Direct mail marketing is an effective advertising strategy, particularly when you have a product or service that you want to generate awareness about. It’s an effective way to reach customers through physical mail, and it gets your message into their hands and engaged with marketing, prompting them to get in touch with you. We’ve all experienced this just by checking our own mail on a regular basis.
Direct mail fulfillment can play a crucial role in the execution of a comprehensive, effective marketing campaign. Make sure if you are considering it you have a qualified partner who can educate you on all your options for the most effective campaign for your money.
Direct Mail Campaigns
There are many steps to getting the right direct mail piece out, from your first idea meant to generate awareness, to the customer’s final step or prospect getting the marketing content. A lot of this occurs during, and even after the campaign is sent, and all equally as important to making a campaign more effective. These different steps are all part of the direct mail fulfillment process. Depending on your desired results, it can be highly beneficial to talk with experts on how to make the direct mail fulfillment process as effective and efficient as possible.
Many types of expertise are involved in creating an effective direct mail piece. You could hire a copywriter to create writing that engages a reader or informs them effectively of everything they need to know. Working with a graphic designer can help you lay out an attractive visual design for your mail marketing in order to ensure that information isn’t cluttered, colors are bright and eye catching, and your company brand is strong and recognizable.
Creating great direct mail requires working with skilled partners. It’s best to thoroughly vet any of your service providers to ensure they have the expertise you need.
Industry best practices recommended always including a call to action, some reason for your clients or prospects to connect with you. If done right, you know that you will receive responses from new customers and craft a reply or fulfill an offer request in return; direct mail fulfillment is also involved in this step. For example, personalized responses including specific pamphlets or brochures that customers can request, may be fulfilled by a good partner. Businesses that need to distribute material for further promotion can also depend on a partner to send follow up materials requested as part of a direct mail fulfillment service.
How does direct mail fulfillment work?
Direct mail fulfillment plays a crucial role in the execution of a complete, successful marketing campaign. It is best to find a qualified partner who can inform you about all available options for the most effective campaign for your money.
The definition of print fulfillment is a third-party vendor printing, storing, collating, assembling, packaging, and/or shipping printed and promotional products. The primary advantage of outsourcing print fulfillment is increased efficiency. Print fulfillment services by the experienced professionals will benefit your company by:
- Saving your company time and money typically spent on personnel resources.
- Physical square footage is not required for storing materials, which conserves space and saves money.
- Print fulfillment vendors doing a high volume offer access to shipping cost discounts.
- Assembly and distribution happens faster and with fewer errors with a vendor that has the experience and resources to streamline the process.
- You can make smaller investments by avoiding large equipment purchases.
- Offering customization for your company’s individual needs.
Print Fulfillment Services Saves Your Company Time and Money
Types of Typical Print Fulfillment Services Include:
Pick and Pack: As the name implies, this service involves picking the ordered materials from their cartons and combining them with other requested materials from other cartons. The items are then prepared for shipment. This service is used when orders differ in content and are not prepackaged in standard quantities. For example, one order may include 30 folders, 10 brochures and 125 pens, while a different order asks for 35 folders, 40 inserts and 15 note pads.
Case Picking: Unopened, full cartons are taken from the warehouse shelves and prepared for shipment. This service does not involve opening cartons and picking out materials and promotional items from the cartons.
Assembly: Printed materials are collated, combined, gathered, folded and organized into a unit. An example of assembly is placing a printed brochure, printed notepad, promotional pen and printed forms into a printed pocket folder.
Kitting: Kitting is similar to Pick in Pack, but rather than picking an individual order on demand, kits are assembled in advance with pre-chosen items and quantities. The kits are stored until needed for filling orders. Every kit is identical.
Variable Data Printing: In this print fulfillment service, printed pieces are tailored to each recipient. For example, a printed promotional postcard will have each individual name and address.
Print on Demand (POD): POD allows you to only print what you need for each order without pre-purchasing or storing bulk quantities of printed and promotional materials. Printing on Demand also allows you to make changes as needed without worrying about what to do with the back stock. With POD, you need to plan for a little extra time for order fulfillment, and there is not already available stock on hand.
Warehousing and Fulfillment: If you have additional items to add to your outgoing orders that are not provided or produced by your print fulfillment company, they may still be able to store, fulfill and ship these products for an additional cost.
Drop Shipping: When a customer purchases from you, the print fulfillment provider handles the whole delivery. They pick up the item from their warehouse, pack it and ship it to the customer. Drop shipping can be done blindly, meaning that the third-party fulfillment company is never known and the customer isn’t even aware that you did not have a hand in the shipment.