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Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category

Top 6 Reasons Why Resident Mailing Lists Are Better Than Consumer Mailing Lists

June 16th, 2011

Resident Occupant Mailing List data fairs better than Consumer Mailing List data for reasons listed below.

Reason # 1 – Postal Cost Decrease
The postage cost for mailing to a saturated geography plummets as compared to mailing a consumer mailing list.  Since every delivery point within a carrier route receives the mail, far less postal office processing is required.  The cost of delivering mail is, among other things, heavily influenced by the amount of processing needed to direct the mail to the right location.

Reason # 2 – Saturation Delivers to Everyone
Unlike Consumer Mailing Lists, Resident Occupant Data saturates the neighborhood and delivers every possible delivery point.  There is simply no better way to reach the mass population via direct mail marketing than using the Resident Occupant Mailing List.  Of course, the kinds of offers used for this database are those where the “shot-gun” approach to marketing is the best.

Reason # 3 – Mailing List Cost is Far Less
The cost for the Resident List data is about half the cost of a traditional Consumer List.  This is because there are no royalties to pay.

Reason # 4 – Saturation Delivers to Those That Consumer Lists Don’t
Because the Consumer Mailing List is targeting both names and addresses, unless there is a high confidence in the individual residing at that consumer location, the record is not added to the Consumer Database.  Saturation Resident Database captures those records that are both on and not one the Consumer Mailing List.  The difference is about 23% additional records.  Not only are you mailing to more people with Resident data, those “unique” records are often more responsive because they do not suffer from “mailbox clutter”.

Reason # 5 – Response Breakeven is Lower
Since both the cost for the list and the cost for postage is less than mailing to a list from the Consumer Database, the overall mailing expense is less.  This provides for the direct mail breakeven point to be lower.  It therefore takes fewer responses than otherwise required, for a direct mail campaign to breakeven.

Reason # 6 – Series Mail Enabled
Because the cost of doing a direct mail campaign with Resident List data is lower than doing one with a Consumer Mailing List, mailers often will mail more than once to the same audience.  In theory, there is benefit to mailing to the same audience since the message is reinforced and more often considered.

If you’re unsure of the type of list you should use when doing your next direct mail campaign, call BB Direct at 866-501-6273.  We’ll be happy to help you with how to increase your direct mail ROI.

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USPS Summer Promotion: 3% Off for Mobile Barcodes

May 20th, 2011

The Mobile Barcode Promotion was approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on May 17, 2011. The promotion provides commercial mailers a three percent discount for mail that includes a mobile barcode inside or on the mail piece.

Promotional Guidelines

  • The promotion will run from July 1st through August 31st.
  • Mobile barcode must be two-dimensional and readable by a mobile smartphone. One dimensional barcodes do NOT qualify.
  • Mailing documentation must be submitted electronically and postage must be paid using a Permit Imprint. Current electronic submission methods include: Mail.XML, Mail.dat and Postal Wizard.
  • First-Class Mail and Standard Mail (including Nonprofit Standard Mail) letters, flats and cards with a mobile barcode inside or on the mail piece can qualify for the discount.
  • Participation requires electronic documentation.
  • Commingled, combined and co-mail mailings are allowed and a separate postage statement is required with mobile barcodes.

What’s Mobile Barcode?

A mobile barcode is a two-dimensional barcode that can be read by any smartphone with a 2d barcode reader application. These mobile barcodes, when scanned, can direct an otherwise passive customer to take immediate action – make a purchase, register for an event, or download a coupon.

Program Goals
The Mobile Barcode Promotion is designed to build awareness of mobile barcodes. More importantly, it demonstrates how mobile barcodes can increase the value of direct mail, while “blurring” the lines between online and offline marketing.

How does the Program work?
The Mobile Barcode Promotion runs July 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011, providing business mailers with an upfront three percent discount on Standard Mail and First-Class Mail® letters and flats that include a mobile barcode. The following rules apply:

  • Participating mailers will be required to affirmatively claim this promotion in electronic postage statement submissions, certifying each mail piece contains a mobile barcode either within contents of mail piece or on outside of mail piece.
  • All mail pieces in a mailing statement must contain a mobile barcode.
  • With the exception of IMb full service discount, only one incentive per mailing will apply.
  • Mobile barcode must be used for marketing and advertising purposes. Mail pieces containing mobile barcode that convey information about the postage value, destination, sender and machine serial number for security do not qualify.

There are some who say that this mobile barcode promotion pushes people to the web, and therefore, the mailers will no longer need to use direct mail. This is short-sited. If direct mail recipients respond to the piece, whether calling, foot traffic, or Mobile Bar Code redemption, then the mailer wins. Proper measurement will tell this mailer that direct mail worked. When direct mail works, it’s used again. Getting a better response from direct mail is definitively a good thing for direct mail marketers.

