Mailing Systems Technology August 2011

AUGUST 2011

QR Codes: Making direct mail mobile and interactive.

Page 16

Changing the face of mail through inline envelope printing.

Page 18

Quality control in a multichannel world.

Page 20

2011

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

TOP COMPANIES

ISSUE! Get to know your solution providers page 26

Volume 24 Issue 4

AUGUST 2011

Features 16

Making Direct Mail Mobile and Interactive QR Codes are growing in popularity, but be sure you’re using them effectively

By David Henkel

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18

Changing the Face of Mail Breakthroughs in inline envelope printing are producing eye-catching results

By John Kline

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Mail Quality Control in a Multichannel World Done properly, a multichannel delivery system is a win-win.

By Richard Rosen

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20

Providing Gold-Star Customer Service The key to exceeding your customers’ expectations

By Christopher Rausch

Departments

Top Companies

8

Get to know your solutions providers!

These companies cover every aspect of your shipping operation, from contract negotiation to warehouse management software, so check it out!

Real-Life Management Justifying Resources: An Ongoing but Winnable Battle

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Software Byte Growing Mail Volume with EDDM

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12

In the Trenches Implementing ADF today

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Ship It I Hate Junk Mail, but I Love the USPS!

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Everything IMBC The Growth of IMb

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What You Think Mail Managers and Social Media

Columns 7

Editor’s Note

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Reality Check Now What?

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26

BCC Software

27

Bell & Howell

28

Collins Ink

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DYMO Endicia

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Engineering Innovation

31

InfoSeal

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Melissa Data

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Neopost

34

Parascript LLC

35

PBBI

36

Satori Software

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Tension Envelope

Pushing the Envelope Paving the Way for the Future

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Make sure you sign up for our monthly e-Newsletter so we can keep you posted with news alerts and updates! www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

editor’s note

with Amanda Armendariz

Mailing systems technology PUBLISHER Marll Thiede

EDITOR

The Future of the USPS Welcome to our 2011 Top Companies issue! This issue is one of my favorites of the year, because it’s so encouraging to see that there are so many companies out there that provide such a critical service to the mailing industry. The profiles start on page 26 and are listed alphabetically, so take a minute to browse through them. There’s sure to be one (if not more!) that catches your eye and can help your mailing operation with exactly what you need.

Speaking of “what you need,” what I need is some resolution to the situation currently going on with the USPS. It’s stressful when every day, we’re bombarded with new stories like, “The USPS will be unable to pay its bills come September,” and “Five-day delivery? Try three-day!” I hate uncertainty, so this situation certainly isn’t helping my stress level any. Luckily, there are options; I most definitely do not think that the Postal Service is doomed. The USPS could expand further into the parcel delivery market; there certainly needs to be more competition than just the Big Two, and it would naturally serve as a major revenue source for the USPS, as well. And although there are certainly ups and downs to privatization, that is a possibility as well, and would mean that the USPS no longer has to walk the strange “we don’t receive any taxpayer dollars, but yet we have to receive approval from Congress to do anything” line, which clearly isn’t helping their situation any. One thing is certain: they cannot keep going on the path they’re on.

However it turns out, it will certainly be an interesting evolution to watch. We at Mailing Systems Technology will certainly keep you posted. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter (@MST_PARCELMedia) and join our LinkedIn group; there are interesting, relevant discussions going on there all the time. You know what they say: Knowledge is power!

As always, thanks for reading Mailing Systems Technology.

Amanda Armendariz amanda.c@rbpub.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kevin Conti, Wes Friesen David Henkel, John Kline, Jim LeRose Christopher Lien, Jacquelyn McPeak, Kate Muth Mike Porter, Christopher Rausch, David Robinson Rich Rosen, Wanda Senne

CIRCULATION

Rachel Spahr rachel@rbpub.com

ADVERTISING 608-241-8777 Ken Waddell ken.w@rbpub.com

GRAPHIC DESIGN Kelli Cooke

2901 International Lane • Madison WI 53704-3128 608-241-8777 • Fax 608-241-8666 rbpub@rbpub.com www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

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Real Life Management Justifying Resources: An Ongoing but Winnable Battle “You don’t have because you do not ask… when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motive...” – Saint James Managing operations can be very rewarding as well as very challenging. In my conversations with managers across the country, one challenge constantly surfaces: justifying the resources (people, budgets and equipment) needed to run an excellent operation. This is one of the biggest challenges that I face, too, but there are some ways to successfully acquire the resources you need.

