The More Complex the Mailing, the Better for Printers

The trilogy of ‘what costs what’

1) Weight, 2) Size, 3) Shape: These three determine what your customer is going to pay. Changing any of them, even slightly, can impact total cost tremendously. So how do you know what to adjust to make a difference? We’ve got a few ideas:

Use manufacturer templates

You don’t have to start from scratch. Many companies, including Mohawk, provide easy-to-use design templates so you know right at the outset what your customer will be dealing with on postage.

One of the most popular mailing pieces for 2013 is the embedded magnet—business card-size magnetized materials embedded in a base sheet. These configurations have already been tested and approved by the U.S. Postal Service. “A postal regulations guide would definitely be useful,” remarks Colleen Fasciano, site manager for Williams Lea Inc., onsite at Pfizer. “As an account manager, I’m responsible for providing the information and specs to the designer, so it would really be helpful to have [a guide] and not have to research it.”

Ask the experts

It happens: One person says a piece is fine, only you find out it’s not. When there’s no pre-approved template, most designers and production folks know it’s simply best practices to run a mock-up past the post office as early as possible. “Our agency has an onsite postal representative that vets every campaign piece we do to make sure it passes the regulations in the early design stage,” says Catherine Wathen, VP of Direct Marketing, Fifth Third Bank.

If you don’t have in-house expertise, take advantage of a USPS specialist. USPS mailpiece design analysts are specially trained to answer your questions regarding mailpiece design, automation compatibility and automation-based prices…and they can provide technical assistance, too.

Look for mailing incentives and deals

Another way you can help customers with their direct mail costs—and also show you know your digital stuff—is to take advantage of the USPS’ 2013 promotions. This year, many promotions reward links between mailings and mobile technologies. Take a look:

• March 1: The first promo offers postage discounts for mailers who integrate hard-copy coupons that can be redeemed via mobile technologies—for instance, scanning and storing a coupon with a mobile device.

• August 1: This promotion provides postage discounts for enterprise customers that use “cutting-edged innovations” in their mail campaigns, including NFC (Near Field Communication technology, which enables communication and data exchanges based on proximity) and AR (which amplifies images with interactive menus, videos and graphics).

Says Gary Reblin, USPS VP of Domestic Products, “The whole industry is evolving, and we’re trying to do our part to push innovation.”

Another USPS program you might want to get familiar with: Every Door Direct Mail allows businesses to send mail into a target area without having to know any addresses. Check out information specific to printers at the USPS site. The site even lists printers as local resources. Keep an eye on Mohawk MakeReady for additional content including info from printers using this service.

Order envelopes in bulk

Ask your customers if they’re going to do more mailings down the road. Oftentimes clients will have one mailing ready to go… but be thinking of doing a series. One thing they often will commit to is ordering/printing the envelope portion, so show them the savings for doubling or tripling quantity. 

Tips for Reigning in Customer Mailing Costs

• Go to the source. Mohawk offers mailing spec templates for digital products such as our Mohawk’s postcard mailing specifications and cost sheet.
• Find out if a letter is part of the package. You can save customers money by printing the letterhead for them as part of the program rather than customers paying to ship letterhead to you.
• Suggest ways to integrate digital technologies into printed materials to take advantage of post office incentives.
• Order envelopes for multiple mailings ahead of time to take advantage of bulk discounts.