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Archive for the ‘Royal Mail’ Category

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 »

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 »

Royal Mail – A poisoned challice?

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

The final selection for a successor for Adam Crozier, chief executive at Royal Mail, is underway. Crozier is to begin a new post with ITV, but with Royal Mail about to step up its plans for survival; Crozier’s successor will have much to contend with including difficult industrial relations and a declining letters market.
According to the Press Association, Kate Swann, chief executive with WH Smith chief, is being tipped as the leading contender. In March 2009, Donald Brydon became a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Mail Group, replacing Allan Leighton. Royal Mail has seen several changes at the top in recent years but with now faces a real battle to retain its share of the D2D market to offset the decline in stamped mail, some of which has already been lost to rivals. Hellmail.co.uk (05 April 2010) http://www.hellmail.co.uk

Whoever takes this job is going to have a tough job on their hands, but unless someone drags this organisation into the real world I cannot see it surviving in its present form. The competition is hotting up and once the dust has settled on the election whoever is in charge will have to address the issue. It still raises the question as to who would want to invest in a business which EU rules force to run at a loss.

They have to make savings and a good start would be looking at their returned mail handling process, and the committment Adam Crozier gave in Copenhagen to cut their carbon footprint.

Posted in DMA, Direct Mail, Postal returns, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

The Benefits of using a 2d bar code

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

We have are licensed by Arbutus Ridge to process the CodEffect 2d barcode, a powerful method of encoding large amounts of data. It has been used by HMRC for some time now and is completely secure.

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.

CodEffect has 2 distinct elements – simple data capture from returns and data verification/enhancement. These are 2 distinct and separate services, designed so that users can ‘buy-in’ to both services, however this is not mandatory.

Veridata through Arbutus Ridge will provide all software required to manage 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

The cost of processing your returns, and capturing additional valuable marketing information, is greatly reduced by using this intelligent 2dbar code.

For further information on how you can dramatically reduced costs and stay ahead of the competition call: -

Tim Craig on 01244 350700

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail | No Comments »

PAS 2020 – ”millions of pounds of punitive fines by the EU.”

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Direct Marketing News: BSI launch scheme to help save DM industry

The British standards institution (BSI) has launched a new scheme to help reduce the amount of direct mail produced by marketers that ends up in landfill.

The business services organisation has worked with the DMA to develop the PAS 2020 direct marketing environmental performance assessment and certification scheme. It is designed to help meet targets set out by the EU Landfill Directive which requires the current amount of biodegradable waste (11.55 million tonnes) thrown in landfill to be reduced to 5.2 million tonnes by 2020.

It is estimated 5.4 billion items of direct mail and promotional items are sent out every year. The DMA, who represent about 900 members involved in the direct marketing industry, signed a voluntary agreement with the Government in 2003 to raise recycling levels to 70 per cent by 2012. PAS 2020 is also designed to help reach this target.

Victoria Barron, product marketing manager for sustainability at BSI warned, “Failure to meet these targets could result in millions of pounds of punitive fines by the EU.”

DM campaigns have become less popular with marketers since social media marketing has increased as they are seen to be more costly and time consuming. Added pressure to make sure they are recycled or possibly face fines could cause marketers to opt out of DM altogether. B2B Marketing News

http://www.b2bm.bi

Published:

11-03-2010

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

Direct Mail and the Government voluntary producer responsibility agreements

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Action by the Direct Marketing Association

Further develop the MPS system (Mailing Preference Service) to improve the targeting element and provide greater flexibility for both the consumer and the producer; and further increase awareness of the service among householders

Work with WRAP to develop a ‘recycle logo’ to be printed on all direct mail

Work with WRAP, the paper mills and adhesive manufacturers to minimise the use of materials that may contaminate the recycling process

Work with local authorities to develop appropriate messages about recycling direct mail and other promotional material

Now all taken up by DMA initiative PAS 2020

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

Landfill – Newspapers, magazines and direct mail and the paper sector

Tuesday, March 16th, 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 agreements to promote, in particular, increased recycling of newspapers, magazines and direct mail with the Newspaper Publishers Association (NPA), the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) respectively.

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 550,000 tonnes of the household waste stream. Of this, 181,500 tonnes is estimated to be addressed direct mail with the remaining 368,500 tonnes being unaddressed direct marketing material.

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

Royal Mail Sustainable Mail & PEFC

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Royal Mail Recognition for PEFC

MAR 11 2010 | UNITED KINGDOM

As a key part of its environmental policy, the British postal service, Royal Mail, has developed a standard for responsible mailing, Sustainable Mail. To qualify for the scheme, organisations must comply with a number of criteria including use of recycled content or paper certified to a credible certification scheme such as PEFC’s.*

The Sustainable Mail™ standard is closely aligned to the British Standards Institute’s specification document on environmental performance of Direct Marketing, PAS 2020. Meeting the new standard enables companies using direct mail in their marketing mix to demonstrate their commitment to recycling, sustainability and waste reduction as well as helping to improve their overall corporate environmental performance.

Full compliance with the standard gives a reduction in postage costs of almost 5%, and as these costs represent up to 70% of the cost of a direct mail campaign, the savings can be significant.

Virgin fibre certified to a certification scheme approved by DEFRA’s Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) such as PEFC is considered an environmentally-friendly option as it contributes to a reduction in carbon in the atmosphere and is readily renewable. There are also limits to the amount of recycled paper available since paper cannot be recycled indefinitely.

“In addition to decreasing an organization’s environmental footprint, Sustainable Mail allows for major cost reductions”, said Hilary Khawam, PEFC UK Communications Director. “With PEFC-certified paper widely available in the UK, there are numerous responsible sourcing options available to companies wishing to take advantage of this scheme.”

*The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) s an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through independent third-party certification.

http://www.hellmail.co.uk

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