In part 2 of this 3 part series on choosing a direct mail vendor, we discussed: Hiring a direct mail production company

In today’s post — part 3 — we’ll be covering: Working directly with various printing plants

Note: If you’d rather just read the white paper version of this series, simply visit here.

OK, let’s begin…

The advantage to working directly with various printing plants to take care of your direct mail needs is having direct access to the vendors producing your campaigns which might result in a greater amount of control. Working direct can also sometimes offer lower prices and a quicker turnaround especially when working with a plant that offers multiple services under one roof such as printing and mailing.

An ideal candidate for working direct is one that uses a very high volume of ongoing direct mail and has a department dedicated to producing and managing these campaigns. These are generally large companies that have an in-house marketing, design and production team although some medium sized companies will also be a good fit.

BE CAREFUL: If your direct mail includes multiple components, you will most likely have to juggle multiple vendors to get the job produced. Working direct means you’ll be responsible for every step of the process, including troubleshooting. As a result, make sure you have sufficient staff resources to handle this before the job starts.

After Selection

No matter what type of company you choose to assist you with your direct mail marketing campaign, communication with that company is crucial. You should have a single point of contact within the company that you can call with questions and who will keep you updated throughout the development process. You should request frequent updates and track the progress made on a regular basis especially near delivery dates to ensure there is no hold up. Lastly, ensure that all the necessary input concerning designing your direct mail for press efficiency has been covered before creative begins.

Note: Are you wondering if Ballantine is a good fit for your direct mail needs? Contact us to find out.

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In part 1 of this 3 part series on choosing a direct mail vendor, we discussed: Hiring a full service advertising agency

In today’s post — part 2 — we’ll be covering: Hiring a direct mail production company

Note: If you’d rather just read the white paper version of this series, simply visit here.

OK, let’s continue…

The advantage to working with a direct mail production company lies in the fact that they will have established relationships with a network of trusted and reliable vendors. Direct mail is what these companies do, day in and day out, which means they will know how to produce a direct mail piece efficiently and cost-effectively, including maximizing postage discounts. Direct mail production companies also excel at troubleshooting.

Ideal candidates to work with a production company will be companies which consider direct mail to play a significant role in their marketing plan, but have an understaffed or nonexistent in-house team to manage it all. This includes many medium sized businesses, and some larger companies, who use direct mail heavily but do not maintain a fully staffed production department to manage the ongoing campaigns.

BE CAREFUL: When working with a production company, you need to remember that a gap exists between the client and the actual plant(s) producing and handling the mail. Ensure that the production company reports frequently on progress made in order to remain in the loop and in control of the campaign.

Part 3 — Working directly with various printing plants — is up next.

Our last post was the official release of our new white paper, How to Choose the Right Vendor for Your Direct Mail Campaigns.

We’ve decided to break down the content of this white paper over 3 blog posts starting with this one.

Post 1: Hiring a full service advertising agency
Post 2: Hiring a direct mail production company
Post 3: Working directly with various printing plants

Let’s get started…

Choosing the right vendor to develop and/or deliver your direct mail can make or break a campaign, and there are pros and cons to each of the different vendor choices available.

First one up is: Hiring a full service advertising agency

The advantage to working with an advertising agency is the typical agency provides many services under one roof. A full service ad agency can take the entire process off your shoulders, guiding your direct mail campaign from conception through design and copywriting to the final product. They may also assist you by combining your direct mail needs with any other marketing needs like TV and radio advertising, making it a complete turnkey marketing operation.

An ideal candidate for working with an advertising agency is a large company that uses direct mail in addition to many other marketing mediums with a heavy focus on branding. This is also a good option for smaller businesses that are more concerned with specialized, lower volume campaigns targeted at a niche market.

BE CAREFUL: Ad agencies can be wonderful when it comes to creating high end, unique formats but sometimes these formats are simply not cost-effective. Ensure that budget guidelines are established and fully understood at the start of the creative process; this will help prevent or limit budget overruns.

Part 2 — Hiring a direct mail production company — is up next.