The more the USPS evolves to bring about this and other applications where direct mail becomes inter-connected with the web, the better. Let’s face it, the internet is here to stay and we all are using it. We continually see direct mail marketing budgets used to test a variety of online marketing programs. The mobile barcode promotion is an opportunity to make a case that direct mail is internet friendly.

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US Postal Service Summer Sale Details

May 21st, 2010

Summer Sale

General Program Information

1. What is the 2010 Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
The Standard Mail Summer Sale offers eligible companies a 30% postage rebate on Standard
Mail letter and flat volumes that exceed a predetermined threshold. The Sale runs July 1
through September 30, 2010.
This threshold is determined by taking a company’s Standard Mail volume mailed
during the time period from July to September 2009 and adding 5 percent (SPLY +5%).
Only Standard Mail letters and flats in excess of this threshold will qualify for the
rebate.

2. Why is the Postal Service offering a Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
The intent of the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program is to provide an incentive for customers
to increase Standard Mail use above the volume they would otherwise have sent. Increasing
Standard Mail will provide customers additional opportunities to gain new customers, retain
existing customers or simply improve brand awareness.

Company Eligibility

3. Who is eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
To be eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program, a company must have
mailed 350,000 or more Standard Mail letters or flats (complete mailpieces) between July 1 and
September 30 in 2009.

4. How can I participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
All companies who meet the criteria and are eligible to participate will receive an invitation letter.
Eligible companies who received a letter can apply online at www.usps.com/summersale. The
deadline for application is May 28, 2010.

5. Are mail service providers eligible for the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
Mail service providers are not eligible for the Sale Program, nor can they apply on behalf of their
customers. They are encouraged to tell their customers about the program and help their
customers provide documentation of mailing volumes.

A Mail Service Provider (MSP) is a company or entity that creates, prepares, processes and
presents or inducts mail for other companies into the US Postal network. Thus, if a company
creates, prepares, processes or presents mail to the US Postal Service but does not own the
content/message in the envelope, or is reimbursed for the postage paid, it is an MSP.

The types of entities that are considered MSPs include, but are not limited to:
• Presort Bureaus
• Letter Shops
• Mail Consolidators
• List Providers
• Printers
• Billing Processors
• Advertising Mail Services companies
• Fulfillment Houses.

The decision as to which companies meet the definition of a mail service provider, and are
therefore ineligible to participate, is at the sole discretion of the Postal Service.

Volume Report, Certification Letter and Documentation

6. What happens after I apply online?
Once you submit your online application at: www.usps.com/summersale, a follow-up email will
be sent to you with the following three attachments:

  • Revenue and Volume Threshold Report
  • Certification Letter
  • Threshold Inquiry Form

The Revenue and Volume Threshold Report will list your Standard Mail letter and flat volume
and revenue history by permit number for each volume threshold period: June 2009, July
through September 2009, and October 2009. If you agree with your revenue and volume
history you must sign the Certification Letter and return a copy via email or mail to the Summer
Sale program office. If you do not agree with your revenue and volume history in your Report
you must fill out the Threshold Inquiry Form and return it to the Summer Sale program office.
The Summer Sale Program office must receive either the customers signed Certification letter
or the Threshold Inquiry form no later than June 30, 2010.

7. How do I contact the Summer Sale program office?
By Mail: United States Postal Service
Attn: Summer Sale Program Office
475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, RM 5410
Washington, DC 20260-5410

By Email: summersale@usps.gov

8. What should I do if I have volume mailed under a mail service provider’s permit that is
not shown on my threshold report?
If your company used any permits owned by mail service providers (MSPs), you must fill out an
MSP Volume Claim Form and provide supporting documentation to have this volume credited to
your company. The preferred document for supporting documentation is a Form 3602 Mailing
Statement. Invoices and other supporting documentation may only be used if they contain all of
the following:

  • Class of mail and processing category – i.e. the documentation must prove that the mail

sent was Standard Mail letters or flats.

  • The cost of the postage – In order to determine your rebate, we need to know the price per

piece so this information is necessary.

  • Date of the mailing – the documentation must show that the mail was sent during the

Summer Sale mailing period or threshold period

  • The volume and revenue numbers much match the totals you submitted in your MSP

Claim Form

  • Permit Number under which mail was sent, mail service provider name and your company

name
A copy of the MSP Volume Claim Form can be downloaded from the Summer Sale link on the
USPS National Customer Support Center website at: http://ribbs.usps.gov/.

Note:

• If permit mail is commingled, volumes of Standard Mail letters and flats of the
participating company must be documented separately from the total permit
volumes.
• Customers registered through the Business Customer Gateway may use
PostalOne statements as documentation.

9. Why does my report show volumes for June 2009 and October 2009?
A volume threshold will be established for June 2010 and October 2010 using same period last
year volume plus five percent. If your Standard Mail letters and flats volume does not meet
these thresholds, the difference will be deducted from the volume qualifying for the rebate.

