Direct Mailers: An out of date list could cost you, big time!
You never know where a valuable marketing tip may come from. While I was perusing the November issue of The Costco Connection this sidebar story caught my eye and I wanted to share it with you: “Outdated mailing lists will cost you.”
According to the article, the USPS wants to reduce the amount of undeliverable addressed mail which costs them about $2 billion every year. The main cause? People on the move. (And in this year of rampant foreclosures, you can imagine). So, on November 23, 2008, the postal service is instituting new Move Update requirements to include all standard mail in addition to first-class mail, and also to shorten the minimum frequency of change-of-address processing from 185 days to 95 days prior to the date of mailing to be eligible for automation and presort discount rates.
Update or pay the price
If you rely on mass mailings to market your product or services, make sure your list is clean and current. If it is filled with bad addresses, you could miss potential customers and lose touch with customers who have moved. But that’s not all. If the USPS finds mail pieces that are noncompliant, like the rotten apple in the proverbial barrel, the entire mailing is considered noncompliant and you could be fined 7-cents for every piece in the mailing.