mail returned to sender, a staggering 20 are thrown away.

People throw away 59 percent of the mail they receive for previous employees.

Direct Mail Landfill costs £40 a ton.

Facts like these are are everywhere but when I read,

‘We’re the last billionth of a second in the evolution of matter’. DeLillio

I think I really should get a life.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Snail mail or email the basic rules of direct marketing continue to apply

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Whether contact is made by snail mail or email the basic rules of direct marketing continue to apply. The DMA says people like and will read and even pass on, content which is:

Relevant – in my book this is about knowing your customer or prospective customer and tailoring your communication to their needs. Why would you be targeting a company with something totally inappropriate, it’s like asking Mrs Lincoln if she enjoyed the play?
Interesting – again being interesting is a matter of knowing your audience. The fact that whale’s penis is called a dork is not a lot of interest to people selling orthopaedic mattresses. However beginning with a clear message that is relevant to your reader and their business and saying what you have got say in simple language, clearly, concisely, and succinctly will help to sustain their interest.
Timely –umm what does this mean? 1. Occurring at a suitable or opportune time; well-timed. 2. Archaic Coming too early; premature!! Personally unless you have a clear lead, specific marketing information, or topical news timing in serendipitous. Landing on the right desktop at the right time is when you get lucky on more than one occasion I have picked up a great piece of business when the reader had just come out of a meeting tasked with finding exactly we were selling. Although I believe some days are better than others catching someone at the other end in a particularly good mood is definitely helpful and timely.
Humorous – you take your chance on this one as not everyone shares the same humour and the written word can cause problems because in print, because jokes often don’t come across the way they do in person and even an innocent cartoon can misfire. Some years ago I sent out a cartoon accompanying a marketing letter, it was a take on Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man. It was very well received by 95% of the targets but offended a handful. To this day still think I could never have done business with the people who took offence. The other pitfall is cultural and national differences how do you know the religious beliefs or nationality of the person reading your email, heaven forbid he might be an Australian.

Posted in DMA, Direct Mail, Serendipity | No Comments »

Sustainable Mail and DMA beats targets for recycling

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Veridata has been doing its bit to help the Direct Marketing Industry meet the targets for recycling, and indeed anyone who sends out large amounts of mail or catalogues. Once we have captured the relevant information for our customers from the mail we process all the paper residue is destroyed and recycled. This helps to lower the carbon footprint of the sender as 80% of the carbon footprint of a piece of direct mail is in the ‘end of life’ solution. Our service helps to meet the requirements for Sustainable Mail and PAS2020. Perhaps as important it also saves a lot of money, protects brand image and goes some ways to mitigating the opportunity for identity fraud.

Sending out large mail? Meet you Corporate Social Responsibility by processing your returns responsibly call Veridata today and make your mail more effective.

Royal Mail launched two new sustainable services in 2009, with usage levels already running at over 380m items a year Source: Royal Mail (2010)

With ‘Sustainable Mail’ (available via RM Retail) and ‘Responsible Mail (available via RM Wholesale) mailers achieve better prices for producing direct mailings that are better targeted, produced in a sustainable way and easy to recycle. These services are fully aligned to PAS 2020

384m items of Direct Mail were sent via these services in the 12 months up to January 2010, equating to over 10% of all Direct Mail.

Royal Mail has been further driving up improvements in mail quality via the new Royal Mail Mailing House scheme. This scheme, which disbursed over £5m in the last 12 months, gives rewards to Mailing Houses which can provide evidence of environmental management systems (ISO14001, etc.)

Matthew Neilson, Head of Environmental Solutions, Royal Mail, commented: “The direct marketing industry has made a significant effort to reduce its impact on the environment, and the introduction of initiatives such as the DMA’s PAS2020 and Royal Mail’s Sustainable® Mail product have been instrumental in helping the sector to achieve this recycling goal. However, there is much more that can be done to ensure direct marketers are communicating in as sustainable a fashion as possible.”

