As we’ve discussed in previous articles, direct mail marketing is a good investment in your business, and what’s true of any investment is that people like to know how their dollars are working for them. What if there was a way to track your direct mail and have a better picture of how it’s performing for you? The good news: there is.
By incorporating an Intelligent Mail Barcode into your mailing, it’s possible to track your pieces and get a much better sense of how they are being processed. For example, your mail pieces are scanned when they’re dropped off at the post office, and scanned when they’re on trucks and out for delivery.
Direct mail pieces that incorporate an Intelligent Mail Barcode allow you to determine when your piece was delivered, where, and how quickly. As the U.S. Postal Service has embraced technological advances, more data is available to track mail. Very often, a direct mail marketing campaign is the first step in a multi-channel campaign, so knowing how that first step goes is important.
Why Track Your Mail?
If you’re investing dollars in direct mail marketing, it’s wise to ensure mail pieces are being delivered in an efficient manner. Are you mailing a time-sensitive promotional piece? It can be very helpful to have information on whether that piece was processed efficiently.
From the time a mail piece is checked into a postal processing facility to its last stop before being delivered, it’s scanned multiple times, and that data provides information on how efficiently it’s processed. Some of the most common information includes scans by processing and distribution centers, scans by date, and scans by ZIP code.
With access to online reporting software providing tracking results, you can see how your mailing flowed through the Postal Service’s delivery system. This information is useful for gaining peace of mind about the proper handling of your mailing and also for planning future mailings.
Delivery Speed
Your mail piece may be processed faster in some areas of the U.S. than others. If you know where delivery is slower, you can plan in advance for mailing sooner, which is crucial for time-sensitive pieces. Are you sending a follow-up mailing? By knowing the dates when your mail piece was delivered, it’s much easier to schedule when to send future pieces.
Trust a Professional
Just as you’d entrust any other investment to an professional, it’s wise to put your direct mail tracking in the hands of an experienced firm that has years of experience in mailing and maintains close relationships with the Postal Service. Here at Mellady Direct, we help our clients develop and send mailing campaigns that are on time and on target, every time.
Do you want to ensure your direct mail investment is working efficiently? Contact Mellady Direct today!
