Have Direct Mail Costs Gone Down?
Summary: It’s possible that direct-mail costs have actually gone down as much as 17% over ten years ago, if you buy the premise of an interesting report released by Digital Nirvana.
According to an interesting report over at Digital Nirvana, it’s possible that direct-mail costs have actually gone down as much as 17% over ten years ago. How they come to this conclusion is an interesting read, but if you buy the premise, then here are some of the findings:
The cost to mail a test package today appears to have fallen 17% below the cost to mail the same package ten years ago. Why? Because savings inherent in data processing, personalization, and mailshop fees offset rising costs in every other area of operations.
Observations:
- Technology has saved us some dollars and definitely enabled more personal, targeted, effective marketing.
- In the days ahead, ratios will shift adversely if the cost of manufactured materials goes up (paper, ink, window patch material, labels).
- Rising postage costs would squeeze margins, possibly out of existence. What will mitigate that? Can technology improvements and controlled labor costs offset the trend? So far, no … but technology delivers exponential surprises every day, so let’s not give up.
- For now, the real budget killer appears to be energy, gasoline in particular. Business owners also must deal with the rising and fixed energy costs inherent in plant operations. Again, innovations in technology may help us deal with super-charged gasoline and electricity prices. On the other hand, water could prove to be a problem most haven’t thought about.
- And then there’s the cost of labor. As states across the country try to regulate and repress wages and benefits for millions of American workers, the cost (and availability) of labor becomes vastly uncertain. Enter the influence of trends in the world economy, import/export practices, and even climate change (think paper production, for example): more uncertainty.
Of course, it doesn’t really matter what today’s costs are vs. ten years ago – lots of things have changed in ten years, including the return on and value of direct marketing. The true comparison would be a cost-to-sale analysis. Now that’s something Doc would like to see.
More from “The DocuMentor”
Topics
Biography
Doc
ZDNet introduces Doc (The DocuMentor), sponsored by RICOH. Through his blog, Doc will educate you about Document Management. So who is Doc? Doc is something of an enigma. He was born to a Russian ballerina and a German electrical engineer who some believe was running covert operations for shadowy corporate interests. Doc grew up in various locations in the United States, although no one seems to know precisely where, least of all Doc. His early schooling was unremarkable except for the time he was caught trying to replace all the mimeograph machines with high-tech color copiers that had mysteriously disappeared from a shipment to Albania. At MIT, he made a name for himself by transforming a large printer into a robot that hunts and eats Roombas. Professionally, he reportedly has seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone. Some say his obsession with paper, printing, and mechanical movement was either started by, or evidenced by, a traumatic childhood episode when he crawled inside an old Xerox 2400 and tried to print himself.
Anyway, Doc has hands on experience with stuff like printer maintenance and fleet management, but his mastery of document management leaves no stone unturned. Important issues like sustainability, security, and regulatory compliance are top of mind for Doc, as are other business technology needs like networking and IT services, making him a true blue IT renaissance man.
The discussion hasn’t started yet. Why don’t you begin it?
Quick Poll
Which imaging and document management trends are you most likely to consider?
Related Links
- New White paper: Managed Print Services and Beyond: How You Can Cut Costs and Go Green While Increasing Employee Productivity
- Learn how document management systems can help reduce the tide of paper that is swamping our offices
- Use software to cut costs by scrapping paper
- My printer, my social letterbox
- Doc on Twitter
- Doc on Facebook
- Doc on LinkedIn
Vendor Showcase
Blog Archive
White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
- Seven Keys to Success in Managing Your Business-Critical CloudNeed a few tips on how to manage your cloud infrastructure? Here are seven ... (Hewlett-Packard (HP))Download Now
- The Best Ways to Migrate Lotus Notes Applications to SharePoint and Office 365Migrating Notes to SharePoint Online/Microsoft Office ... (Quest Software)Download Now
- Solve the 6 Top Problems in Your Data CenterWhat are the top 6 problems in your data center and how do you solve them? ... (Hewlett-Packard (HP))Download Now
