Increasing Mailing Postage Costs Place Pressure on Direct Mail Effectiveness

The news that Royal Mail is set to increase business mailing costs in 2011, places renewed pressure on direct marketing campaigns to achieve the best possible results.

If approved by the regulator, Royal Mail is planning to raise a further £100 million in revenue by increasing prices to large scale business providers, many of which are then used by smaller companies for distributing mailing campaigns.

Increasing distribution costs make it even more important for mailing campaigns to avoid wastage from poorly targeted campaigns or inaccurate address data, which could be avoided through.

Better thought out creatives can also help improve the conversion rate of direct mail, and achieve a more favourable return on investment.

But of course there aren’t just fiscal benefits to be gained from improving the accuracy and targeting of your direct mail campaigns.

If consumers receive more relevant and better targeted mailings the reputation of direct mail and your brand are likely to be protected and even enhanced.

More accurate and selective targeting also means less wastage which is good news for the environment.

So in summary, increasing distribution costs needn’t signal a pause in your direct marketing; instead it means you may have to be more intelligent in your approach.