Support Your Local Mailhouse
Author: Bob Waters
If you are entering 1000 pieces of mail or more at the Bulk Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) for the Standard Mail postage discounts, and you are not using a Mailhouse, then you are costing yourself time and money. I know that a lot of Non-Profits and Churches have free labor for addressing and sorting a mailing, so I will raise the count a bit to 2500 pieces or more as the cutoff as to when they should be using a Mailhouse - though I must add that with new Postal regulations coming in, every mailing that goes out should be done through a Mailhouse.
As they say on the news channels, "In full disclosure I must tell you that my company offers mailing services." I know, you were completely surprised by that! But here is an even bigger shocker, even though you now know that we offer mailing services, I still think I will convince you that I am right when I say, you need a Mailhouse to do your mailings.
1. Your postage will be lower. A Mailhouse has software that will maximize your postage savings. How does saving up to 35% in postage sound? Plus you didn't even have to do the addressing. Also, unless you have a fancy schmancy addresser, you can't add barcodes which provide the greatest savings in postage.
2. CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System). This tool checks every single one of your addresses (not the names and addresses, just the addresses) to make sure they are valid. As someone who has gone to the Post Office enough that I now want the steering wheel on my car to be on the right side, I can tell you that the number of mail pieces thrown away every day because of incorrect addresses is huge. Don't waste your hard earned money on printing and mailing pieces that are just going to be trashed.
3. NCOA (National Change of Address) updates. A lot of mailers who do their own mail may not know it, but the Post Office will soon require that all lists be run through NCOA. Actually, the Post Office already requires it but they just aren't enforcing it. An NCOA update will save you money by allowing you to mail to the correct address of someone who has moved or by eliminating someone (once you check your list) who has moved out of your mailing area. If you own a restaurant in Biloxi and a customer as moved to Montana, you better have REALLY good food to justify that mailing.
4. The Post Office. My most convincing argument is that you will not have to deal with the Post Office. You don't have to worry about all the rules, you don't have to fill out all the paperwork, you don't have to sit around as they check your mail and you don't deal with postal employees. Okay, that last one is unfair since most Post Office employees are hardworking, personable people that are actually quite nice. But let me ask you a question, when was the last time you enjoyed interacting with a government employee?
Save Time - you don't have to address the mailers, fill out the forms or go down to the Post Office.
Save Money - let a Mailhouse sort your mail for the lowest rates and add a barcode for the automation discount.
I told you I'd convince you, now all you have to do is decide what you want to do with all that extra time and money you are going to have!
Please visit us at www.GagePress.com.
About the Author
Bob has been in Printing and Mailing since 1995. He is the President of GagePress.com and works with businesses to improve their ROI in the Printing and Direct Mail fields.