Is Certified Mail Good for Direct Mail and Marketing Purposes?

The back-of-house team we’ve come to know in the TV show leverages their extensive culinary knowledge to take the best ingredients and turn them into memorable meals. We can think of direct mail in the same way. The chefs (us, you, your marketing team, and even the team at PrintMail Solutions) use their extensive knowledge of direct mail best practices and the specific traits of your customer base to craft impactful materials. Add in a dash of creativity and a splash of color, and you can come up with a marketing piece primed to engage (and perhaps delight) your intended audience.

Here’s where “Hands” comes into play.

Just like Carm and Syd’s dishes in the show, your marketing creative sitting on a table only serves part of the purpose. You need a way to get the piece to the right person (and at the right time) in order for it to begin the next phase of its journey toward success. The dish has to get to the table, or else it has zero chance of being consumed. The same can be said for your direct mail advertising pieces.

To take the metaphor even further, by the time “Hands” has been called, the raw materials have been paid for, the price of labor has been incurred, add the lights, the cups, plates, and forks, and the myriad other items that make up a fine dining experience are already adding up. If you don’t deliver the food, you have no chance of recouping any of those costs. The same can be said for your marketing pieces. You’ve invested a lot in just getting it to this point, and you’ll invest more to get it to the point where someone will pay you for it. You might even consider upgrading delivery to increase the odds of success. One of the best ways we’ve found to increase the odds of success is by sending your materials via certified mail.

What is certified mail?

Certified mail is a service offered by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that provides tangible proof of mailing and delivery. When you send a piece of mail via Certified Mail, the USPS provides you with a receipt and tracks the item throughout its delivery process. Upon delivery, the recipient must sign for the mail, and the sender receives a copy of this delivery record. This proof can include the recipient’s signature, which is kept on record for two years—a benefit especially important for legal documents, but also potentially useful for marketing efforts. Additionally, the sender can request electronic verification of delivery (or a delivery attempt).

Proof of delivery is often considered one of the most valuable benefits of choosing this level of service, with the date of delivery, signature of recipient (or the recipient’s authorized agent), and the recipient’s delivery address recorded. Armed with this information, follow-up phone calls become easier as the agent can cite facts that imply a more intimate knowledge of personnel or operational hierarchy. Marketing and sales efforts often benefit from these small insights, which become advantages, and the potential to uncover them can often justify the extra expense and effort.

Are you looking for help producing high-quality, impactful direct mail pieces? Considering direct mail outsourcing? PrintMail Solutions can help. 

How can certified mail support your direct mail marketing efforts?

Certified mail can be an effective tool to bolster your marketing efforts. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Increased trust and credibility: Having certified mail as a component of your direct mail marketing is an immediate trust signal to your recipients. Certified mail was originally designed to provide legal proof, and utilizing it implies a greater sense of importance and legitimacy to the recipients of your mailers. Most are aware that there is an added cost for this service, and so too it communicates extra notability because the sender has invested in its successful receipt.
2. Tracking capabilities: Each piece of certified mail is assigned a unique tracking number that allows for near real-time monitoring. Proof of delivery provides evidence that your marketing materials were not only sent but also received by the intended recipient. This can be crucial when following up on offers or ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. This can also lead to critical information that allows you to send follow-up pieces with or without certified service once you are certain that your initial mailers were received.
3. Record-keeping and compliance: Because of the robust tracking, labeling, and timestamping, Return Receipts, and Proof of Delivery of certified mail pieces, businesses can benefit from improved record-keeping and compliance via the paper trail for each mailer. If your business is sending certified mail for documents that have specific deadlines, such as tax documents, then this comprehensive record-keeping system aids in internal tracking, ensures accountability and serves as a safeguard in potential legal disputes or regulatory audits.
4. Targeted Marketing: Because of the cost associated with Certified Mail, it is often used for highly targeted campaigns where reaching the right person is crucial. This can be particularly effective for high-value offers or communications that require a higher level of attention.
5. Sense of Urgency: Getting to the right person is important – so is the timing of their receipt of your message. Certified mail helps foster a sense of urgency by requiring human interaction with the mailed pieces versus them potentially languishing in a mailbox or a larger pile of correspondence.
6. Differentiation: Though the merits of utilizing certified mail for direct mail advertising are clear, the truth is the majority of firms are not leveraging this service level. By including certified mail in your repertoire, you are likely creating clear distinctions between your messages and those from your competitors.

How PrintMail can help institutions like yours increase direct mail ROI?

PrintMail offers direct mail marketing services that can be tailored to a variety of industries to help them reach their goals and meet their ROI. PrintMail also has a USPS office located inside their Newtown production warehouse, allowing them to streamline the process of creating certified mail pieces directly in their facility.

By investing in certified mail, you can prioritize the safety and accountability of your important correspondence, making it a valuable option for situations where added security is paramount. PrintMail specializes in printed mail materials, including certified mail for marketing, and our team stands ready to assist you with your needs.  Speak with a member of our team today and subscribe to our blog for more valuable articles on improving customer communication for financial institutions.