Guide. The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications. magazine. Produced in association with

Transcription

1 Guide Produced in association with The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications magazine

2 Contents... 3 Foreword Introduction 4 Smarter Communications Part 1: How to Cut the Cost of Postal Communications 6 Quick Wins 7 Maximising Postal Discounts 8 Improving accuracy & eliminating waste Part 2: How to Improve Mailing Productivity 10 The benefits of automation 12 Streamlining mail preparation & despatch 14 Faster mail opening & distribution Part 3: How to Improve Mailing Processes 16 Auditing mail processes 17 Using software to gain visibility & control Part 4: How to Improve Customer Communications 18 What your customers want 20 Maximising the effectiveness of customer communications 22 Why Neopost 2 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

3 Foreword Welcome to the Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications, produced in association with Business Info magazine. Today, more than ever, businesses are under pressure to get maximum value from every pound spent whether that be on wages, advertising and marketing or new machinery and equipment. As businesses seek to drive down costs and raise productivity, all areas of their operations are coming under greater scrutiny including how they communicate with customers, prospects, suppliers and colleagues. There are many reasons why it pays to address how messages and mailings are sent and received by your business. Doing so will give you an insight into their cost and their effectiveness and help you identify where improvements can be made. At a time of convergence between physical and digital mail, taking a more strategic approach to communications can bring big dividends, from lower costs, increased productivity and more efficient processes, not just in the mail room but throughout your business. We hope you find this guide a useful starting point. If you need more information or further advice, please don t hesitate to call Neopost on quoting BIGUIDE. Our experts are on hand to answer your questions and explain how you, too, can benefit from smarter communications. Phil Hutchison Operational Marketing Director m 3

4 Smarter Communications Good communications are essential for business success. How you interact with customers and suppliers will affect your company s image and reputation, the loyalty of customers, cashflow, sales, and compliance. Today, public and private sector organisations use a variety of digital and hard copy communication methods, from telephone and to SMS and social media. Mail is an important part of this mix. Every day, Royal Mail delivers 58 million letters and parcels, nine out of 10 of which are sent by public and private sector organisations. Mail is inclusive, trusted, reliable, fast, personal, flexible and effective. It can be used on its own or it can be integrated with electronic communications as part of a multichannel strategy where messages are automatically sent by the most appropriate medium depending on the type of message or an individual customer's preferences. Modern document and mailing solutions enable businesses of all sizes to improve the effectiveness of their communications and enjoy the benefits of increased automation and management. By investing in the right technology, you can: Increase Productivity: Automate timeconsuming manual processes and get more done, more quickly with fewer resources. Streamline Processes: Use software to manage complex processes, from document design and production to the integration of physical mail and electronic files in a single workflow. Personalise Communications: Add impact to your communications by personalising content or printing colour graphics and messages on the outside of envelopes. Communications can be output to a number of formats including , web hosting, SMS as well as traditional direct mail from one simple platform. These are just a few of the ways in which you can enhance communications using Neopost s wide range of document solutions. Read on, to find out how else you can save money and add impact to messages through smarter communications. Save Money: Take advantage of cheaper postage for franking machine users and eliminate waste by cleaning address databases. 4 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

5 Drop and click Physical mail is helping drive the boom in e-commerce. 60% of people go online to make a purchase within a week of receiving a printed catalogue, with more than half spending over 40 on their first purchase. Catalogue users look at more than twice as many online pages and spend twice as long on a website as the average. Over 70% of consumers keep catalogues for over a month and 34% for as long as a year. Seven in ten people spend between five and 30 minutes reading catalogues compared to just 11 minutes browsing the average retail website. (source: MarketReach, 2013, from a ComScore survey of 2,562 UK residents) Hackney saves millions The London Borough of Hackney is saving millions of pounds by replacing physical document storage with an electronic document management system. It has already freed up 7 million of floor space and expects to make additional savings of 200,000 per annum. The Council Document Management (CDM) system has reduced the amount of space taken up by document storage; improved access to paper-based and electronic information previously kept in disparate information silos across multiple sites; and speeded up the production of outbound mail. The Council approached Neopost when it became clear that hard-copy storage was uneconomic, due to the high cost of real estate, and inefficient, with slow retrieval times and complex management requirements. The CDM solution overcomes these problems by keeping electronic files and scans of hard copy documents in the same database, indexed for quick and easy retrieval. The system has enabled the Council to deliver better customer service with fewer resources. It has increased the proportion of Freedom of Information requests that are dealt with on time from 75% to 95% and is saving approximately two minutes for each mail piece produced. Smarter Communications 5

