Direct Mail Depot Services
According to the Direct Marketing Association, billions of dollars worth of sales have been generated through direct mail every year. What is even more impressive is that this figure is increasing every year for at least eight percent. In fact, statistics show that almost half of adult Americans have made an order of a product or service through direct mail. As more and more businesses have resorted to this direct marketing strategy, the emergence of a direct mail depot was noted. This is where data processing, lettershop and fulfillment services generally take place. In order to minimize costs incurred from direct mail campaigns, many companies hire the services of a direct mail depot or fulfillment house to do the design work, data processing, printing and mailing of mail pieces. The services that these direct mail companies offer vary. Some focus only one aspect of direct mail full-services direct mail companies take care of everything from conceptualizing a campaign to mailing all mail pieces to recipients.
In general, printing services are commonplace in a direct mail depot. This is where all marketing materials distributed through direct mail are made and completed. Many direct mail companies use offset printing, digital printing or a combination of both to create direct mail marketing materials. In offset printing, the prints are made from a plate while in digital printing; prints are made from an electronic file. The former is best used for larger volumes of direct mail pieces as costs are minimized the higher the volume is. Moreover, print quality from offset printing is better than that of digital printing. The advantage of digital printing, however, is that it is more flexible when printing variable data is used and it entails a shorter period of time. Variable data printing (VDP) allows texts and graphics to be different in each printed material. While many direct mail depot offer printing services, it is a good idea to check what kind of printing services they offer as this can affect the quality of marketing materials. For companies that are sending multi-page materials through direct mail, folding and finishing services of a direct mail depot may be required. Thousands of mail pieces are sent in direct mail campaigns and the simple act of folding and preparing all these materials for mailing may become too time-consuming. Mailing is a direct mail service that almost all fulfillment houses or direct mail depot provide. It is a good idea to know how they determine mailing charges. Typically, they mark up the rates of the Post Office. Few but not all direct mail fulfillment houses offer services such as planning and strategizing, copywriting support, mailing list generation and list certification. Planning refers to the initial stages of a direct mail campaign wherein the limitations and priorities are set. Copywriting support, on the other hand, entails the services of an expert on how to use correct and effective wordings or texts in direct mail marketing materials. Some direct mail companies also assist their clients in obtaining a mailing list that will be used for a campaign. These lists are generally subjected to a list certification process to increase the number of deliverable mail pieces. |