With postage prices set to rise once more, there has never been a more pressing need for brand owners which use direct mail to seek out the discounts that are available – yet not widely publicised – as well as employ best practice list cleansing to ensure they are maximising their budgets.
In this way, costs can be saved and at the same time brands can help to protect the self regulation of the industry.
Despite a record number of submissions, Postcomm decided to endorse its “minded to” decision to allow postal increases by Royal Mail Wholesale of around 15 per cent from May 9. And from April 4, the price of first and second class stamps are also set to rise to 46p and 36p respectively; an increase of 5p on first class and 4p on second class.
But, while prices are increasing, there are options for direct mailers to minimise the effect, such as Advertising Mail and Responsible Mail.
Advertising Mail provides customers with reduced postage prices (2p per item) for addressed direct mail “comprising a largely uniform message with the purpose of promoting the sale or use of products or services to encourage, contribute to or support a cause”.
Responsible Mail encourages environmentally friendly direct mail and can attract postal savings of 0.3p or 0.7p per item (there are two product levels) – if used in conjunction with Advertising Mail that’s 2.3p or 2.7p per item saving.
When you are sending thousands of items this can make a major difference, although there are set criteria for achieving the postal discounts, which relate to industry best practice (eg for data and responsible sourcing).
The strength of the downstream access product should also be remembered. Royal Mail Mailsort 1 offers delivery next working day; Mailsort 2 provides delivery within 3 working days; Mailsort 3 offers delivery within 7 working days; meanwhile Downstream Access provides delivery within 2-3 working days.
When you are integrating direct mail as part of a marketing campaign, knowledge of the letterbox day can be paramount to control and management. Many mailers have found, as a result of testing, that different days provide a different response rate, and downstream access is the most cost-effective postal product for nominating a delivery day.
Not only can this save you vital budget, it also means that call centres can be deployed exactly when required. For organisations such as charities, who may be requesting donations for disaster relief efforts, this enables a campaign to be despatched and money received much more quickly.
There is little doubt that postage hikes will affect everyone, but by following these relatively simple steps, brands can at least cushion themselves, and in some cases make extra savings on their hard-pressed mailing budgets.
Luan Wise is marketing manager at ONEPOST, a leading provider of independent postal advice and management