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Specialists in processing returned & undelivered mail from as little as 0.4p per item

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

……Because ‘ gone way’ mail matters

Specialist, automated and quick turn around service for the data capture of Returned and Gone Away Mail.

We capture the data you need from the format you use…

* Alpha numeric
* Alpha
* Barcode (including CodEffect 2d)

Our solution helps your company comply with the new BSI Standard PAS2020 and qualify for Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail reduced postal rates. It also addresses EU directives on landfill and the issue of ‘producer responsibility’ in that all waste paper generated is disposed of responsibly.

As part of our service we ensure that all waste paper is securely destroyed and recycled.

Cuts Carbon footprint meets corporate social responsibility

Mitigates opportunity for identity theft, cuts out delivering mail to wrong address recipient

Protects brand image

Saves you shed loads of money!!

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail | No Comments »

Direct Mail and Traying Up

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Is the process of ‘traying up’ as efficient as you would want it to be? Is your system automated, pre-trayed and pre-sorted? By a slight extension to the use of CodEffect 2dbar code, used by us to process returned and undelivered mail, you can create automated traying. This can considerably improve efficiencies in the presentation of your mail to your carrier (s) and save you money

The efficiencies and reduced costs gained by CodEffect in the processing of returned and undelivered mail is a ‘no brainer’ and could save you a considerable amount of money.

The responsible handling of all yours, or your customers returned mail is good for your brand image, and good for the environment, it ticks all the ‘green’ boxes and cuts carbon footprint.

Our service also helps you to comply with PAS2020, Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail, and the EU Directives on Landfill that all waste paper is disposed of correctly, no more land fill allowed for this kind of material.

As an inclusive part of our service we recycle all waste paper.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Direct Mail some good advice from USA but…..

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

10 ELEMENTS EVERY DIRECT MAIL PIECE SHOULD HAVE

Tuesday, 27 April 2010 00:00 Written by Joy Gendusa

Don’t want your direct mail to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? These 10 tips will help you get the results you want:

1. A clear, bold headline

On the envelope or front of the mailer there should be one central message. The best way to achieve that is with a bold, clear headline that’s not cluttered with other text. A good guideline is to have the headline fill up at least 15 percent of the front of the mailer.

2. A graphic that supports the message

The graphic should be easy to understand and easily relatable to the message the headline is trying to convey. For instance, if you are trying to get people to buy a car, you would want to show a car with a promotional sign clearly visible, such as “$1,000 Cash Back”. That graphic reinforces the message more than a simple picture of a car.

3. Color that pops

Make the headline and other text stand out by using a color that stands out from the background color. When you look at the card, ask yourself, “What do I see first?” If your answer isn’t the headline, you might want to tweak the colors.

4. Subheads that lead into text

If you have a couple of paragraphs of text with no lead in, there’s nothing to entice people to actually read the copy. A subhead will give people a place to start reading. If you have only 100 words or so you may be able to get away with it, but if the text gets any longer the average reader will want to have some guideposts along the way.

5. Benefits, benefits, benefits

One of the biggest advertising errors people make is to state features rather than benefits. For example, never assume recipients know what benefit can be derived from a lower interest rate. Let them know how their monthly payments will go down.

6. The offer

An offer is always a good idea and should represent a specific reason to call now, such as “Limited supply” or “Interest rates are climbing.”

7. Your company name and logo

Although this needs to be on the mailer, it shouldn’t overshadow the offer. Customers care most about what you can do for them.

8. Call to action

Tell prospects exactly what you want them to do. “Call today for more information” or “See us online” are two of the most common desired actions.

9. Contact information

Provide your name, phone number, and web address directly following the call to action. Whatever you ask prospects to do, give them the means to do it easily.

10. Return address

A return address ensures you’ll get returned mail from the post office and sends a message that you’re an established professional. People feel better knowing the company they’re dealing with has an actual location.

BUT… WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR RETURNED AND UNDELIVERED MAIL? THE ‘GONE AWAYS’?