6 1 How to cut the cost of postal communications Advances in mailing technology and changes in the way mail is priced have brought new opportunities for organisations to reduce the cost of preparing and sending mail. Quick wins Any business should be able to reduce mailing bills by adopting some or all of the following measures. Use a franking machine and save money if sending as few as 6 items a day. Where appropriate send letters by Second Class post. Fold A4 letters into DL or C5 envelopes to avoid paying more for a large letter. Make sure your address databases are compliant with Royal Mail Postal Address Files (PAF) to qualify for Royal Mail discounts. Clean your database to eliminate duplicated or undeliverable mailings. Print directly onto envelopes instead of using labels. Automate time-consuming tasks, such as folding, collating and inserting documents. Did you know? The Government Procurement Service (GPS) has calculated that the public sector could cut its 650 million annual expenditure on postage and postal services by 9-30% through smarter procurement. 6 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

7 Maximising Postal Discounts The simplest and most effective way for a business to cut mailing costs is to replace stamps with a franking machine. Big Savings Following March 2014 s price changes, the savings on offer to users of both traditional and new Mailmarkcompatible franking machines stand at: Item Stamp Frank Saving 1st Class Letter 62p 49p 13p 2nd Class Letter 53p 35p 18p 1st Class Large Letter 2nd Class Large Letter 93p 74p 19p 73p 60p 13p Savings of this magnitude mean that even if you only send 6 letters a day you will be better off using a franking machine, as the money saved on postage is greater than the cost of machine rental and consumables. Royal Mail Mailmark Franking has been brought into the twenty-first century with the introduction of Royal Mail Mailmark, a two-dimensional indicia that gives a unique identity to every item of franked mail. The intelligent frank will enable Royal Mail to track individual items as they move through its network and provide additional postal and data services to customers. Mailmark will eventually replace the traditional town die, but for the time being Royal Mail is supporting both types of frank. Mailmark will always be the cheapest option for franked mail. To find out more about Mailmark visit Volume Discounts Franking machine users who send between 500 and 25,000 letters per mailing can make additional savings of up to 23.5% through volume discounts offered by Royal Mail Business Mail. The size of discount depends on various factors including the number of letters sent; how the mail is addressed (OCR font or barcode); addressing accuracy; and whether mail is unsorted or pre-sorted by the customer into specific postcode areas. Efficiency & Professionalism Franking machines have many other benefits that could have a bearing on costs. These include: Time-savings franking machines can be re-credited online at any time of day or night, so you won't have to queue for stamps; Accurate pricing franking machines with integral scales ensure the right postage is applied every time; Easier compliance with Royal Mail discount schemes; Improved cashflow a NeoFunds account lets you pay for postage in arrears and pay off the monthly balance in full or in part; Integrated accounting so that you can track, monitor and charge-back postal costs; Improved management of VAT franking machines with smart technology produce VAT invoices to aid reclaiming. Cutting Costs 7

8 Improving accuracy & eliminating waste Mailing solutions that automate slow, unreliable manual processes offer further scope for savings by eliminating errors and reducing manpower requirements. Mail essentials There are two solutions that any organisation should consider for their office or mailroom: Addressing software Improve your address management to eliminate the expense of wasted mailings. Use addressing software to ensure that all addresses are complete, spelt correctly and comply with Royal Mail s database of Postal Address Files (PAF). Correct addressing will remove the expense of undeliverable mail and enable you to qualify for maximum discounts. Some packages will also deduplicate your database. Folder inserters These useful time-savers automatically fold and insert letters into envelopes and seal them ready for postage at least 13 times faster than by hand. Savings come from lower mailing and labour costs (see box). A folderinserter with a monthly rental of 20 could save a company that sends 3,000 items a month as much as 1,920 each year in labour costs, on the basis that it costs more than 6p per item to fold and insert letters manually (100 items per 6.31 per hour). Folder-inserters with numerous feed stations can also collate documents and mailings made up of multiple pages or elements. This extends their benefits beyond the mailroom to the general office where they could be used to speed up the creation of hand-outs and presentation packs containing a variety of documents. Pricing in Proportion Introduced in 2006, Pricing in Proportion (PiP) brought in the concept of pricing items by size and weight, rather than weight alone. Before PiP, it would have cost the same to post a letter whether it was folded or not: today, an unfolded A4 document costs 50% more to send than one that has been folded and inserted into a DL or C5 envelope. PiP also has fewer and wider weight bands, giving mail users more scope to insert additional material, such as special offers or new product announcements, at no extra cost. 8 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

9 Businesses with more sophisticated requirements should consider two additional solutions that can help meet the criteria for volume discounts. Output Management Software A useful complement to a folder inserter, output management software can apply machinereadable marks to a letter instructing the device what inserts to include (see next chapter). It can cut print costs by batch printing and sorting print jobs to maximise Royal Mail discounts; by combining multiple letters to the same address in a single envelope; by automating the electronic distribution of mailings; and by creating templates to remove the expense of preprinted forms and stationery. Envelope printers High-speed envelope printers apply addresses, return addresses and PPI marks (postage paid impressions) in a format that qualifies for postal discounts and remove the need to buy labels or pay for and keep a stock of over-printed envelopes. A better service with PrintMachine Greeting cards publisher and bespoke envelope manufacturer the Regent Group has cut invoicing costs by installing Neopost s PrintMachine output management software in tandem with a DS-70 folder-inserter. Each month the group produces 2,500 items of mail. This, explains Associate Director of Finance Karen England, used to be a slow and expensive process. Before we worked with Neopost, we used 4-part stationery for our invoices, credit and delivery notes and used 2-part stationery for our statements. These were printed on a dot matrix printer and formatted to a bespoke size. Once printed, the documents were manually inserted into envelopes." Today, documents are designed, distributed and archived using PrintMachine software; output on standard office laser printers; and prepared for mailing on an automatic folder-inserter. "We now use PrintMachine software to print all our customer invoices, delivery notes and statements, using our specified layout. The DS-70 then collates the documents into envelopes. Cost savings were possible as we have streamlined and automated our processes, whilst removing the requirement for expensive 4-part stationery," explains Karen. Neopost DS-70 Cutting Costs 9

10 2 How to Improve Mailing Productivity In the previous chapter we highlighted how mailing equipment can help you save money. That is not their only function. By automating repetitive, time-consuming manual processes, modern mailing solutions also make it possible to: Speed up everyday tasks, from opening and distributing the post to preparing and sending mail; Remove bottlenecks and delays in mail workflows; Eliminatae errors and inaccuracies associated with manual processing, such as overstamping or sending out mail with incomplete addresses; Free staff from having to help out with mailings; and Raise the productivity of mailroom employees. Why this matters Improving efficiency through automation matters because the speed and accuracy with which invoices, contracts, statements, reminders, marketing material and other businesscritical mail is processed can have a have a big impact on everything from cash flow and new business generation to the quality of an organisation s relationships with customers and suppliers. This is especially true today when most business activities rely on a combination of digital and paperbased information. In order to maximise efficiency, mail processing must keep up and integrate with digital workflows: if it takes minutes to arrange a loan or take out insurance online, customers won t be prepared to wait days for paperwork to arrive. Did You Know? An entry-level folder-inserter can fill envelopes at least 13 times faster than by hand and an automatic letter opener can open 2,500 letters in less time than it takes to open 38 manually. 10 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