Before we dive into the specific tips, here are two general principles: First, normally we will not get anything if we don’t ask. Second, we need to make sure when we do ask we are asking for resources that benefit one or more of the key stakeholders: investors, customers, employees and the community we do business in.

Ten Tips To JuSTify WhaT you Need

1

Identify the important goals, initiatives, values and business needs of your organization, then figure out how to help meet them. What are the major goals, initiatives and values of your organization? Can you find ways to help your organization be more successful? Linking the resources you need to specific corporate goals and initiatives will help build a compelling business case for authorizing funds.

Real-Life Application: Many organizations have some form of customer focus or engagement initiative. I have recently justified new equipment and enhanced software in part so that our company can provide more personalized and relevant communication with our customers. Many organizations have a strong emphasis on sustainability. Finding ways to use physical mail prudently and avoiding waste will be positively received. In the past, I have received approval for a second printer so we could go from two-page simplex bills to one-page duplex bills.

2

Find ways to save your organization money. An almost sure-fire way to justify a proposed expenditure is to demonstrate that it will result in savings to your organization. Portland General used to pay external vendors 50 to 60 cents per color copy. My team developed

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a proposal to lease color digital printers and showed that we could provide color copies at a significant savings.

Real-Life Application: We have also found ways to save money by offering CD burning services, scanning services and by maximizing postal discounts. If you are not maximizing the pre-sort and automation postal discounts, investing in relevant software and/or sorting equipment can often be economically justified due to the incremental postage savings.

3

Know your costs and how they compare to the external marketplace. This is huge. If you can demonstrate that your internal operations are less costly than the potential external providers are, then you have the ammunition to justify the funds to keep your operations performing well.

4

Work with vendors for creative ideas to improve your operation and document justification. Vendors can be a great resource for ideas and can be very helpful in developing justification for proposals. Vendors like Xerox, Pitney Bowes and Ricoh (Info Print Solutions) have helped us develop creative ways to improve the quality and efficiency of our operations in cost-effective ways. Developing positive relationships with your current vendors and other potential new vendors can pay huge dividends. One of the benefits of going to conferences like MailCom and National Postal Forum is the opportunity to meet vendors and pick up ideas and build relationships.

5

Partner with other departments within your organization. Sometimes other departments may have special needs for printing, mailing or fulfillment. These needs should be viewed as potential partnering opportunities.

Real-Life Application: We experienced a “win-win” opportunity awhile back. The Mapping department needed a new large document printer to print large maps and was planning to purchase a printer and then hire a person to run the printer. My printing

With Wes Friesen

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department had a really old large document printer that needed replacing. So, we offered to house the new printer at our shop and run for no cost to that department. They accepted the offer, and we gained a new printer that benefits the entire company.

You should also look for other partners and advocates within your organization – such as Marketing, Customer Service and Relations, Public Relations, Corporate Communications, etc.

Enlisting the support of these internal advocates shows decision makers that your requests have broad support.

Understand your organization’s budgeting and approval system and processes. Become well-versed on the criteria used for making decisions and the necessary format and content of required documentation.

Know who the key decision makers are and genuinely seek to build positive relationships. Following the time frames and playing by the rules will help build your credibility and improve your odds at getting needed approvals.

6

Track your volumes and document increases.

Sometimes decision makers operate under mistaken assumptions — such that hard copy mail and printed pages are disappearing and no longer important. The facts can speak for themselves — so track the volumes of all the work you do and use as part of your overall business case to justify your requests.

Develop positive relationships with internal “service providers” that influence decisions. Most organizations have financial staff that plays an important role in the approval process of budgets and capital requests. Human Resources usually gets involved with decisions to upgrade and/or add staff. Legal, Purchasing, Corporate Communications and other staff areas also play key roles.

These service providers can be your allies or foes — the choice is largely up to you.

You can improve your relationships with these individuals by practicing the 3 “R”s of recognizing, respecting and rewarding.