OUTSOURCE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS – VERIDATA

We take the headache of the ‘end of life solution’ and the producer responsibility that all waste paper generated is disposed of correctly. We will also:

Capture the information you require
Keep your databases clean
Save you money
Help you comply with PAS2020 & Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail
Protect brand image
Mitigate opportunity for identity fraud
Lower your carbon footprint

Call Tim Craig 07970 759282 today

PS Save even money ask us about CodEffect 2d bar code

Article by Joy Gendusa is CEO of PostcardMania, USA for more information visit www.postcardmania.com.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Government and SMEs, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Direct Mail and Public Perception

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Paper has been identified as a material where reduced waste and greater recycling can yield significant environmental benefits.

The Government has already concluded voluntary producer responsibility agreement to promote, in particular, increased recycling magazines and direct mail the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Add in Newspapers and these three waste streams are estimated to amount to about 3.6 million tonnes (which would equate to about 14% of total household waste).

Direct marketing material estimated to account for approximately just 2% of this but the public perceive it to be much higher because it is so visible. More and more consumers are concerning themselves with environmental and social issues and 53% of UK and 66% of US consumers have considered switching brand due to corporate social responsibility. 51% said they or their family had boycotted a company because its products damage the environment.

For companies that send out large mailings our service helps to address corporate social responsibility and the issue of ‘producer responsibility’ in that all waste paper generated is disposed of properly. 80% of the carbon footprint for a piece of mail is in this ‘end of life’ solution. It also helps with BSI Standard PAS2020, Sustainable Mail and new EU directives on landfill,

Public perception about the much maligned ‘Junk Mail’ is skewed because it is so visible and in the home but opting out is all or nothing and who has not at sometime been prompted to make purchase from direct mail?

Protect your brand, reduce your carbon footprint, and save shed loads of money just call us now.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

Wrong Delivery Addresses Cost Businesses 146m

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

Incorrect delivery addresses cost online UK businesses over £146m every year, according to a study released by Worcester-based IT firm Postcode Anywhere this week.

The Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) and Postcode Anywhere report found that every year 5.8 million items ordered online fail to deliver first time because of an error in the address.

Postcode Anywhere MD Guy Mucklow said: “It’s shocking that in this day and age we still can’t seem to fill out our addresses accurately. But the problem doesn’t lie with the customer: more often it’s a result of poorly-put-together online forms and ill-conceived data capture.

“E-commerce businesses are shooting themselves in the foot if they take shortcuts with their address forms. According to our results, every delivery that fails due to an incorrect address costs an average £25.50 to put right, through refunds, redeliveries and wasted man-hours.

“Averaged out, current levels of delivery inefficiency add 70p to the cost of every single parcel dispatched in the UK, and 75p for every delivery.

“Clearly, there is a strong argument for e-tailers to take more care in how they collect customer information. It even affects customer service levels: as consumers, we’ve probably all experienced the frustrating scenario of being forced to select a US state from a drop-down box, or abbreviate words because they won’t fit in the fields.

“While we’ve learnt missed delivery levels are high, it also seems likely that even more customers will never go through with the order in the first place if they meet with a particularly troublesome form.

“Solutions do exist which make the purchase process quicker for customers, and ensure addresses are captured accurately and easily. In fact, by installing technology that auto-fills an address from a UK postcode – such as that available from Postcode Anywhere – e-commerce vendors can sidestep these problems altogether.

“Postcodes collected from online forms cannot be underestimated – they’re even useful for delivery drivers’ sat-navs.

“We asked our customers, and two thirds of them said they’d noticed a reduction in the number of items lost in the post after implementing address auto-fill technology. Over 70% agreed it reduced shopping cart abandonments.

“But as this study shows, although many of the big names in e-commerce are wise to the benefits of address auto-fill and validation, a significant percentage of vendors can’t see what they’re missing.”

The research made findings representing more than 12 million online consumers, 3.5 million active online shoppers and almost 800 million home deliveries.

For information about Postcode Anywhere’s award-winning range of UK and international address auto-fill and validation software, visit www.postcodeanywhere.com

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, DMA, Direct Mail, Postal returns, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »