Many individuals and businesses have the misconception that print and mail are dying in the digital age. It might be true that 4.9 billion people are using the internet for information and communication. However, physical mail still has the charm among every generation according to a USPS report. 

People might have paperless options for communication, but they still lack the tangible and memorable experience of physical documents. However, traditional print and mail approaches lack scalability, personalization, and tracking abilities. Managing in-house operations is always cumbersome and costly. 

In-house plants could be the top culprits of resource drainage, inefficiency, and struggling growth. You can only avoid this situation by outsourcing your operations with a reliable print and mail solutions provider. However, selecting one could be challenging especially if you don’t know to begin with. This blog will give you complete guidance about things to look for in a print and mail solutions provider. 

Key Takeaways  

• In-house mailrooms are clumsy, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. 
• Physical communication is still relevant in the digital age. 
• A print and mail solutions provider is more cost-effective and reliable than traditional methods. 
• Mail tracking visibility is critical to know the precise location of your mailers. 
• Automated workflows save plenty of time and effort, and also reduce errors. 
• Outsourcing print and mail operations gives you better control over your communication strategy.

Automation and Integration Capabilities 

Traditional print & mail has also evolved with automated workflows, data-driven personalization, and quick integrations. With automation capabilities, you can simply press the command and get the printing and mailing done from your comfort zone. Which results saves plenty of time and resources.

A study by McKinsey suggests that more than 30% of sales and marketing-related activities can be automated. In order to set up custom workfrom from your CRM itself integration capabilities are also a must. It makes it simpler to initiate campaigns without leaving your CRM, marketing automation tool, etc. 

Bulk Campaigns

Whether you want to print a single mail piece or thousands of mail, the provider should have the ability to print and mail large volumes with ease. Scaling your mail campaign should not be a blocker in your business growth. But to send bulk/mass mail, as per the USPS guidelines, the business should fulfill the following requirements:

• If you are sending first-class mail, the minimum number of mail pieces should be 500
• For sending USPS marketing mail, 50 pounds or at least 200 mail pieces are required
• Additionally, for sending Every Door Direct Mail (EEDM) 200 pieces are expected. 
• If you are sending carrier route mail or presorted mail in bulk, the minimum pieces are 300

Point to note: For every mailing campaign, the minimum volume should be fulfilled. Also, it is not dependent on the time frame, like monthly or yearly.

Mail Tracking Visibility 

The United States Postal Service handles millions of mailers every day across the country. Businesses need complete visibility over the mailing process to know the precise location of their mailer. In 2023 itself, USPS handled around 116.2 billion pieces of mail.

A print and mail solutions provider must provide real-time tracking tools to monitor mail pieces as they move through the USPS delivery system. Most providers like Posgrid have this feature present in their dashboard and also support Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) tracking.

Personalization and Customization

Why just stop at customers’ names and a brand logo in a mail campaign? Create a personal or customized message for your target audience. You can endorse each mail piece with a touch of various design techniques, templates, and patterns. A study by McKinsey shows that 72% of consumers expect a business to recognize them as individuals and know their interests. 

The print and mail solutions provider must provide template customization tools and Variable Data Printing (VDP) to help you implement data-driven personalization. It makes your mailers stand out from the crowd and resonate with the target audience. Some vendors also provide built-in template editors to help you alter logos, colors, text, layouts, and elements on your mail pieces. 

Importance of Personalization Actions for Consumers, Percentage of Respondents

Pricing Transparency

Every cent counts in your marketing and communication budget. You cannot select a vendor with hidden costs exceeding your pocket. Select a print and mail solutions provider with a transparent pricing structure. You should try to understand their base rates, variable rates, and other additional costs. A high-volume mailing campaign works best with a predictable pricing model. 

Lower Turnaround Time 

A survey by the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) suggests only 68% of companies provide service-based SLAs. It represents a commitment from your vendor for their print and mail services. This commitment is necessary since they have to meet compliance timelines and ensure time-sensitive mailers are delivered timely.  

Robust Security Measures 

Printing and mailing of marketing and communication material might include sensitive data. You don’t want to compromise the integrity of your customer data in the mailing process. In 2023, there were 3,205 data breaches in the US, indicating the importance of data protection. 

A reliable print and mail solutions provider must have stringent physical and electronic security measures. These safeguards typically include:

• Access control to printing and mailing areas
• Compliant mailing and printing partners
• Complete CCTV surveillance across all facilities and delivery fleet 
• Security certifications like SOC-2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc

Sustainable Printing and Mailing 

According to Business Waste, the annual global paper demand leads to deforestation of 4 billion trees worldwide. Environmentally responsible businesses should look for a vendor with a commitment to sustainability. 