Individuals from these functions often have degrees and/or certifications and feel a sense of professional pride. Recognizing them as being experts and professionals by seeking their counsel and appreciating their expertise will pay dividends. Treating them positively and respectively will enhance relationships.

And when someone does help you, showing your appreciation in a tangible way (verbal thanks, email, card, gift certificate, food) does wonders for the relationship.

7

Take the budgeting process and other “bean counting” tasks seriously. Many operational managers detest budgeting, accounting and those “bean counting” tasks. But a sure-fire way to develop better credibility with your finance staff is to learn how to develop accurate budgets and be able to explain budget variances and provide future forecasts. How can you improve your ability to budget?

By carefully reading the documentation that is provided, asking questions, involving other people in the process (staff, management chain, vendors) and by documenting your assumptions.

The pay-off is worth the extra effort - if you improve your credibility with the finance folks, they will be more likely to become advocates of your requests, not adversaries.

9

10

Build a good business case! Complete a stakeholder analysis and explain the benefits and Return-On-Investment (ROI) as relevant to investors, customers, employees and the community. Be sure to include both quantitative (financial) and qualitative (non-financial) benefits. Reference the advocates that support your requests.

One bonus tip: intentionally work to build the credibility of you – and your team. Refer to my March-April 2011 column for some ideas to increase your credibility. Establishing credibility with the decision makers is extremely important and will increase your success rate.

Justifying resources is never easy, but consistent application of these ten tips will help. Good luck in your journey to develop a quality operation that adds value to your stakeholders! a Wes Friesen, CMDSM, EMCM, MQC, ICP, CCM,CMA, CM, CFM, APP, PHR is the Manager of Revenue Collection & Community Offices for Portland General Electric, a utility in Portland, Oregon that serves over 820,000 customers. Wes teaches university classes and is a featured speaker at national Conferences like National Postal Forum, MailCom, CS Week and others. Wes can be contacted at Wes.Friesen@pgn.com. Check out his personal web-site for free information (wesfriesen. com). He manages the bill production and payment processing teams with the able assistance of supervisors Eric Houger, Tom Laszlo, Gil Rodriguez and Rick VanBeek.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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Software Byte Growing Mail Volume with EDDM Despite its dire financial situation, the USPS is still actively seeking new ways to grow mail volume. One area that the Postal Service is focusing on is enticing more advertisers to use direct mail. The Postmaster General announced at the National Postal Forum that 75% of advertisers don’t use direct mail as part of their overall marketing efforts. In order to entice mailers to start using direct mail, the USPS designed a new program to pique the interest of companies not currently mailing. This program is Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), which allows new-to-direct-mail companies to send direct mail without having to adhere to many of the guidelines that are normally imposed on bulk mailers, such as the required use of permit accounts, certain mail preparation rules and address accuracy tools.

This has understandably caused some upset in the postal industry.

Many providers see EDDM as a competitive encroachment on their businesses or a form of postal cannibalism. Many are reporting that they are already losing business as current mailers switch to the less bureaucratic method of mailing with EDDM. At a recent MTAC

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meeting, it was reported that one mailer has already lost $20,000 per month due to a client switching to EDDM and forgoing the list cleansing they were doing with the mailing provider. However, the intent of this program is not to cannibalize, but rather to tap into the revenue potential of those that don’t use direct mail.

So What Is EDDM, Exactly?

When applied in the manner in which EDDM was presented at the May MTAC meetings by Paul Vogel, USPS CMO and President of Package and Shipping Services, EDDM should be viewed as a lead generation opportunity for mailers and an enabler of additional mailing services made possible by today’s software technologies.

EDDM leverages simplified addressing – a form of saturation mailing that, while useful for sending out a broad message, lacks the pinpoint precision follow-up for ensuring repeat business.

With Christopher Lien

Consider a new mailer, one of the 75% that are not mailing, who uses EDDM and experiences the same great ROI we know successful direct mail can generate. Excited about the response rate, and with a desire for more, they now turn their attention to a proven Mailing Service Provider who can take their marketing efforts to the next level. The MSP can offer advanced address correction using CASS-Certified software to the customer list representing those who initially responded to the EDDM mailing.

