1. Don’t ignore the savings a new letter folding machine can bring
If you are looking to replace an existing machine, or perhaps are just looking for a solution to the problem of not having the time or staff to process your mail, then you may think that a new letter folding machine is costly. In fact, the use of equipment will save your staff time and therefore reduce costs but can also offer additional savings and ancillary cost savings.
These postage cost savings are achieved by:
- Changing how you present your mail. An A4 envelope costs around 34% more to send than an A5 or DL envelope.
- A4 envelopes are considerably more expensive to buy than C5 or DL alternatives
- Reducing the total number of items sent. This is done by consolidating mail to the same recipient.
- Piggy-backing. This is where you take advantage of including additional marketing or information (free of charge) by adding it to your existing mail pieces.
2. Don’t think folder inserter envelopes are more expensive
Envelopes for a folder inserter are different to the ones that you are likely to be using if you are processing mail by hand, but folder inserter or mailing machine envelopes are significantly cheaper than the self-seal equivalents.
Mailing machine envelopes come in all shapes, sizes and colours.
Mailing machine envelopes can be designed and made around your current templates. So, whatever your template or how it is presented we’ll have an envelope for you!
Machine envelopes can be bespoke to your brand or campaign offering free advertising or an incentive to open your mail.
The outer envelope is the first thing your customer will see and should encourage them to open it. Use a headline that grabs their attention and entices them to open it, whether it be an offer or a renewal reminder. On the back you can also include an external return address. This means any mail that does not get to your recipient will be returned to you, assisting you with keeping your database accurate.
When buying mailing machine envelopes, you can also take advantage of volume related discounts, which will significantly reduce your stationery spend.
3. Don’t dismiss new ways of working
Use mailing expertise and keep an open mind when considering new ways of processing your post. Just because you have always done it that way doesn’t mean that it is still the best way of doing it.
When considering or investigating a new machine, please take advantage of the knowledge of a mail room consultant. They should have years of experience and can very often show you new and more effective ways to process your mail. In our experience making a slight change to your way of working can significantly reduce time and expenditure.
4. Don’t think mailing machines are just for big business
Businesses of all sizes and of all types benefit from our equipment. Saving time and money is a must for all businesses whatever the size, and using a letter folding machine can offer this. If you have limited resources then a folder inserter will have a big impact on time saving (13x faster than by hand).
A person takes around 12 seconds to fold by hand, then insert into a DL envelope and seal it. An automatic folding and inserting machine will normally do this 13x faster and be accurate every time.
5. Don’t just go with your existing provider
Whilst we are very big advocates of building relationships with our customers who have been with us for many years. A good Account Manager will spend time with you and investigate other options that can be important and vital to achieve more efficient practices.
As part of your procurement process we are sure that you will get alternative quotes, but your goal should not purely be a cheaper price it should be to ensure value and to get the right equipment for now and for the future.
Our pricing is competitive, clear and without hidden charges. We can’t always match our competitor’s prices BUT these prices usually do not include the extras that we provide free of charge such as delivery, installation, training, support and after sales service.
6. Don’t underestimate your volumes
It is very important to do a full audit of your mail. What are you sending as a company? Are your colleagues or other departments sending mail that you are not aware of? E.g. You may be fully aware of the post generated by the accounts department but what about renewal documentation and marketing material from other areas of the business.
Our equipment is versatile and designed to process a whole range of jobs. To maximise the value of a new piece of equipment you should be able to eliminate the majority of your staff’s manual activities.
7. Don’t ignore accuracy when sending mail
Hopefully this has never happened to your organisation, but have you ever experienced a data breach? This would include an instance where correspondence is posted to the wrong person because it was picked up with another letter and manually inserted into an envelope addressed to someone else. The new GDPR regulations would require you to notify any potentially affected customers and to notify the ICO.
If you are sending sensitive personal data and are using an older style machine without double-sheet detection or are processing mail by hand then you can reduce the risk of a data breach by using the latest equipment. Newer machines can detect if multiple sheets have been misfed and using OMR/OCR/barcode software adds another level of protection and security giving peace of mind for both you and your customers.
The ICO (Information Commissioners Office) says that “a personal data breach is defined as a breach of security that leads to the accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data transmitted, stored or otherwise processed”. Unauthorized disclosure would include posting a letter, financial statement, invoice or just their account information to another recipient within the same/wrong envelope.
8. Don’t exclude your team
Historically mailing equipment was difficult to operate and was built solely for mailrooms. The new range of desktop and office equipment has been designed to be easy to use with full colour touchscreens; these new machines can be used anywhere in a business by all staff meaning you do not need to dedicate this job to a couple of operators.
Especially now with the new ways of working your time in the office may be more precious and you may have less staff to carry out the processing of your mail.
We recommend getting everyone involved and take advantage of our unlimited training and expertise so you can use the quick functions, exceptionally user-friendly features and process all types of mail using your new machine.
9. Don’t delay it any longer
If you’ve ever spent an afternoon or an entire day folding mail and stuffing it into envelopes, you know the toll it takes on your other projects; working from home doesn’t make it any easier.
Imagine if you could get mail preparation off your to-do list in an hour, or even in a matter of minutes, without any extra help! That is precisely what our folder inserter machines do.
Also, the longer it takes to get your invoices, statements and reminders out the longer it takes to get payments and responses.