The print and mail solutions provider should participate in initiatives like tree plantation drives, using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified recycled paper, and partnering with carbon-neutral print partners. This approach helps your company avoid the bad environmental impact of traditional print and mail. You reduce your carbon footprint and also combat climate change. 

Real-Time NCOA Access & Address Verification 

Your mailers will go to the wrong recipient if you don’t verify the address database. Over 40 million Americans change their addresses annually and submit requests to the US Postal Service. 

The print and mail solutions provider should also have address verification capabilities with access to NCOALink Records to update your database with the latest move information. You need a provider that gives you real-time address verification against the USPS and other authoritative databases to ensure higher deliverability of mailers. 

FYI: The USPS database contains around 160 million permanent change-of-address records.

Disaster Recovery Plan 

Organizations don’t have any control over natural disasters, unplanned outages, or staffing shortages. A disaster recovery plan is vital to retain your critical business communications and operations. Only 54% of businesses have a company-wide disaster recovery plan. 

You don’t want to compromise your customer experience and cause delays without a proper plan. A print and mail solutions provider should have adequate certifications to prove their ability to manage crisis situations. Their disaster recovery plan would have sufficient contingencies to ensure all mailers are delivered on time despite any disruption. 

Communication & Customer Support 

An ideal vendor should have dedicated customer support and API documentation to help businesses understand every functionality of their platform. The relationship with your print and mail service provider is the most important factor for your happiness. 73% of businesses will switch to a competitor after multiple bad experiences. 

Your fate could be the same if your customers don’t receive mailers timely. Prefer a partner with top-notch customer service with dedicated channels.

💡Also Read: Print Mail Documents

An in-house mailroom requires a hefty initial investment and a constant workforce to run operations. Buying printing and mailing equipment is just the tip of the iceberg. You also need to consider additional costs, including: 

• Equipment upgrade 
• Maintenance
• Physical servers to store data 
• Paper stock 
• Ink 
• Printing supplies 
• Mailroom staff 

An outsourcing print and mail partner gives you better control over your communication strategy without bearing the unnecessary cost.  

Cost-Effective Approach 

An outsourcing partner reduces the per-unit cost by using economies of scale. The vendors can buy paper, ink, envelopes, and other supplies in bulk to significantly reduce printing costs. A Gartner study suggests that the managed print & mail service market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% to 12%. These partners also use presorting automation to get bulk discounts with high-volume mailers. USPS recently implemented a huge price increase for its postal services. It could be challenging for businesses with in-house mailing rooms to cope with the rising prices.

Efficient and Productive Operations 

With a reliable vendor, you don’t need an internal team to fulfill redundant and error-prone tasks. You can automatically increase your organizational productivity by assigning them to higher-value assignments. Productive businesses have 30-50% higher operating margins than less productive ones. Print and mail solutions providers also give you access to the latest technologies like: 

• Dynamic variable color printers 
• Native integrations 
• Certification and Delivery Point Validation (DPV) 
• National Change of Address Database (NCOA) 
• Variable Data Printing (VDP) 

Highly Scalable and Flexibility 

Most organizations have a hard time managing high mail volumes with in-house printing and mailing equipment. Scalability is an issue when operations are unpredictable. A Deloitte research suggests that 87% of organizations prefer using a hybrid cloud infrastructure for superior scalability. 

Cloud-based print and mail services could provide unparalleled flexibility to scale print and mail operations. Organizations don’t have to invest in additional technology or equipment to suffice their operations. It is particularly vital for businesses with seasonal fluctuations. 

Data Security and Privacy 

Top print and mail solutions providers always focus on data security and compliance with various certifications. They do everything in their power to remain up-to-date and compliant. A reliable partner features GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC-2 compliance and audit trails. 

You cannot ignore data security considering the fact that there were 1,774 data breaches with 422 million people affected in 2022. A higher level of confidence is necessary while handling sensitive data via direct mail. An outsourcing partner has better measures to ensure this security and confidence.

Reporting and Analytics 

It is a daunting task to track and monitor mail campaigns with in-house mailrooms. A print and mail solutions provider gives you advanced reporting and tracking tools to gain critical insights from your print and mail performance. 

A Gartner report suggests that 85% of organizations think data and analytics are vital for their business. Reliable vendors will automatically suggest relevant KPIs and reports to your CRM system. Companies can digitally organize and archive printed communications from the cloud remotely. The reporting and analytics help in drawing better conclusions from operations datasets. 

💡Also Read: Print Mail Statements 

PostGrid Print & Mail API packs the power of data-driven personalization, native integrations for automation, and a compliant network to make your mailroom effortless. 

We provide a unified dashboard to help you design and send personalized letters, checks, or postcards at scale. Everything works remotely, so you don’t have to worry about hefty investments to run manual mailrooms. The pricing is also transparent, helping you predict the precise cost of every high-volume campaign.  

Talk to our sales team about our automated Print & Mail solution.