6 Checklist Items When Looking For Direct Mail Services

Finding the best direct mail services can sometimes be a daunting task especially when other business matters are pressing. By retaining and utilizing the services of an experienced direct mail agency, your company can have the best of both worlds. The agency will handle all your direct mail needs while your team can concentrate on matters closer to home.

Here are 6 key items to look for in direct mail services:

1. Fast printing capabilities

Offset printing is known as the faster type of printing when compared to digital printing. If you work with a company that does both make sure that both services are fast and that they have the latest equipment and machinery. That way your turn time for your project will fall between 5-7 days once artwork is approved.

2. Variable Data Printing (VDP)

The best direct mail service companies also provide for more advanced types of printing. In particular, variable data printing has become increasingly popular as more people want personalized offers that reflect their purchasing behaviors and interests. This technique delivers significantly greater “open” rates as well as a higher conversion rate from the recipients. Hint: Be sure the print and mail services you select are highly trained and have the right equipment for variable data printing. Making sure they have the right equipment is huge because this can help bring down your costs when producing high volume direct mail jobs.

3. Highly experienced mailing capabilities

 A mailing service should have the capability to accurately verify and deliver your mail pieces to the USPS in a timely manner. A huge advantage to this is working with a direct mail company that has on-site USPS verification every single day. This allows the print and mail services company to meet the routinely changing demands of the postal service.

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4. Advanced-data processing

Print and mail services are not just about delivering the physical direct mail pieces, but also about treating the mail list correctly so that those pieces are delivered to the right demographic. In addition, the best vendors will always CASS Certify every mailing list they receive to ensure USPS deliverability.

5. In-house envelope printing and conversion

A lot of direct mail companies rely on a third-party vendor to complete their envelopes. Adding this extra vendor can add anywhere from 3-14 days to your project timeline. Using a direct mail service that has in-house envelope conversion gives you a huge advantage. The direct mail vendor no longer has to wait for the third-party vendor to complete their order. The company has full control over the entire process making everything run smoother and on time. The best vendors do not outsource their envelope printing but consider it an integral part of the service they provide.

6. Killer customer service

For any business, the true “tiebreaker” that separates them from their competition is the level of their customer service. There are a few questions to ask yourself about the level of customer service provided. Is a real person available when you call or are you stuck leaving voicemails and sending numerous emails to get a response? Being able to reach your point of contact at a print and mail company is huge just in case there are last-minute art tweaks, drop date changes, list changes, etc. All of these changes need to be handled correctly and ASAP.

When looking for solid direct mail services it is important to not overlook any aspect of their process. Because with direct mail there are so many components and it is crucial that every team member at every stage of their production process is experienced and knowledgeable in every detail.