PCC Education Series

San Diego Postal is proud to host the following sessions from the San Diego Postal Customer Council:

April 22, 2009 10:00 am to Noon

Managing a Growing Mail Center

Gordon Glazer, CMDSM, CMDSS, MQC,

President

S.D. Postal & Shipping Equipment

This NPF hit session is jam packed with useful ideas and guidelines to better Manage your Growing Mail Center. Covered Topics include: Resources, Postal Compliance, Tips to improve Mail Performance, Latest must know technology, Performance Benchmarks, Product cycle speeds vs. Reality, Cost Savings analysis, Payback vs. ROI calculations, and also covers Mail Center design tips and techniques.

May 13, 2009 10:00 am to Noon

Address Hygiene and List Optimization

Arnie Cohen and Dan Anglin, Modern Postcard

What's the most important element in your direct mail effort? It's the mailing list - because it doesn't matter how irresistible your offer, or how great your creative sells - if you are not in the right mailboxes, your direct mail will fail. Also, make sure your mailpiece is being delivered. If you have not performed Address Hygiene on your mailing list you could be throwing money away. In this session, you'll learn:
Selecting the right list for you.
The critical difference between acquisitions versus retention based data use.
What list hygiene & file enhancement options.
NCOA, ACS, Move Update etc.
Prospect list rental processes and procedures.
What kinds of lists are available?
How to really understand the information on a list rental "data card"
Web based list rental access.
Managing the inevitable scenario of undeliverable mail.
Proper communication and recommendations to those that want "off your list".

June 10, 2009 10:00 am to Noon

Mail Automation Made Easy Using Desktop Software

Gordon Glazer, CMDSM, CMDSS, MQC,

President

S.D. Postal & Shipping Equipment

This session covers both Mail Management Software (Data Management, Address Quality, Presort and Output) and Business Automation Software for 3rd Party Mailers (Estimating, Work Orders, Inventory Tracking, Scheduling, Benchmarking, Profit Analysis and tie into Accounting)Automation Mailings can be a real puzzle without desktop mailing software. It will compare techniques to perform these steps as a stand alone product or integrated into your host application. Common software features are explored so you can decide what is most important for your operation.

July 15 10:00 am to Noon

Non Profit

Jim Elliott
In order to succeed non-profits need to recruit, maintain and grow donors. This seminar will give you tools to find new donors and grow them into substantial ones. We will cover lists, copy, art, production and timing, Join us July 15. Become more successful with your direct mail.

August 19, 2009 10:00 am to Noon

Mailpiece Design

Paula Bigornia,

Mailpiece Design Analyst US Postal Service

Before you put the finishing touches on your direct mail project or send your file to the printer, stop to consider whether your finished piece will meet US Postal Service requirements for automated mail. Better yet, start with the requirements in mind before you miss a key element that could cost you big dollars or a big headache. Paula Bigornia will cover the design requirements for automation mailings, including the new Intelligent Mail Barcode.

October 14, 2009 (All day event) 9:00am to 4:30pm

Lunch included

$50.00

Mailpiece Quality Control (MQC) Program (test involved for certification)

Gordon Glazer, CMDSM, CMDSS, MQC, President S.D. Postal & Shipping Equipment

The Mailpiece Quality Control (MQC) Specialist Certification is a USPS sanctioned certification good for 2 years, it consists of an easy to read study guide with review questions. The test itself is Open Book and you will have multiple chances to submit and pass by the end of the day. Participants should review the Study Guide prior to session date and should bring their own laptop as we will take portions of the test by section. Includes the NPF hit session: "Qualifying and Producing Automation Standard and Presorted First Class Mail". Participants that complete the class should come away with a good understanding on how to do Automation Mailings with a firm understanding of the rules and proper use of USPS templates.

Complete any 6 sessions and receive certificate from US Postal Service Headquarters. (Does not include MQC)

1 session $25.00 Any 6 sessions $125.00 (for certificate) (Does not include MQC)

5 registrations from the same company for the same session $100.00

To register click HereSDPCC Educational Series
Or Contact: Angela Lopez

Phone (858) 577-3561 Fax (858) 577-3551

mailto:angela.m.lopez@usps.gov

How to NOT make your mail look like junk!

