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What a Waste of Money!

Larry Neumann jersey  

Recently, I got home from work and did what I usually do – go to the mailbox.  There was an envelope that was to my address but had the wrong name on it.   In other words, both the first and last name were wrong.

This particular direct mail solicitation was from a very large (and well known) nonprofit organization that mails out hundreds of thousands of pieces at a time.  There was an ID# above the name and the addressee was the person who had previously lived in our home.  This has been my home for 25 years.

To say the least, this was disturbing because with the cost of postage, material and production this nonprofit easily must have paid $3.50  per piece.    Imagine, I have lived in my current home for over 25 years, yet I get a direct mail solicitation from a very large nonprofit addressed to the person who has not lived at that address in a quarter of a century.

You would have thought that it might have said “Or Current Resident” but no, it didn’t.  As a potential donor, what does this say to me?  Among other things, it says they don’t do good record keeping.  If they don’t do good record keeping it also means that they might not put my support to good use.  I will not donate to this organization.

This issue certainly begs a  larger question:  how many pieces were mailed out without making an effort to cleans the file to make sure that the addresses and names were all current.  So easy to do.  So wasteful not to try.

This is a prime example of why List Maintenance and requests for Donor Updates is so vital.

How important is this from the nonprofit’s perspective?  It should be very important.  Let’s say that out of a 100,000 piece project, if they haven’t cleansed their data in over 25 years there are, conservatively,  500 wrong addresses at $3.50 per piece.

The last time I checked that would come to $1,750 in postage wasted.  Then there is the waste of paper, ink, and the list could go on and on.

Have you taken the time to clean up your  list so you can continue to have new funds coming into your organizations.  Hmm, I wonder, could this organization use that money?  You and I both know the answer to that.

 

 

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Let Rescigno’s Help you get your MAILER ID now!

RMS MID #10 for web  

Do I need a Mailer ID you may be asking?  The answer is YES!

You may have heard that the post office is transitioning to the IMB or Intelligent Mail Barcode.  This barcode is one of the steps the post office is utilizing to streamline services, speed up service and offer additional services in the future.

In the past, Rescigno’s Marketing Connections submitted paperwork to the post office listing the mail owner (you) when we brought your mail to the post office.  The post office is now moving towards a paperless format which will require us to submit the documentation electronically.

Therefore, the post office is requiring anyone who mails to have a Mailer ID.

Rescigno’s Marketing Connections can take care of acquiring your Mailer ID, but we need your written authorization.

Someone from your company should have received a letter in the mail with the form.  If you did not receive it, please just email your authorization to data@rescignos.com (it should say something like:

              I, Your Name, authorize Rescigno’s Marketing Connections to acquire a Mailer ID on behalf of  YOUR COMPANY.
            I understand that this Mailer ID will be used by Rescigno’s Marketing Connections when preparing my mail moving forward.

If you already have a Mailer ID, please email it to data@rescignos.com.

If you are not sure if you already have an ID, please send us the authorization email.  The Post Office will verify ID’s before creating new ones, but we cannot look up existing accounts without authorization.

If you have questions, please contact Christy at ext 103.

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Design and Ask Questions or Design and Incur Extra Costs

Larry Neumann jersey  

Hi, I’m Larry Neumann, production manager at Rescigno’s and I love saving our clients money.

Recently, we had a designer come to us with a project that he had already laid out.   Unfortunately, there was a problem when it came to the mailing.  You see, the envelope was 10″ x 13″ (regular paper) with an 8 1/2 x 11″ poly-wrapped package, a 4″ x 6″ booklet and 6 other 8 1/2 x 11″ inserts.

What was the problem?  Good old USPS postal regulations came into play.  You see, the envelope, as designed, simply was too large and there was too much shift once the inserts were placed into the envelope.  It was the booklet that created the issue.   This was due both to its size (4″ x 6″) and its thickness (3/8″).

Specifically, there was too much of a thickness gap from where the booklet could be in the envelope in ratio to the thickness of the other 8 1/2″ x 11″ inserts.

Now we could have sent this on as it was, and simply put, the customer would have incurred the cost of 1st class postage.  They wouldn’t have known any different.  But that’s one of the reasons we are who we say we are.  We are and always will be your postal experts.   We made it work both for the post office and the client.

We did this by changing the envelope to a 9″ x 12″ Tyvek.  This eliminated much of the shift and gave strength and security that did not compromise any of the inserts when they arrived at their destinations.  This was the easy part.

More difficult was the booklet and  its thickness and strong tendency to shift inside the original envelope.  Gluing or taping the booklet to the piece was out of the question.  It was too important a piece.

We added a piece of clipboard into the poly-wrapped package with the booklet between the inserts and the clipboard.  We then poly-wrapped and shrink wrapped to ensure that it would not shift any longer.

And now the good part.  The part everyone will understand:  POSTAGE SAVINGS.  Remember I said the customer never would have known any better?  The way the original package was put together would have cost the non-profit nearly $17,000 for 4700 packages weighing 12.8 ounces.

Our adjustments in the way the piece was packaged resulted in a postage cost of $2900 for 4700 packages.  This package weighed in at 13 ounces, yet we were able to save the customer approximately $14,000.

If you’re not sure about your costs on special projects, you should be.  Give us a call.  We’ll design for best possible cost savings.  Always!  And we’ll never compromise on the integrity of your direct mail packaging either.  Ever!!

Has your marketing service provider saved you money/time/worry lately?  Please share.

 

 

 

 

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Money Saving Tips For Your Direct Mail Project

As you’ve heard, postage went up again. 1st Class letter rate is now .46 each.
Wow that’s expensive!

This is just another reason to plan your projects ahead of time and save money on postage by sending your direct mail piece out at standard rates. A non profit standard letter will deliver in 3 – 10 days and cost .23 each instead of .46 each for 1st Class. That saves you .23 each piece. If you’re mailing 1,000 pieces, you’ll save your company $230. Imagine how happy your boss will be when you pass along the good news!

Save more money with our special printing prices, offered this week only.

4 color, 1 sided Business Cards are only
$39 for 250
$49 for 500

4 color, 1 sided Letterhead is only
$80 for 250
$120 for 500
$185 for 1,000
$325 for 2,000

4 color, 1 sided #10 Envelopes are only
$37 for 250
$60 for 500
$105 for 1,000
$190 for 2,000

These savings are only available until Friday, February 1st.

Good luck saving money, every penny counts!

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New Postage Rates for 2013

Rescigno's Logo  

Effective January 27th, the Post Office is implementing new rates:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for a downloadable PDF:  Postage Rates 2013

In addition to the rate changes, the post office now requires the use of the Intelligent Mail Barcode on all pieces mailing at standard (regular and non profit) rates.  Rescigno’s has already been utilizing this barcode since the beginning of the year.

Last but not least, if you are creating a new courtesy reply or business reply envelope, please contact RMC prior to printing so we can make sure it meets the new guidelines.

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