10. Are government agencies using Official Mail Accounting System eligible to
participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?

Yes. Government agencies are eligible to participate in the Standard Mail Summer Sale
Program, as long as they meet the mailing volume requirements.

11. What if I believe I have met the eligibility standards but was not notified by a letter?
You may apply for participation in the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program by contacting the
Summer Sale program office at summersale@usps.gov. All inquiries must be received by May
15, 2010.

What Mail Qualifies

12. Is metered mail eligible for the Sale Program?
Yes. Metered mail is eligible for the Sale Program as long as invoices are provided to document
the volumes sent.

13. What types of mail are NOT considered Standard Mail letters or flats and are therefore
ineligible for the program?
No parcels are eligible for the program. Bound Printed Matter is not Standard Mail. Non flatmachinables,
although Standard Mail, are not letters or flats. Only complete mailpieces are
eligible, so partial components of mailpieces are not eligible, and neither are repositionable
notes or detached address labels.

14. How does the Postal Service determine the date of the mailing for purposes of the
Summer Sale requirements?
In order to be eligible for rebates, mailings must be “accepted” by the Postal Service during the
sales period July 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010. The definition of “acceptance” is the
date that payment has been drawn down from your account for the mailing.

Rebate

15. How will the 30% rebate be calculated?
The rebate will be calculated as 30% of the average price per piece multiplied by the number of
pieces mailed above the threshold.

16. Does my company need to exceed the threshold to qualify for the 30% rebate?
Yes. Only pieces sent over the threshold will count toward the 30% rebate.

17. If I apply to participate what happens if I do not meet my volume threshold?
If a company does not meet its volume threshold, no rebate will be credited.

18. How will my company receive the rebate?
The 30% postage rebate will be credited to your company’s permit imprint or Centralized
Account Payment System (CAPS) account after the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program ends
and all qualifying volumes are reconciled. The rebate can not be split amongst several permits
and can only be deposited into one account. Your company will receive the rebate credit no
earlier than forty five (45) days after the end of the program period. Customers who do not
provide account information for the rebate, claim MSP volumes during the summer period, and
who open new permits during the sale period will not be processed in the initial round of rebate
deposits in December 2010.

19. What if I do not have my own permit and use a mail service provider’s permit?
The rebate can be deposited into the permit imprint account of the mail service provider. You
will need to arrange with the mail service provider how they will credit you the rebate.
Although not required, it is also an option to open up a permit account in your company’s
name before the end of the program period and have the rebate credited to that account.

Additional Questions

20. Where can I send questions about the Standard Mail Summer Sale Program?
Please direct any questions to summersale@usps.gov.

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Bankrupcty Direct Mail Defined

December 9th, 2008

Many direct mail marketers will use a mailing list of Bankrupt individuals to market to.  The reason why a bankruptcy mailing list is so popular is because when someone files for bankruptcy, they are relieved of a mountain of debt, yet they still have the habit of spending beyond their means.  A bankruptcy mailing list is also popular because these people do have a serious need to purchase certain items that they were unable to afford prior to filing for bankruptcy.  Buying a car is one of the most common needs filled immediately after a bankruptcy is approved.

Below are the various types of Bankruptcy definitions you’ll need to know in order the correct mailing list for your direct mail campaign.

Chapter 7: A bankruptcy action, which provides for straight liquidation of a debtor’s
financial liabilities.

Chapter 9: A bankruptcy action filed when the debtor is a municipality.

Chapter 11: A bankruptcy action generally filed by businesses (but may be filed by consumers) which gives the debtor a chance to reorganize financial affairs in the hopes that the reorganization will allow the debtor to repay the debts.

Chapter 12: A bankruptcy action used when family farm owners become insolvent.

Chapter 13:  Also known as a “wage earner” plan.  This is a bankruptcy action that provides for partial or full repayment of the debtor’s liabilities.

Bankruptcy: A legal process under federal law intended to help the debtor begin a fresh financial start unhampered by credit pressures and discouragement resulting from pre-existing debts.  It is also intended to ensure fairness and equality among creditors in determining repayment amounts.

Discharge: The release of a debtor from the obligation to repay debts, which are deemed to be dischargeable under bankruptcy law.  At the conclusion of a successful bankruptcy proceeding, a debtor is usually granted a discharge of liability for his debts, which were approved under the bankruptcy action.

Dismissal: The equivalent of a cancellation.  When dismissed, the debtor is not released from his obligation to repay his debts.  Creditors may resume actions to collect upon delinquent debts.

Petition: A document that is filed by the debtor or the debtor’s attorney which begins the bankruptcy action.

Pro Se: Latin term meaning “on one’s own behalf”.  In legal action, where one represents oneself without the aid of legal counsel.

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