Mail has value. For the most part people realize that the sender spent money to put their message in front of them. Because time is so precious, the recipient of your mail piece may only spend about 3 seconds to make a decision to open or toss it.

A well designed mail piece can be very effective - regardless of how much it cost to get it there. Now I am not proposing that you convert all of your mail to Standard Mail, some mail may need to go First Class either because of content, timeliness, or not having at least 200 identical pieces. Over 17% of what is sent First Class today can be converted to “Automated” Standard Mail or what used to be called “Bulk Mail”

Mail in the Real World. When someone goes thru their mail, pieces that the recipient considers junk are quickly culled out – ok, thrown away. Your goal as a mailer is to minimize the number of your marketing pieces that end up in the trash. Do I have your interest? Good. The trick is to first avoid the pitfalls that can make your mail appear dumpster worthy. The other is to make sure that the envelope conveys a reason to open. Below is one of my favorite examples of a company doing everything right.

For purposes of this article I am going to be talking about envelopes, but before I do, it is important to realize that “Self Mailers” (newsletters, flyers etc) and “Post Cards” are “already opened” and the recipient doesn’t need to make a decision to risk a paper cut to see what is inside. So for those types of mail, it generally doesn’t matter how it was addressed or what form of postage was used.

For envelopes however, the method of postage is critical. There are 3 choices:

Preprinted Indicia is a favorite of many because it can be printed at little to no cost but it conveys a message of “Junk Mail”. I think that its use has its place on some envelopes, especially on pieces that are expected or welcomed because of the return address, or if the look or nature of the piece compels them to open it regardless.

Stamped mail should be used primarily in consumer to consumer appeals, Invitation style mailings for example. Be aware that because mailings submitted thru the Bulk Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) don’t need to be faced and cancelled, that stamp will arrive as a virgin, naked without the cancellation. Many recognize this instantly as “Junk Mail”. Did you know that you are allowed to cancel your own stamps using the Mailers Postmark? It is a very effective tool that will fool even a seasoned mail chucker. Stamps on business mail screams out – “I am a small time business that can’t afford a meter”. Is that the impression you want? Here are 2 examples of Stamped Invitations

Metered Mail shows that the mailpiece is an official piece of business mail. It clearly shows that money was spent to get it to them and demonstrates value. Even the Post Office is routinely fooled, as “non endorsed” Standard Mail is frequently returned for free, as if it were First Class. It simply looks like First Class and folks don’t tend to notice that the amount paid was about half the cost of a First Class stamp.

Other Pitfalls:
Duplicate Pieces – Receiving more than one of the same piece conveys a negative message:

1. Material and Postage waste.

2. Obvious lack of attention. And the killer ~

3. “This must be Junk Mail” realization.

Take the time to de-dupe your list as part of the address cleansing process: CASS (now includes DPV and LACS Link) – now all of the addresses will be standardized making finding duplicates easier.
De-Dupe – Try several passes eliminating the most obvious ones first using a fine/exact match criteria, then try less fine/exact screen and manually step thru the matched groups to make sure the software is doing what you expect before processing entire group.

Process your list thru an NCOA service like Move Update – at least every 3 months.

**********************AUTOCR**C-047

Optional Endorsement Lines – Get rid of the Junk. Carrier Route Standard Mail requires them on every piece, but Automation Standard doesn’t. You really only need them on the first piece of a “package” or “tray” and only on AADC or Mixed AADC. It is one more “flag” you can remove to not make your mail look like Junk. Mail Houses use them to sort by, but with a little bit of practice you can sort by “package” (“bundle”) marks and “tray” marks. These can be placed anywhere in any sized font and are rarely noticed by the novice. I like them on the edge so when sorting you can easily catch the break while flipping thru a handful. “Break marks” are another way to sort without using endorsement lines. Many pieces of processing equipment can be programmed to recognize these marks and create sortation breaks on the collection belt or pause the printer.