11 First steps To maximise the benefits of any investment in mailing technology, it is essential to have a thorough knowledge of existing mail processes within your business: Who sends mail, when, from where and in what volumes? Are there peaks and troughs at certain times of the day? Do mail volumes fluctuate with invoicing schedules, marketing programmes or seasonal demand? How much time is spent filling envelopes? How important is personalisation/ confidentiality? How much mail is received and how is it distributed? How do you cope with periods of peak demand? Do other employees help out to avoid bottlenecks? Do you spend time distributing, processing, archiving and locating paper docs? The answers to these and other questions will help identify areas where productivity can be improved through automation. Is automation right for you? Ten sure signs that you need to improve mail processes. Do you ever: 1. Ask employees to stop what they are doing and open the mail or stuff envelopes? 2. Hire temporary staff to cope with peaks in activity? 3. Queue up to buy stamps? 4. Experience bottlenecks and delays in mail processes? 5. Miss the last post because you have run out of stamps or haven t been able to process letters fast enough? 6. Sometimes send letters to the wrong person? 7. Put too much or too little postage on an envelope? 8. Send out mail with inaccurate or incomplete addresses? 9. Receive large volumes of returned mail? 10. Spend time distributing, processing, archiving and locating paper docs? If you answered yes to any of the above, now is the time to invest in or upgrade your mailing equipment. Mailing Productivity 11

12 Streamlining mail preparation & despatch Mail preparation is a critical part of the mailing process. The number of stages involved document design, printing, addressing, insertion and pre-sorting means that it can be time-consuming and complex, especially for businesses that rely on manual processes. Essential tools for improved mail processing include output management software and folder inserters. Output management software Neopost PrintMachine or OMS- 100 output management software streamlines the creation, printing and preparation of mailings. Both automatically process mailings to minimise manual sorting, for example by batch printing and grouping documents by envelope size, postage type or postcode. The automatic production of required postal reports reduces administration time, while the ability to split print jobs between multiple printers allows mailings to be produced more quickly. PrintMachine can also be used to design standard forms for invoices, statements, pay slips etc. that can be filled in digitally and printed ondemand. This simplifies forms printing; removes the need to spend money on the production and storage of preprinted forms; and gives users the option to route forms electronically as part of an integrated process. Variable data printing lets you personalise communications by varying content for each recipient. Did You Know? You can save seconds per mailpiece by automatically pre-sorting and grouping documents by envelope size, postage type or postcode. Folder Inserters Our experience shows that an office worker can stuff 100 envelopes per hour by hand, compared to 1,350 on an entry-level machine. As you move up the range and insertion tasks become more complex, the productivity benefits of automation are even greater. The most sophisticated models insert up to DS-35 Folder Inserter 12,000 envelopes an hour and have multiple feed stations that allow a variety of documents, leaflets, reply paid envelopes, even booklets and CDs to be inserted. The power of two Folder Inserters are great on their own but even better when used with output management software that can add optical marks or barcodes to documents as they are printed. The machinereadable marks tell a folder inserter what inserts to include with each letter making it possible to produce personalised mailings on the fly. 12 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

13 Faster processing of outgoing mail has the potential to increase sales, enhance cash flow, improve customer satisfaction and create a neater working environment. Franking machines A franking machine is the ultimate labour-saving device for Royal Mail customers. It reduces the time it takes to get post out of the door and on its way to customers by automating the weighing, franking and sealing of envelopes in a logical, linear sequence that is faster and more accurate than disjointed manual processes. With fully integrated Royal Mail pricing, franking machines automatically calculate the right postage from the weight and size of the item and postal service selected. One-touch access to saved settings reduces set-up times, while network connectivity allows remote maintenance, online supplies ordering and automatic tariff updates. High end models maximise throughput with conveyor belts and in-line weighing scales that create a joined-up workflow with the ability to process mixed batches on the fly. If necessary, they can be linked to folder inserters and other equipment in a fully integrated mailing production line. The Royal Borough of Greenwich recently amalgamated three postrooms from around the borough into one central facility handling 20,000 items of incoming and outgoing post each day. To help manage such a high workload, the Council acquired a Neopost IS-6000 franking machine. A mixed mail feeder makes it possible for envelopes of various sizes and formats to be loaded together, then by simply pressing start the IS-6000 will automatically weigh, seal and frank envelopes at a rate of 260 letters per minute. For maximum productivity, users can add additional items as the machine is running. Top Tip Complete envelope addressing faster by using a specialist envelope printer instead of address labels. Some models can also print postcards and letters in full colour. AS-520C Envelope Printer Mailing Productivity 13

