Mail Room: Ask Sandra
If you are really serious about adding a mail revenue stream to your business, the first thing to do is to take stock of your current business to see what kind of opportunity is there for you. Assess your current print work and estimate how much of it...
Sandra Long, vice president, Printer Market and Customer Development, Pitney Bowes, answers readers’ questions about mailing. Send your questions to her at Sandra.Long@pitneybowes.com.
Q: I want to begin offering mailing services to my print customers? How do I begin?
A: If you are really serious about adding a mail revenue stream to your business, the first thing to do is to take stock of your current business to see what kind of opportunity is there for you. Assess your current print work and estimate how much of it is eventually mailed. For most quick printers, that figure is approximately 65-70%.
Next, identify the services beyond printing that you can offer your customers. Depending on the technology and solutions that you have, services might include address database cleansing, presorting, address and envelope printing, sealing, tabbing, folding, and inserting. Start with your current customers – you’re printing their pieces already so they serve as the most promising way to enter the mailing business.
You may need to consider reconfiguring your space, acquiring equipment or software, implementing additional training, or even hiring to support this new initiative, but you can do this gradually. It’s usually best to grow in a way that is clearly supported by your potential to expand with your current customers.
When you are ready to reach out to completely new customers, one of the best methods is to send out attractive, full-color direct mail pieces using PURLs or QR codes and/or variable data pieces with color messaging. The goal is to impress your prospects with your own mailings.
More information: http://www.myprintresource.com/10007238
