Get a Discount on Your Direct Mailings this Summer

business mail, Direct Mail, QR Codes, USPS

The US Postal Service is offering a two percent discount on mailings during the months of July and August.  In order to qualify for the discount, the mail piece must contain a QR code.  QR or Quick Response codes are two dimensional barcodes that drive users from printed material to the web via a smartphone.  According to the US Post Office, “mobile technology is one of the fastest growing marketing sectors.  And when combined with marketing mailers, it can help businesses stay relevant and increase their profit.”  https://www.usps.com/mobile-barcode.htm

The discount applies to Standard Mail and First-Class Mail letters, flats and cards with a 2D barcode that can be read or scanned with a mobile device.   When scanned, the technology must activate a link directly to either a mobile-optimized Web page that allows the mail recipient to purchase a product or service or to a mobile-optimized and customized Web page uniquely tailored to the mail recipient and accessible by a personalized URL.

Leveraging digital to benefit direct mail marketing

Direct Mail, QR Codes

Particularly among the small business sector, most branding strategies include a direct mail marketing component. Although often touted as out-of-date or overshadowed by its social media counterparts, direct mail is still an important aspect of marketing that firms should not neglect.

One way for a company to boost its return on investment is to link up its more traditional marketing methods – including direct mail – with digital advertising techniques to capture early adopters of technology.

Both the United States Post Office and the UK’s Royal Mail are promoting quick response codes through new consumer engagement initiatives. For example, as part of a USPS campaign this summer, mailers who include a QR code on their direct pieces will receive a 3 percent discount.

In the UK, marketers are offered “enhanced” services via a digital watermark, which functions in the same way as a QR code.

“This solution combines the strengths of the post and the internet. Digital watermarking technology means that a leaflet or mailing can open the door to a journey in the online world,” Dave Smith, Royal Mail’s chief customer officer, told the Telegraph. “By using this technology, businesses can ensure their mail campaigns are as effective as possible by linking directly to their websites, videos and even social network pages.”

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Originally posted by Mark Nolan on AmsterdamPrinting.com

Tri-Win Digital Print & Direct Mail has purchased their fifth Kodak Digimaster Digital Production System to support their growing statement mailing customer base..

business mail, data lists, design, Direct Mail, Printing, QR Codes, variable data printing

New technology provides increased productivity.

Tri-Win has always focused on giving customers top quality products, superior customer service, and lower prices. Since 2003 the Kodak Digimaster has been the monochromatic digital printing solution for the Dallas, TX based direct mail house and digital printer. When it came time for Tri-Win to increase their printing capabilities it made sense to purchase another quality Kodak product.

The Kodak Digimaster has a number of advantages over some of the other monochromatic digital cut-sheet presses. Their ability to use a larger variation of paper weight lets Tri-Win’s customers make printing decisions based on branding and quality instead of print restrictions. Superior image and half tone quality creates an easier to read statement for the mail recipients. In Tri-Win’s personal experience the Kodak Digimaster requires fewer repairs than some other cut sheet monochromatic presses. “The Digimaster is the best cut-sheet press available,” Russell Honeycutt, Director of Data and Print.

 

Currently Tri-Win prints and mails approximately 5 million statements each month for 10 different clients. Beginning in June, Tri-Win’s fifth Digimaster will be installed to support their growing business. Once that new press is installed Tri-Win will have five different models of Digimasters; a Digimaster 9150, E125, E150, EX138, and EX150

 

Investing in the future.

Tri-Win is always looking for opportunities to add value to their direct mail and digital printing services; monochromatic cut-sheet printing, single-pass inserting, QR Code generation, variable data printing, and data list maintenance, are just a few of the unique innovative services that Tri-Win provides to their growing clients.

Investing in smart technology provides opportunities for growth, no matter what state the economy is in, but being able to invest without borrowing money sets Tri-Win apart from most print and mail companies. Every piece of equipment that Tri-Win uses is owned outright. Every process in place is evaluated for efficiency. Tri-Win constantly looks for ways to do things faster, better, or cheaper without sacrificing the quality of the product, and the benefits of the new processes get passed on to their customers.

Superior customer service is the standard.

The constant search to enhance the quality of Tri-Win’s processes is just one way they separate themselves from the competition through service. Tri-Win has some of the latest technology in the direct mail industry, but they built their customer base by focusing on customer service. “It’s important to us to make the direct mail process as easy as it can be. We want you to know that you can give us your project and we will take care of the details. We can purchase your data list, design your mailer, print the pieces, and get everything in the mail. We can take care of all the details of your direct mail campaign so you can take care of the details of running your business”, Scott Swanner, Operations Manager.

Tri-Win’s dedication to efficiency and superior customer service allowed them to grow every year for 15 years. Now they boast nearly 500 clients and send out an average of 500,000 pieces of mail every day.  You don’t pay for unnecessary labor; you don’t pay for interest payments. When you work with Tri-Win you pay for the most efficient mail shop process available. With the addition of a new Kodak Digimaster their print shop is ready for new business.

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Experimenting to make the most of print marketing

business mail, Direct Mail, Printing, QR Codes

Very few things in life are ever perfect the first time around, and this is even more so the case when it comes to marketing – there are always little tweaks that can be made to generate more exposure and close sales. As Bigger Pockets recently suggested, small business owners should always be looking to improve on their direct mail marketing initiatives.

The best way to this is through split testing, which in the case of direct mail means splitting a list into two and then sending different components to each list. For example, if an entrepreneur wanted to experiment with different calls to action, he or she could send one postcard to the first group and another to the second group. Whichever gets more responses should be the one the company uses.

“In the end, it really doesn’t matter how you track your results, but never again, should you send out a letter without tracking the response. If you start to do this today, in just a few months you should be able to determine the best letter in your ‘arsenal’ and increase the number of deals you do very quickly,” the website explains.

There is no limit to what a company tests – different ad copy, images and print materials are all good places to start. Once the company finds a strategy that makes a return on investment, then they should switch to that format.

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Originally posted by Mark Haslan on overnightprints.com

QR Codes, Video, and Direct Mail; Promoting small businesses

Direct Mail, QR Codes, Social Media

Local small businesses looking to bolster their marketing campaigns should consider leveraging the power of direct mail in combination with quick response codes. Integrating this type of business marketing campaign can benefit a company by allowing it to ramp up its reviews, which can be especially important to the success of smaller firms.

According to Business 2 Community, 70 percent of consumers consult reviews or ratings prior to making a purchase. This makes it essential that a firm boosts conversation regarding its services and products on review-heavy websites such as Yelp, Facebook and Twitter.

“The benefit is a potential move up in search engine results and the ability to influence the decision-making process of people that are actively searching online for specific products and services,” Cynthia Fedor wrote for the source.

Small businesses should consider soliciting reviews from local consumers, then integrating those reviews into direct mail campaigns via a QR code that links directly to a video of the endorsement, the source recommended. To further encourage interactions, business owners may also include an incentive.

A direct mail tactic that would benefit those small businesses operating with a strict budget are postcard campaigns, which are notoriously inexpensive yet far-reaching.

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originaly posted by Jaime O’Hara on amsterdamprinting.com