14 Faster mail opening & distribution Letter openers and document scanners allow mail to be opened and distributed more quickly, with impressive results for organisations of all sizes: improve cash flow by processing sales orders and payments more quickly; enhance customer service by ensuring staff receive enquiries and complaints without delay; and increase business efficiency by dealing with general correspondence more rapidly. Did You Know? Homeserve cut the time taken to open the 7,500 items of mail it receives each day by one third after replacing its old letter openers with three Neopost IM-75s. The new machines slit open the envelopes and extract the contents in a single process, whereas before contents had to be extracted by hand. Homeserve says it is saving 10 man hours each day or 35,000 a year. Letter openers Letter openers can open mixed mail 60 times faster than by hand. The most productive machines can open 10 envelopes a second or up to 45,000 items per hour without damaging the contents. Even small, portable models can open 300 envelopes per minute. Entry-level models slit the envelope on one side and an operator is still needed to remove the contents, but higher end devices can cut an envelope on three sides and automatically extract any inserts. The addition of an optional conveyor belt that delivers letters to staff for sorting and sensors that check an envelope is empty take automation to a higher level. Top Tip Use dedicated solutions to streamline the processing of specific types of incoming mail. Neopost Returned Mail Manager uses handheld scanners to speed up the capture of data from incoming mail, including undeliverable mail and marketing campaign response mechanisms. This saves time and improves accuracy by eliminating the need to update databases manually. Another solution, Neopost neotrak, scans and logs a parcel as it enters your business and automatically sends an notification to the recipient. The software can also be used to track packages, equipment and documents as they move through an organisation. 14 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

15 The next stage is to incorporate document scanning at the letter opening stage and route digital images of opened letters to recipients electronically. The Neopost IMW-20 is a complete solution featuring an A4 scanner with 50-page document feeder; an all-in-one touchscreen PC with a 1000 GB hard drive; and document management software with automatic optical character recognition and pre-defined workflows for invoice processing and mail distribution. Doing so: speeds up distribution so that employees can respond to mail more quickly; reduces the amount of paper flowing around a business; minimises the scope for human error; creates an audit trail; gives shared access to documents; removes barriers between paper and electronic documents; streamlines document retrieval; reduces hard copy storage requirements; and improves the productivity of knowledge workers by giving them access to the documents they need at the click of a button. Mill Auto Supplies is using a Neopost IMW-20 to reduce the amount of storage space taken up by purchase invoices and to speed up document retrieval. Company accountant Tony Watson said: Once scanned you can access documents either from a desktop application on the IMW- 20 itself or from a web browser if you re working remotely. It s eliminated the need to go searching for a document; instead all you need to do is tap a few keys without even leaving your desk. Increased document availability coupled with reduced handling and storage has saved a lot of time. He added: We will notice storage space rapidly opening up as we begin to get rid of old files, which will provide greater savings and allow us to use the space more profitably. We were really impressed with how easy and fast it was to process documents. Neopost s IMW-20 is much simpler and faster than the competition. Mailing Productivity 15

16 How to Improve 3Mailing Processes You can maximise the benefits of automation by re-designing mail processes and even the mailroom itself. Centralisation Is there an opportunity to improve productivity by centralising mailing operations and output management, for example by replacing several smaller and slower machines in multiple locations with a larger machine in a central position? Mailroom design Could your mailroom be re-designed or re-equipped to improve mail flow? To minimise human error, it is important to provide specialist furniture and space planning to ensure staff can operate effectively during peak periods. The positioning and design of tables, benches, sorting units and mailing equipment is critical for process efficiency and staff productivity. Modern, ergonomic fittings and seating can improve operator comfort and have a beneficial effect on performance levels. Integrated Solutions Consider whether separate tasks can be integrated so that mail flows from one stage to another in an uninterrupted flow. Could you combine letter opening, content extraction and document scanning/distribution in a single process; join a letter opener to sorting desks and trays to create a fully integrated workstation; or link a folder inserter to a franking machine and fully automate folding, insertion, sealing and franking. Applying software Software offers further scope for process integration. Can you use software instead of human intervention to check that the right material is being sent to the right people? Or increase the impact of marketing campaigns by implementing output management software to personalise customer communications? Neopost insert n frank uses conveyors to connect a DS-200 folder-inserter to a Neopost IS-5000 or 6000 franking machine in a seamless envelope filling and franking process. Filled envelopes from the folder inserter are automatically turned for correct alignment, then transported for processing by the franking machine. Did You Know? 94% of mail operators still send reports to their superiors in paper form. 16 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

