Even in our ever-evolving digital world, the importance and value of physical mail remains. Every day, businesses across the U.S. (and elsewhere around the world) send and receive countless letters and packages, and many rely on direct mail to connect with partners, communicate with vendors, and market to customers. If you handle a lot of mail, you’ll need your own mailing equipment. This guide looks at some signs it might be time to upgrade your business mailing setup.
Key Components of Business Mailing Equipment
Before we look at some sample scenarios where superior mailing equipment is needed, let’s first cover the basics.
The term “mailing equipment” refers to the various devices, tools, and pieces of software you use to send, receive, and manage mail. Key examples of mail equipment include:
- Postage Meters: Arguably the most important piece of mailing equipment, the postage meter is basically like having your own private post office, right there in your workplace. It’s able to reliably weigh mail, calculate how much it costs to send, and even pay for it automatically.
- Folder Inserters: Helpful time-saving tools, folder inserters, or envelope stuffing machines, as they’re sometimes known, are devices that fold and put papers into envelopes for you. This way, workers won’t have to waste time and effort on manual envelope filling.
- Mailing Software: Many businesses also invest in mailing programs to digitally track, monitor, and manage their outgoing mail. These programs may, for example, verify addresses, track the delivery of each piece of mail, and order mail collections on your behalf.
- Sorting Machines: If you’ve ever had to spend hours sorting and sifting through piles of envelopes to get your mail organized, sorting machines will change the way you work. They’re able to sort mail automatically, organizing it according to various criteria, like size or destination.
- Envelope Printers: To send mail, you naturally need to have the right address written on each envelope. You can do that by hand, which takes a lot of time, or by printing and applying address stickers, which is less tedious, but still time-consuming. Or use an envelope printer to do it even faster.
- Feeders: Last but not least, feeders are used to (as the name implies) feed documents, envelopers, and other mailing materials into the relevant devices, like printers and folder inserters. They make the whole mailing process just that little bit easier.
Signs It’s Time to Invest in Better Mailing Equipment
Now you know the basics of mailing equipment, let’s take a look at some signs when your existing mailing system may no longer suffice:
You’re Spending Too Much Time on Manual Mail Tasks
The first and perhaps most obvious sign that your existing mailing equipment is no longer good enough is when you’re spending excessive amounts of time on mail-related tasks. For example, your workers have to dedicate hours to addressing and stuffing envelopes.
This often happens when businesses simply don’t have all the mailing tools they need to automate and optimize the process. Instead, they keep on going with tedious manual work that damages their productivity and even has a negative effect on morale.
Your Business Is Expanding
When businesses grow, so too do their needs. You may find, for example, that you suddenly need to send out a lot more mail to your various partners and vendors, or that you want to launch more direct mail marketing campaigns, for example.
In that case, your existing mail equipment setup may not be able to cope with the increasing levels of demand and pressure placed upon it. But, if you upgrade to more modern and efficient equipment, your daily mail routines will be streamlined, simplified, and scaled up.
You Want to Focus on Direct Mail Marketing
There’s a lot of value in direct mail marketing. In fact, 70% of customers respond positively to this form of marketing and enjoy getting personalized letters, brochures, and other promo materials through the mail. As such, it’s great for lead generation, conversion, and making sales.
But, if you want to make the most of direct mail marketing, you need to be able to print and send out a lot of letters as efficiently and quickly as possible. If your equipment isn’t up to scratch, you may struggle to see any reasonable ROI from your campaigns.
You Want to Make More of Your Business Budget
Another of the main benefits of upgrading your mailing equipment is that it can save your company money in the long run. Of course, you’ll have to spend a little on the equipment itself, but the savings gradually add up over time.
For example, a lot of businesses accidentally pay more than they should when sending mail due to inaccurately weighing it. They also lose money when workers are tied up with tedious manual tasks instead of focusing on more important matters. By upgrading, you’ll pay the best possible rates and boost your office’s productivity.
You Want to Personalize Your Mail
Mail personalization is hugely important nowadays. 80% of customers say that they’ll respond more favorably to a personalized letter or piece of marketing material than a non-personalized one. Business partners, too, appreciate when correspondence is customized just for them.
You might not be able to properly personalize your mail with your existing mailing equipment. But, if you make a few upgrades here and there, investing in better printers and superior software, it should become much easier.
Consider an Upgrade to Your Mail Equipment Today
If any of the above scenarios feel familiar, it might be time to make a change. Better mailing equipment could be exactly what your business is crying out for, helping you streamline and optimize your day-to-day mailing processes and send mail much more efficiently.
If you have questions or want guidance on the very best mailing equipment, Anza Mailing Solutions has the answers. We’ve helped many businesses in and around Cary, Raleigh, and the Triangle with their mailing needs, and we’d love to help you too. Get in touch today to learn more.
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