Mailing Systems Technology (MST) came out with an informative article about the real cost of undelivered mail. What is undeliverable mail?
Undelivered mail is any piece of mail that is delivered to an address but the recipient does not match the direct mail campaign target market data profile. Direct mailing campaign target market data can include but is not limited to recipient age, gender, income, credit history, lifestyle or buying patterns.
Mail pieces that fail to reach the target market profile are unlikely to generate a response, these pieces of mail are “undelivered” even if the address was correct. Here is a link to a calculator to measure the cost of undelivered mail:
https://www.printmailconsultants.com/undelivered_mail_calc. It demonstrates not only the immediate cost of operating expenses, but also shows the substantial potential loss of current and future revenue. We did an example using 30,000 pieces of mail and the potential loss of future revenue was over $200,000. That got our attention.
The more you know
MST also points out that handling undelivered transactional mail can be expensive. Analysts have estimated each piece of returned mail costs organizations up to $3.00 to research, correct, and remail. Here are some pointers for making sure your next mailing isn’t deliverable:
Move Update: Consider augmenting your move update process by subscribing to additional databases compiled by magazine publishers, retailers, and others that may contain records of movers not included in NCOA.
Apartment Append: Consider implementing steps to add apartment numbers to your database before mailing.
Deceased/Incarcerated Suppression: Consider filtering deceased or incarcerated individuals from your mailing lists, it will lower your production and postage expenses and make your campaign statistics more accurate.
DPV: Delivery Point Validation (DPV) is another way to avoid sending undeliverable mail. DPV processing is different from CASS processing, that validates an address is within a defined range. DPV on the other hand identifies individual problems such as a missing mail receptacles or a vacant lots.
For more information on the real cost of undelivered mail check out the article here: https://mailingsystemstechnology.com/article-4513-The-Real-Cost-of-Undelivered-Mail.html
For more information on how Premier can help you with your next mailing, email us at info@premieruplink.com