17 Seven Essential Software Solutions 1. Address management Neopost Bulk Mailer streamlines processes required to qualify for Royal Mail Business Mail discounts. It corrects addresses; sorts address lists; and generates required postal documentation, reports, tray and bag labels and postage statements. It cuts costs and reduces waste by reducing returned mail. The Professional version includes a Job Builder that lets you combine a series of template-based tasks into a complete mailing job. Neopost Capture can auto-fill address forms opened in an e-commerce, CRM or other supported application as part of a customer process or transaction. 2. Document production Neopost PrintMachine automates key document processes. Use it to create forms that can be printed on-demand, saving you the expense and waste associated with pre-printed forms; create a uniform format for invoices, pay slips, statements etc.; archive electronic images of printed documents; and batch print items so you only have to enter printing properties once. 3. Output management Instead of sending the same material to all customers, vary the quantity and type of insert by recipient. Selective feeding can be fully automated with PrintMachine or entry-level OMS-100 solutions. The software prints letters with machine-readable optical marks and/or barcodes that instruct the folder inserter which inserts to include. With PrintMachine, you can also personalise the content of forms and documents for each individual recipient. 4. Returned Mail Manager Neopost Returned Mail Manager provides a quick and easy way to process undelivered mail and responses to marketing campaigns. The combination of a handheld scanner and software lets you capture information from returned mail, including the reason why it was returned, and update databases accordingly. It can also be used to scan data from remittances, reply cards and other response mechanisms used in marketing campaigns. As well as reducing re-keying time, automated capture of information makes it easier for users to monitor and improve campaign effectiveness. 5. Online services Free myneopost services enable customers to manage every aspect of their franking machines online, from supplies ordering and machine re-crediting to activity and expenditure reports by value, postal class or department. 6. Postal Finances Track and control mail expenditure with Neopost Mail Accounting Software (MAS). MAS collects and reports on mail accounting data from machines in multiple locations. It can also set budgets and alert users if expenditure exceeds limits. 7. Parcel Tracking Removing the uncertainty from parcel deliveries, neotrak parcel receiving software tracks a package from the point at which it is received (e.g. reception area or mailroom) to delivery to the addressee. Once a package is dropped off, it is scanned and an notification sent to the recipient. The same system can be used to track files, supplies and other items around an office. Improving Mailing Processes 17

18 How to Improve 4Customer Communications In addition to cost savings and productivity gains, more efficient mail processes can help you improve the effectiveness of your communications and meet the expectations of today s sophisticated consumers. Did You Know? In a recent study by The Institute of Customer Service (ICS), more than four out of five consumers (83%) identified quality of customer service as an important driver of loyalty. The ICS has calculated that it costs UK businesses 6,500 and takes an average of 58 days to replace a single customer, so any investment in mailing technology to reduce customer churn is likely to be money well spent. As a specialist in multi-channel communications, Neopost gives you everything you need to meet the changing expectations of the modern consumer and achieve increased levels of customer satisfaction. What customers want I need important communications or items to reach me without fail and on time. People depend on digital and postal communications to run their daily lives. From bills, statements, forms and proposals to the delivery of a passport, ticket or other purchase, consumers need to know that an item will be delivered successfully and within an agreed timeframe. Respond quickly to me. Equally important is the time it takes a business to respond to a customer s own approaches. People communicate with organisations for a reason, usually because they have a question or a complaint that can t wait. Communicate with me through my preferred medium. Customers expect to be able to use a variety of communication methods the telephone, , mobile messaging, social networks, fax and the post but are particular about how a business can contact them. The most appropriate choice can vary according to the purpose of the communication, the organisation making contact and the time of day. 18 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