They can leverage PAVE-certified software to ensure timely, predictable and ultimate delivery of the personalized piece. They can also leverage the Intelligent Mail barcode and perhaps a QR Code to measure response and overall efficacy of the campaign, thus ensuring repeat business for the MSP and the mailing industry.

effort to demonstrate the value of direct mail and grow mail volumes, not as a tool that cannibalizes business from Mailing Service Providers.

EDDM is simply one of the tools the USPS is leveraging in its attempts to increase mail volume, a tool that can be used to show the ROI of direct mail and act as a bridge between direct and online mailing. Hopefully it will be used as a collaborative

Christopher Lien is President of BCC Software, Inc., a BELL + HOWELL Company.

We as providers can demonstrate to those new to direct mail marketing just how much more control and visibility this type of marketing provides, offering an opportunity to finely coordinate marketing initiatives in a way that is impossible through other marketing platforms. We can show them that we offer these tools as well as the tools they need to make sure they are working with the best address data possible, all of which, when combined, are a perfect recipe for marketing campaign success. When used responsibly and as a collaborative effort, EDDM is a good idea. a

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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The Trenches

With Mike Porter

Implementing ADF Today I’ve been especially impressed with products that allow document operations to implement automated document factory (ADF) functionality. There are many choices available today that allow an organization to choose the portions of their workflow where additional automation, tracking and control make the most sense for them. It is no longer necessary to buy a package that does more than you need. This makes it a lot easier to attain a reasonable return on investment. And today’s ADF systems are easily expandable as requirements change.

Drivers for ADF Investments

Companies will invest in ADF technology for a variety of reasons. Two of the most common are the desire to track individual mail pieces through the production process, as well as automating reprints. Of course there are numerous other benefits as well (see below).

COMMON ADF OBJECTIVES  Mail Piece Tracking  Automated Reprints  Production Statistics  Automated Reconciliation  Performance Monitoring  Hardware Integration  Workflow Automation  SLA Monitoring  Automated Production Alerts  Improved Visibility for Customer Service  Legal/Regulatory Compliance  Customer Job-Status Inquiries  Error Reduction  Workload Balancing  Penalty/Fine Avoidance  Enhanced Document Personalization  Extended Equipment Life  New Business Opportunities Organizations are realizing that the batch balancing methods of the past are no longer adequate. Print and mail service providers and in-house operations alike are finding that their customers expect them to be able to report on the disposition of individual pieces of mail, not just statistics compiled at the job level.

For financial and health applications, the benefit of additional integrity enabled by piece-level tracking is an obvious necessity.

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But other applications such as direct mail advertising are becoming much more personalized and targeted. And physical direct mail pieces are frequently integrated with campaign elements delivered via additional communication channels. These trends are now driving more organizations to consider adding ADF functionality to their workflows to make sure these highly targeted messages reach the correct recipients at the expected time. ADF isn’t just for bank statements and checks anymore.

Reprints have been difficult and expensive since the early days of data processing. Even today there are plenty of organizations that maintain reprint procedures that are mostly manual and extremely time-consuming. In fact, very few of my clients have truly automated reprint capabilities. There are usually some manual steps and they often lack reconciliation processes. The ability to positively verify when a specific damaged document was reprinted and then mailed is a challenge. It is no wonder that reprint automation is high on the list of improvements companies seek to achieve with ADF systems.

None of the organizations I visit have integrated every single step in their document production workflow. Instead, companies today apply ADF technology to those portions of the workflow where they need it the most. They may be tracking folded mail but not flats. Or they may be monitoring printers on a job level, but inserters at the piece level. Manual operations may or may not be included in the automation strategy. Finishing steps such as bindery are frequently uncontrolled, but in some shops, control and quality in bindery are considered mandatory.

ADF for Everyone

Choosing the best parts of the workflow to apply ADF hardware and software may depend on the equipment in the shop, the types of documents being processed, the level of personalization, your exposure to risk, the budget and many other factors. A careful analysis of your objectives and your workflow is necessary.

Only then should you start looking at the solutions now available to nearly any document operation.

