Like you, many fellow commercial printers are looking to expand their mail service offerings.
Help support your customers’ direct mail campaigns by focusing on how to promote high open rates. Start by asking: What more can you offer your customers to help boost the number of people who actually tear open their envelopes?
Envelopes offer a welcoming “handshake” to potential buyers, enticing them to read what’s inside.
You can help enhance the envelope
Envelopes offer a welcoming “handshake” to potential buyers, enticing them to read what’s inside. As such, your shop must be able to offer clients a platform to create unique, eye-catching envelopes — in various colours, sizes, papers and textures, and using variable data input.
You may be concerned about the cost and when you’d see a ROI. Consider this scenario: you purchase a machine costing $20,000 to print 10,000 four-colour envelopes/month in batches of 1,000 at $200/batch. Your payback period would be just 12 months, after which, your ROI could grow exponentially.
If you want to recognise your true ROI potential, it is time to start exploring new technology options. First, decide on the capabilities most important for your shop. Your location may influence your choices. Does a nearby college send out fund-raising letters regularly? Does a hospital send out health advisories? Does a retailer send out promotions? Beyond your neighbourhood, do you expect to gain business over the Internet?
You may want to work with an experienced partner like us to help tailor a system for your business. The following checklist and tips can also help you identify what is most important for your professional envelope print system.
With an efficient envelope printing system on your floor, you can start building an even stronger reputation as a direct mail expert
Checklist for digital envelope printing system
– How fast of a system do you need to handle your requirements?
– Can the system run full-colour jobs, including variable data, in one pass?
– Can the system print on a variety of sizes and stocks, including coated, uncoated and textured?
– Is the print waterproof to handle being dropped in water or snow?
– Does the technology include an automated workflow management system?
With an efficient envelope printing system on your shop floor, you can start building an even stronger reputation as a direct mail expert for your customers. Here’s 5 tips to get your imagination going:
5 tips for creating “tear-me-open” envelopes
– Print teasers on the front, back and even inside the envelope to provoke curiosity
– Personalise envelopes through variable-data messaging and incentives
– Time envelopes to arrive on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the lightest postal delivery days
– Use oversized envelopes that people can’t resist opening
– Create an exclusive touch-and-feel experience with unusual paper stocks — satiny, linen, vellum, smooth and rough
Ready to reduce outsourcing and become a cost-effective one-stop shop? Explore more new ways to dazzle and delight your customers – take a look at Ricoh Production today!