19 Send me relevant information. Today, most consumers are happy for a business to collect information about their purchasing habits through loyalty cards and online purchasing. But in return they expect to receive information relevant to their interests and needs. Treat me as an individual. Customers feel more valued if they are addressed by name and if the content of messages reflects their interests or history with the sender. As well as strengthening customer relationships, personalised communications are more likely to be opened by prospects. Accuracy is essential, as goodwill will quickly evaporate if the wrong name or address is used. Top Tip Keep customer databases upto-date by printing an external return address (ERA) on the outside of an envelope. If an ERA is visible, Royal Mail will return undelivered mail to the sender with an explanation of why it has been returned, giving you the chance to update records accordingly. Did You Know? 82% of consumers have stopped doing business with an organisation due to a poor customer experience. In more than half of cases (55%) the issue was how long it took to resolve a problem. (source: RightNow Technologies, 2010 Customer Experience Impact Report) Maintain my confidentiality. It is important to balance customers' desire for more relevant communications with the need for data confidentiality. Businesses should secure data held in company databases; choose a medium and delivery method appropriate to the sensitivity of the communication; and ensure that processes deliver the right information to the right person. Communicate to me in a clear, interesting format. Every day, people receive large numbers of electronic and postal communications and they want to spend as little time as possible managing them. They want bills, statements, proposals and other communications to be clearly laid out and easy to read at a glance. Mailshots and special offers must stand-out from dozens of other messages received daily. Improving Customer Communications 19

20 Maximising the effectiveness of customer communications Understanding what your customers want is step one; the next is to use technology and solutions to deliver the following seven rules of effective communications. 1. Build accurate prospect and customer information The cornerstone of successful communications is to keep accurate customer databases. Addressing software that checks addresses against Royal Mail PAF files will correct mis-spellings and add missing details and postcodes. Some software can also check suppression lists to ensure compliance with do-not-mail requirements. 2. Offer a choice of communication methods Output management software meets demand for relevant and personalised content. The best solutions, like Neopost Print Machine, can design documents or marketing material; automate distribution through mail, or SMS according to individual customers' preferences; add intelligence marks to documents to manage the accurate filling of envelopes with tailored content; and control the personalisation of envelopes. 3. Make your envelopes work harder Make use of the blank space on an envelope to promote your business. Franking machines can print logos, images and slogans beside a post mark to enhance branding, promote a new product or advertise a change of address or phone number. High speed envelope printers offer more scope for customisation. Use them to print marketing messages in full colour directly onto plain or pre-printed envelopes. The ability to print envelopes on demand lets you respond instantly to new marketing opportunities with customised messaging. 4. Project an image of professionalism and reliability Make a good first impression by producing professional-looking documents. Use a neat frank mark to convey an image of efficiency, reliability and stability; or a folder-inserter to ensure letters are sent out with neat folds and correctly positioned addresses. Document design and output software will help you maintain a consistent corporate identity across all printed and electronic output, including invoices, payslips, receipts, statements and forms. 5. Personalise Communications for Maximum Impact Use digital printing technologies and intelligent mailing equipment, from envelope printers to folder-inserters, to personalise printed messages and the content of envelopes. The personal touch Elisabeth Swan of the Weston School of Dancing uses the stock slogans on her Neopost Autostamp franking machine to add a personal touch to mailings. I quite often use the good news slogan at the end of term when we re sending out exam results and certificates, she said. 20 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

21 Maintaining patient confidentiality 6. Improve internal communications and deliver better customer service Businesses are increasingly judged on the quality of their customer service. Automatic letter openers that open and process mail more quickly can help a business satisfy the demand for quick responses to queries and complaints. Adding document scanning at the mail opening stage speeds up delivery times and allows organisations to store electronic documents and scanned images in a single, searchable content management system. Computer access to PC-generated and scanned images helps customer service staff resolve problems without putting callers on hold, transferring them to a colleague or making expensive call-backs all sources of customer dissatisfaction. 7. Operate in compliance with data protection regulations Consumers are willing to share data with organisations, but only if they know it is secure and will be used appropriately. Failure to protect customer details is bad PR and can lead to heavy fines from the Information Commissioner s Office (ICO). Maintaining accurate address databases minimises the risk of confidential material ending up in the wrong hands, while intelligent mailing systems help protect against data breaches caused by poor processes. A combination of output management software and folder-inserters, for example, ensures that confidential data is sent only to the intended recipient. Based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, The North East Hub for the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme uses Neopost folderinserters to process the mailing of 10,000 letters and 2,500 test kits, each of which has a covering letter, sample card, six applicators, foil return envelope and instruction sheet. Hub Manager Ian Ward recently upgraded to a DS-1200 folder inserter to enable the automatic matching of test kits to personalised documents within test packs. Support for OMR, BCR, 2D and OCR coding enables the top-ofthe-range folder inserter to read Print Machine-produced barcodes printed onto test kits. Sophisticated integrity checking software validates that the right letter has been sent with the right test kit. If a mismatch occurs between the documents and test kit, the DS stops automatically, allowing operators to consult audit logs and correct the problem. This has been a great benefit to us, saved countless man hours and given us complete confidence that every envelope received by our patients contains all the correct personalised documentation and test kits, said Ian. Improving Customer Communications 21