Ancillary Service Endorsements – Are an excellent way to help keep your list up to date. Make sure you choose the right one for the class of mail you are using. Choosing the wrong one reminds me of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and his “Search for the Holy Grail” when the old knight says “He chose poorly” and the guy turns to dust. I have heard first hand of examples of choosing poorly that cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

No reason to open – Give them a reason to open! Unless the reason is pure mystery, (which won’t work well for you in the long term) the envelope needs to be your messenger. Think of the outside of the envelope as a canvas. Certain areas are required for the address, return address, Barcode Clear Zone and postage, the rest is limited only by your imagination as even the required elements have flexibility on size and placement.

Best Practices
Test different message lines or appeals (test only one element at a time) and gauge the results. Test mail to a small portion of your list before committing to a huge mailing campaign and fine tune as needed to achieve the desired results.

Use the Right List – This is probably self evident but needs mentioning. If you are trying to sell Air Conditioners, maybe your best list shouldn’t contain the demographics of Eskimos.

Use Variable Data – The use of Variable data can dramatically improves results – as much as 500%.

It can be as simple as customizing the offer message on the envelope or you can try some more sophisticated methods like: Print the variable data on RPN(s) Repositionable Notes to give your piece a stand out appeal. Try using PURLS (Personalized URLs) to gain the marketing power of the internet combined with the targeting strength of direct mail and see the results in real time.

Learn from your mailbox - I consider myself a student of this industry because there is always more to learn. The mail I receive at home and at work is one of the best teachers! There is so much you can learn from looking at the work of others. Examine how it was addressed – What kind of printer did they use, what type of postage, if it was a stamp – was it cancelled. Did they use an optional endorsement line, planet code, ACS line, Intelligent Barcode, Sortation #, package mark, tray mark, break mark or Ancillary Endorsement? What was the marketing appeal? Was there a message or tag line to make the recipient want to open it?

In my office I have kept hundreds of examples: “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”, everyone a teacher. Marketing via the mail can be a science it can also be extremely successful with doing just a few things right, but you will never know if the envelope is thrown away.

Confusion and Fear re: IMB and Move Update

Still confused about the Move Update requirement? Wondering what the consequences for not complying might be? Do you have lingering questions about the IMB deadlines? This article will attempt to remove the confusion and fear that is gripping many over the Move Update requirement and the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode rollout.
Move Update:
Think of it like your Mom or Dad telling you to eat your vegetables, you may not want to eat them, but you now realize that they are good for you. It’s the same thing here! Move Update is the requirement that forces mailers of Automation Standard and Presorted/Automation First Class Mail™ to do something to make sure that your address lists are up to date when you mail.
Why?
• Costs the USPS 2 Billion /Yr to Return/Dispose of Undeliverable mail
• 17% of Consumers and Businesses move every year – 45 Million!
• 24% of all mail have some kind of address problem
• 2.72% of mail is never delivered
• 17% of all mail is delayed
Or, to put this into hard numbers:
• 10 Billion Pieces are affected each year.
• 1.6 Billion are Returned
• 1.985 billion are Forwarded
• 6.0 Billion are Discarded
OK – So how do I comply?
For most of us, the easiest way is to use an NCOA-Link product that will satisfy it quickly and easily. Most Mail management software packages have a NCOA-link solution. For our Satori Bulk Mailer customers, when they run their lists thru this process, it actually does 5 things to improve the deliverability, all without the hassle of exporting and re-importing the data. With Mailroom Toolkit, it takes place right within our customer’s “Host Application”.
Satori’s “Move Update” features:
CASS – 1st step to break the address down to its component parts, Standardizes and corrects the Physical part of the address to USPS specifications
DPV – Delivery Point Validation – Further corrects the address to the actual delivery point and reports back if the secondary address info (Suite #, Unit #, Apt #) is accurate, missing or wrong.
LACS- Link – Changes old Rural Routes into physical delivery address –Helps emergency service providers locate rural addresses.
Suite-Link – Adds or changes Secondary address information for Businesses – (Suite #, Unit #)
Move Update – Fixes the Personal portion of the address by changing the addresses based upon moves registered with the USPS. Satori is a full service NCOA Provider and will update registered move data up to 48 months old.

