Some companies invest up to five percent of revenue on information technologies, continuously looking for new ways to gain a competitive advantage. In 2010, organizations can generate valuable customer intelligence from an asset that already exists—mail.
The new Intelligent Mail® barcode provides for the lowest postal rates today and will be required by May 2011 under postal regulations. However, the value outside of the mailroom is even greater. This week we examine how you can improve marketing and enhance customer service. Next week we look at ways to streamline billing and collections.
Marketing: Sell More Effectively
Optimize call center staffing. With too few agents, calls go unanswered; having more agents than needed adds a tremendous cost. The capacity to pinpoint mail delivery with precision helps marketers ensure the right number of agents are available to take new orders.
Target in-home windows. When you can track and monitor mail delivery across the country you gain a competitive edge—the ability to plan communications so that they arrive at precisely the right time.
Reach more customers, more often. Nearly 50 million Americans move each year—and many make little effort to advise you. For marketers, that represents a huge cost and a lost opportunity. With Intelligent Mail®, the postal service will provide you with address corrections absolutely free of charge so you can stay connected.
Customer Care: Deliver Timely, Accurate Response
Reduce Talk Time. The ability to monitor and track the status of mail-based communications—including check disbursement, fulfillment kits, statements and compliance notifications—arms representatives with the facts they need to respond to customer inquiries with speed and accuracy.
Prompt Fewer Calls. A high percentage of calls are related to mail communications – confirming whether parcels, payments and orders have been sent or received. Now, delivery status can be tracked from the production floor through delivery; and you can make that information available to customers through web-based portals, eliminating follow-up calls.
Make Better Fee-Waiver Decisions. If there’s any confusion as to when a bill was received or when the payment was sent, many companies will forego legitimate late fee charges in the interest of customer service. Armed with precise information, customer service reps can act with facts and confidence.
Bridging the gap between the mailroom and critical business operations, solutions such as MAIL360TM and AuraTM software turn barcode data into actionable information. As we start 2010, think about the ways you can leverage Intelligent Mail® to locate new opportunities, connect with customers and communicate more efficiently.