22 Why Neopost Neopost is Europe s number one supplier of mailing solutions for organisations of all sizes, from micro-businesses to the largest enterprise or public sector organisation. In addition to advanced solutions for franking, folding/inserting, addressing, logistics management and traceability, we provide a full range of services, including consultancy, maintenance and finance. Neopost has 800,000 customers in 90 countries and 5,900 employees. It is listed on the Paris Euronext stock exchange and has a global turnover of circa 1 billion. Whether you are utilising our industryleading franking machines or our powerful document management software, Neopost provides dedicated support across every step of the working relationship from purchase to aftercare. Expert advice and personal support With seven regional offices across the United Kingdom, we provide personal and localised support to all of our clients. Designated Account Managers provide a single point of contact for advice and expertise. Demonstrations and on-site trials Because it can be difficult to understand the benefits of a product or service from a brochure or webpage, we give all our customers the chance to experience our products in a working environment, either on their premises (for smaller products) or in one of our six regional showrooms. The right support with no hidden charges Neopost serves clients of all sizes, from major enterprises to growing SMEs. To meet the needs of our diverse customer base, we offer a range of neocare inclusive service packages, from basic service to full support packages where mail is critical to a client's business. DS-1200 Folder Inserter Easy installation and operation Neopost equipment is highly rated by customers for its ease of use. Our installation processes are designed to get you up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. 22 The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications

23 UK contact centre for quick response We understand that mail is important to revenue, profit and customer satisfaction so it is important you get the right support when you need it. Our UK-based contact centre has been nominated for a raft of awards over the last 18 months, including Contact Centre Manager of the Year Industry leading on-line services myneopost a free service available to all our customers gives online access to postage, invoices, credit notes, product information and our latest promotions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Pay for postage in arrears With a neofunds account, you never need run out of postage again. This simple, flexible arrangement lets you pay for your postage in arrears, making it easier to manage peaks in postal demand without tying up cash. Technical support on-line, over the phone and in person Neopost has a range of responsive, reliable and supportive technical support channels. With 85% of customer issues dealt with during their first call to our customer contact centre and an average engineer call-out time of five hours, we take supporting your maintenance needs seriously. To find out how Neopost can help you cut costs and improve mailing effectiveness please call us on quoting BIGUIDE. Award winning products and service Neopost solutions, customer service and support have have won numerous awards from industry associations, leading publications and business organisations. Women in Sales Awards 2013: Kelly Wright, a Sales Manager based in Romford, Essex, won the Best Women in Telephone Sales Award. Karen Goodbrand, a Senior Business Manager based out of Bristol, won the Best Use of Social Media Award for her efforts in publicising the event. London & South East Contact Centre Forum Awards 2013: Winner of Best Contact Centre Manager of the Year Award. London & South East Contact Centre Forum Awards 2012: Winner of Best Use of Technology and New Contact Centre Sector Employee of the Year awards. Nominated in six categories in National Apprenticeship Awards: Winner of regional finals. if Product Design Award 2012: IS-6000 franking machine. World Mail Awards 2011: Winner of Technology category for EC-500 solution for the control and validation of mail trays in sorting centres. IMW-20 Document Management Why Neopost 23

24 Guide Produced in association with The Neopost Guide to Smarter Communications magazine Neopost House, South Street, Romford, Essex RM1 2AR Tel: Please quote BIGUIDE Fax: Join us on neopost.co.uk