Apr 22, 2008
The Story behind Delivery
At the beginning of this story arc, we talked about the relationship between design, data and delivery. In previous months we discussed design and data. The story behind delivery has several components, and they relate back to the design and the data.
Every mail piece, to be deliverable, needs an address block. In many applications, the address block is designed into the remittance slip, and window envelopes allow that block to do double duty. That makes the deliverability a function of the design, since the address block must fit in the window. That constrains the design somewhat, but the guidelines and templates provided by postal authorities ensure that the mail piece can be read by the postal sorting machinery and that the envelope will get to its intended destination.
A way around that constraint is to use non-window envelopes with the addressee printed on the outside of the envelope. It adds some complexity to the workflow because it becomes necessary to track the envelope and the bill to ensure they match up, or it requires a process that reads the bill and prints the address on the envelope as part of a ?read and print? process. That small addition of technology can open up a world of options.
Consider the envelopes you usually receive in the mail. Most look the same and few give much of a hint as to what is inside, except that it will be some type of billing statement. If that bill contains some special messaging, you don?t find out until you open the envelope. What if, however, the outside of the envelope gave you a hint about a special offer, a lower interest rate, or some news about your community? Using the envelope as part of the delivery of the message lets you do that.
There are many ways to do this, by the way. There are print heads that can sit as part of the inserting process that participate in a workflow that scans the data on the bill and causes personalized printing on the envelope. It is a very common application in direct mail, but perfectly suitable to enhance any customer communication.
Another way is to look at one of the technologies that eliminate the need for an envelope by forming an envelope around the bill. Print the bill and the envelope as one effort, ensuring that the same messaging is carried on both, and you eliminate the potential of getting the wrong bill in the envelope, and also, the warehouse full of envelopes.
Another facet of delivery is the data behind the address. If the delivery address is not correctly formed it may not be possible to reliably deliver the mail piece. Each day, postal authorities around the world deal with thousands and thousands of pieces that are ?Undeliverable as Addressed,? many of which end up being destroyed. If you aren?t using address cleansing software and ensuring that the addresses you use conform to the requirements of your postal authority, your mail is at risk for not being delivered.
The goal of this arc is to lay the groundwork for conversations about creating the most effective customer communication possible, and integrating color into that communication where it makes sense. Now that we?ve laid the groundwork, let?s have some fun. Next time, we?ll talk about the role of demographics and psychographics when you communicate in color. And, don?t forget, this is a dialogue. Send your questions, ideas, concerns and challenges, and let?s make it a conversation.
Pat McGrew, EDP, is the Data Center and Transaction Segment Evangelist at Kodak?s Graphic Communications Group. Her email address is Pat.McGrew@kodak.com