Are there other ways I can satisfy the Move Update requirement?
Yes, there are “Post-Mailing” methods such as using Ancillary Service Endorsements, ACS, or One Code ACS (IMB). All of these Post Mailing methods require that the list has gone thru some other “Pre-Mailing” method within 95 days of the mailing, and then you can use these “Post-Mailing” methods to keep the list current. Another “Pre-Mailing” method is to first mail the list at full First Class with an approved Ancillary Service Endorsement.
Using Alternative Address Formats like “Current Resident/Occupant” are exempt, but not very personal. If the data came directly to you within 95 days of the mailing, like thru your call center, BRM or web site, those addresses would be OK.
If you are using a Presort service, they offer a service called Fast-Forward that can apply the DPBC and forwarding address while co-mingling your mail allowing you some presort savings. The drawback is that the information is applied after your mail piece has been created so the corrected information doesn’t update your records.
Is there a way for me to take advantage of Better Address Quality without big changes to our I.T. processes?
Yes Document Control Software, by Hasler (DCS), can capture your Print Image Files and manipulate them prior to printing. It is mind boggling to see all of the things DCS can be designed to do. Not only can DCS improve address quality but it can merge multiple print streams, change background overlays, add OMR marks for automation processing by a Folder Inserter, add the postage Indicia into the address block and can even include Mail Piece Verification to ensure that every piece makes it into the mailstream.
What are the consequences for not complying with Move Update?
When you sign the 3602 Mailing statement acknowledges that … “who omits information requested on this form may be subject to criminal and/or civil penalties, including fines and imprisonment.” At the least, you will be required to pay $.07 for every piece in the mailing for Standard and the entire discount is forfeit for First Class mailers. As of April 1, 2009, the Post Office has bowed to pressure from consumers and acknowledges that they are not yet ready to enforce the penalties for Standard Mailer compliance with the Move Update requirement. The $.07 penalty will be implemented on January 4, 2010.
What are the chances of getting caught?
It is getting easier all the time for the USPS to catch this as their focus is absolutely on reducing costs. UAA (Undeliverable as Addressed) and FOE (Forwarding Order has Expired) mail are the biggest areas they have identified to save money. The mail today is becoming “Intelligent” with mailer identification embedded in the IMB (intelligent Mail Barcode) and IBIP (Information Based Indicia Program) meter indicia (All Phase 6 meters) it won’t be hard to find or account for as computers will do the hard work.
What about the IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode) Mandate?
The deadline for IMB implementation was rolled back to May 2009 with two years for mailers to conform. This means that you do not have to change until May 2011. There are plenty of reasons to implement IMB now to take advantage of the new features IMB makes available.

What is the discount going to be for using IMB?
For Full Service IMB there is a $.003 per piece reduction for (Discounted) First Class Mail and $.001 for Standard. “Basic IMB” and DPBC share the same rate. The clear reason to make this change will be for “business reasons”, not postage savings!
The “business reasons” to implement IMB are many:
• More room on the mail piece to do other things as the IMB replaces the DPBC, Planet Codes, and most Optional Endorsement Lines.
• Tracking of the mail thru “One Code Confirm”
• Updating of the Address Quality thru “One Code ACS” (Electronic Address Correction Service – a “post-mailing” method of satisfying the Move Update requirement)
• For Full Service IMB customers, less time at the BMEU, all paperwork is sent electronically and the mailing will be verified as it is being processed.
• Improved USPS performance and tracking with Full Service IMB as “Start the Clock” performance measurements will change from just sampling the mail to a broad spectrum of real world statistics that will help the USPS improve their delivery times for all classes of mail.
As a mailer you have a choice of whether to stay with the older DPBC until May 2011 or you can easily implement the “Basic IMB” to get the normal Automation discounts. For larger and more sophisticated mailers – Full Service IMB offers some great rewards. Mailer’s should know that effective with the May 2009 rate change, you don’t have to go “Full Service” to get One Code ACS or One Code Confirm, you can do this with the Basic IMB option! You will also be able to incorporate Ancillary Service Endorsements and Optional Endorsement lines and the height of the new IMB can be made as small as the current DPBC (.125”).
So even though the IMB monetary savings may not drive you to change, the business reasons should and it will be good to have your processes in place before the deadline. Combine IMB with Move Update and your mailing performance will improve, just like a healthy body that eats right and exercises should.
Hopefully this has diminished your fears and confusion regarding IMB and the Move Update requirement, so eat your vegetables, they’re good for you!