November 2018

If your company is involved in direct marketing, then you know that direct mail has not gone the way of the dinosaur. When a potential customer has an inbox full of emails, it is much more likely you will grab their attention with direct mail.  Direct mail campaigns can be time-consuming, taking hours to stuff envelopes. The whole process of sending direct mail manually can be problematic and at times chaotic. What can you do to avoid the pitfalls of manually sending direct mail? The answer is simple, migrate to automated direct mail.  Here are some reasons why automation will work for your company.

Software Remembers to Notify Customers.

When you have an upcoming event or announcement the software’s application programming interface (or API) will communicate with your customer’s server. The customer can also send requests to you with customized information. The ease of having customized content stored will allow your software to create and send unique mailing pieces.

It Gives Your Customers More Control.

As previously stated, the latest automation software interfaces with your customer’s server, which in turn gives them more control. They can track mailings and have mailings that are triggered by specific events.

It Gives Your Company More Control.

t used to be that a marketing company would have to email a spreadsheet to a printing company and hope for the best that everything would come out the way it should. Now with API’s the process has changed; the mailing information is stored in a database that is connected with an automated system. You can oversee your direct mail campaign from a single location.  This means no more cutting and pasting between systems. Integration will act as a cybersphere where all your tools communicate.

Elimination of Human Error.

The larger the mailing, the greater chance someone along the line will make a mistake. It is almost inevitable the more people who are involved with a direct mailing, the greater the chance of something going wrong.  With automation you remove multiple employees and vendors from the direct mail process. This eliminates reprints or a second mailing to correct the first.

Improved Analytics.

The larger the mailing, the greater chance someone along the line will make a mistake. It is almost inevitable the more people who are involved with a direct mailing, the higher the chance of something going wrong.  With automation, you remove multiple employees and vendors from the direct mail process. This eliminates reprints or a second mailing to correct the first.

More Productivity.

With your direct mailings being automated there will be more time for your company’s employees to focus on other tasks.  No more time sifting through their inboxes searching for emails from a vendor. Less time will be spent on the phone with a vendor ensuring everything goes exactly as it should. What used to take multiple employees to accomplish, takes minimal employee effort after automation.

The bottom line is that automating your mail system will increase both productivity and results. There are far more reasons to automate than not to automate. The thing to consider is if building an in-house automated direct mail system is going to yield return on investment. The initial costs of a direct mail API can be expensive, and without enough return on investment, it may be wrong for your company.  Be sure to thoroughly research the partner you choose in building your automated direct mail system. The right company should be able to give you the costs and time frame up front. Make sure to request the contact information from their former customers as a reference.

As API technology advances, it will continue to make automation of direct mailings the clear choice for companies who have a high volume of mailing campaigns. In the future, the software may be able to anticipate needs from recurring events and make suggestions. So, it remains up to you, would your marketing company benefit from automated direct mailings?