A few weeks ago we were approached by BtoB magazine to provide a brief article on the subject of Intelligent Mail. If you are a reader of this publication you will already be aware that this is a magazine for ‘Marketing Strategists’. It is exciting to see this growing interest in the value that Intelligent Mail offers outside of just mail production. For companies, it means leveraging your existing investment in the IMb to drive more benefits that can be seen in marketing, billing and customer service just to name a few.
In the article my colleague, Kevin Conti writes, ‘Forward-thinking mailers will view all these Intelligent Mail programs as a competitive advantage to grow their businesses while reducing operating costs. Progressive list processing and mailing services companies have developed business cases around new Intelligent Mail Bar Code-based products and services, such as “virtual returned mail,” that may expand their market shares, differentiate their services and create substantial savings by eliminating time and material waste.’
Kevin also provides a best practices checklist that provides some great food for thought. Here’s the link to the article that provide for a quick and interesting read. BtoB Online Artlcle
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Much of the news around Intelligent Mail® barcode in recent months has focused on issues related to print and mail managers. Generating mailer IDs, rendering barcodes, maximizing postal discounts.
While many on this site think first about “execution”… it is refreshing to see how other functional departments are beginning to see Intelligent Mail as an “opportunity.”
This is especially true in marketing. Recent articles in Target Marketing, DM News and Direct Magazine have highlighted the unique ways marketers can utilize the new barcode to their advantage. This past week, BtoB Magazine ran an excellent piece titled “Marketing and intelligent mail go hand in hand.”
So what do marketers like best about the new barcode?
- More space. The fact that Planet Codes, POSTNET and ancillary service endorsements are all embedded in a single barcode frees up more space for relevant messaging.
- Better mail tracking. This is especially important for those who need to coordinate call center staffing with direct mail efforts.
- Improved address accuracy. As noted last month, 6.9% of promotional mailings end up undelivered due to bad addresses.
- Postal savings. By earning the maximum postal discount, marketers have a new way to increase ROI.
The net consensus: full-service Intelligent Mail is a win-win for marketers.