Returned and Undelivered Mail

Archive for the ‘Returned and Undelivered Mail’ Category

Anthony Trollope and Post Boxes

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

Another thing I never knew, that Anthony Trollope the novelist, worked for the Post Office for 33 years and that was he who masterminded the introduction of the pillar box in 1852.

We take for granted the familiar like letter boxes which in the decades following the introduction of the penny post in 1839 were viewed with suspicion, before they became accepted the postman knocked. Did he knock twice and did he ever play Postman’s Knock on his round?

Today there is an average of 75 million letters delivered every day in 1839 there were 76 million delivered in the first year but it soon rose to 350 million a year, that’s a weeks worth now.

I am only guessing but I bet up until the Second World War that they did not have a major issue with returned and undelivered mail? I know they do now and for my own part I hope they continue to do so for it is our raison d’etre for being in business.

I must look up the facts and figures and what impact the introduction of postcodes had on deliveries.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Catalogues, Direct Mail, Postal returns, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal 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 »

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 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 »

Cut the cost of returned mail handling and make your customers happy

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Would you like to reduce the cost of handling returned mail and enhance the service you offer your customers? Veridata established in 1996 provides a dedicated, automated and fast turn around data capture for returned and undelivered mail. We have the capacity to process large volumes at a competitive price and the ROI is substantial.

Our cost is more than met by the savings made, helps to meet the requirements of PAS2020 and Sustainable Mail and includes the safe destruction and recycling of all waste paper.

Licensed to process CodEffect 2d barcode, a powerful method of encoding large amounts of data and successfully used by HMRC and Tesco. Since using it, the latter have seen a 50% reduction in its operational costs for returned mail over the last six months.

Attracting a lower charge rate to capture than standard alpha/numeric data, we can return the data files on a daily basis if required. We tailor our service to save you money.

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

2008 Alistair Darling today confirmed that the Landfill Tax will rise by £8 per tonne each year from next month, as part of his first Budget as Chancellor.

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Landfill Tax will, as expected, be £32 per tonne from April 1, 2008.

2010 £48 per tonne

Mr Darling said within a Budget, which was given a green tint thanks to a pledge on plastic bags, that the Landfill Tax will, as expected, be £32 per tonne from April 1, 2008.

The tax – working with other measures – has been successful with overall quantities of waste recorded at landfill sites registered for the tax falling by around 26%.

It is seen as the key driver of the UK’s move away from using landfill disposal – and the main hope of meeting European waste targets under the Landfill Directive in 2010, 2013 and 2020.

Wednesday 12 March 2008 Legislation News

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

Data validation data capture, and opt out solutions

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Today met with the MD of data8 a dynamic data management company based in Ellesmere Port www.data-8.co.uk.

Looking forward to working with them as their product(s) especially their on-line data validation solution can add value to our service and would be of interest to many of our customers.

The integrity of data can have a huge impact on any direct mailing campaign and indeed on any large mailing undertaken in the private or public sectors.

Our service provides data capture of Returned and Gone Away Mail and helps to cleanse our customer’s data bases, saving money and ensuring safe destruction and recycling of all waste paper.

Data validation can supply so much more valuable information checking against a raft of suppression files, giving specific reasons for the ‘gone aways’ and trace address information.

See also opt out solutions allowing customers to choose which companies they do not want to receive mail from. http://www.optoutlive.co.uk/dm/directmail.aspx#

The whole debate around ‘junk mail’ (Advertising Mail) is highly emotive but so many of us buy from direct mail and welcome some but not all of it. According to the DMA, UK consumers generate over £25 billion worth of sales from Direct Mail every year so it is fair to say that most people appreciate the information and special offers they receive by post.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail | No Comments »

Further Restrictions on Landfill and Returned Mail

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

I am thinking how will this affect the Direct Mail Sector? There are targets set to reduce all waste paper generated by direct mail going to landfill as there is already 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.

Our service includes safe destruction and recycling of all waste paper and helps meet the requirements of PAS2020 and Sustainable Mail

Consultation on the introduction of restrictions on the landfilling of certain wastes
1. I am writing to invite views on the possible introduction of further restrictions on the landfilling of biodegradable and recyclable wastes in England and Wales.
2. This joint Defra and Welsh Assembly Government consultation is in response to the commitment in the Waste Strategy for England 2007 and the commitment of the Welsh Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing’s written cabinet statement of 2nd December 2009 to consult on whether the introduction of further restrictions on the landfilling of biodegradable and recyclable wastes would make an effective contribution to meeting the objectives set out in the respective waste strategies for England and Wales, of reducing GHG emissions and increasing resource efficiency and in respect of Wales, of decreasing the ecological footprint associated with waste. The consultation aims to obtain the views of interested parties on the policy options presented with a view towards introducing one or more of them into law(s) in England and Wales.
3. This is a first stage consultation on the options under consideration for restricting wastes from landfill. It is intended to be a high-level consultation to identify preferred option(s) which could be taken forward if desirable, practical and affordable. If Government decides change is desirable a second stage consultation will follow on the preferred option(s) and the way any restriction or requirement would be introduced and who the onus would fall upon and accompanied by draft Regulations to implement these option(s).
4. The following documents may be found on Defra’s website at:
www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/landfill-restrictions/index.htm
and on the Welsh Assembly Government’s website at:
www.wales.gov.uk/consultations / www.cymru.gov.uk/ymgynghoriadau

Issued: 2010-03-18
Consultation starts: 2010-03-18
Consultation closes: 2010-06-10

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