With the integration capabilities and hardware agnostic aspects of some solutions, organizations can implement selected features of ADF without replacing their printer or inserter fleet. Organizations no longer have to settle for having only part of their shop reporting into the ADF databases. A gradual implementation, without large capital expense, is entirely possible today, and highly recommended. a Mike Porter is President of Print/Mail Consultants; a consulting firm that helps companies get the most out of their document operations. He welcomes your comments and questions.

Visit www.printmailconsultants.com or email Mike directly at mporter@printmailconsultants.com.

Ship It

With Jim LeRose

I Hate Junk Mail But I Love The USPS Arduous financial times and lower mail volumes have triggered intriguing debate about the future of the USPS, but I can save everyone time because there’s really only one good solution to what ails this treasured institution. Now I admit this will be difficult for many to grasp, but nevertheless, here goes: Permit the USPS to charge their customers the necessary amount of money required to make a profit. OK, so I know this will require copious amounts of “outside of the box” thinking for the politicians that control an organization that would be ranked 29th if it were in the Fortune 500 (see Businessweek May 26th 2011: www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_23/ b4231060885070.htm), but isn’t it about time we changed the way we think about government debt and demand our politicians stop requiring the USPS to lose billions of dollars?

There are those repeated calls for endless cutbacks that will only serve to diminish the incredibly dependable service we all take for granted and will only delay the inevitable deterioration of the USPS.

Here are some of the other ideas that will doom the USPS:

1

Furthermore, the BusinessWeek article referenced earlier reported, “For the price of a 44¢ stamp, you can mail a letter anywhere within the nation’s borders. The service will carry it by pack mule to the Havasupai Indian reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Mailmen on snowmobiles take it to the wilds of Alaska. If your recipient can no longer be found, the USPS will return it at no extra charge. It may be the greatest bargain on earth.”

Isn’t that the problem?

UPS will deliver a letter to the Havasupais in two days from New York for around $30.80 (That includes $4.25 fuel and $3.00 for Delivery Area — Rural Extended); that’s 7000% higher! For the record, I tried to get a quote from FedEx, but no one could even pronounce Havasupai.

The price of a First-Class stamp should increase in accordance with decreasing mail volumes and the financial need to keep the service going. Charging only .44 cents to deliver anywhere in the US regardless of mail volume is quite obviously a recipe for failure.

This USPS has an unmatched competitive advantage in the residential parcel delivery space but does not capitalize on it. The US is desperate for a viable third player in the residential parcel market delivery arena and there are billions to be made in that space.

Uh, hey Bluto, let’s try to convince the American people to send more letter mail (like they did during the last century) and simply get them to use less email.

(Hello! Like it or not, letter mail is disappearing at the same rate as honest politicians and lawyers with integrity; it would be easier to kill an elephant with a bb gun or stop an avalanche. This is just dumb).

Note to the political leaders: the USPS is not a dinosaur or holy relic, it doesn’t have to be preserved in its present state for eternity; it can and must evolve. The answer does not lie in cutbacks, imbecilic marketing or more junk mail; it starts with charging enough to be profitable.

Convince people to stop receiving their bills electronically. (How would you like to have that job?

Why not just encourage us to use pigeons or The Pony Express? Try again).

Jim LeRose is Principal of Agile NYC Metro and President of Advantaship.com. Jim has been a transportation industry consultant for over 25 years. His clients have saved millions on transportation costs. Agile has helped companies such as JP Morgan, Audiovox, Intuitive Surgical, Panasonic Electric, Petco and over 1,000 others. Advantaship helps small businesses get big discounts typically reserved for large organizations from carriers such as FedEx, USPS, DHL and others. Jim welcomes your comments and can be reached at jim.lerose@agile-network.com or 888-214-1763.

2 3

Promote the benefits of junk mail. (More junk mail, are you kidding? I have four adult kids and they’ve never read a piece of junk mail and probably never will. Personally, I hate it, and so does practically everyone else I know. If it’s not electronic, it has little chance of success. Anyway, aren’t we supposed to be helping the environment?)

I love the USPS but PLEEEEASE no more junk mail! a

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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Everything IMBC

With Kevin Conti & David Robinson

The Growth of IMb Adoption of the IMb is growing, albeit at a slower rate than the USPS would wish for. To encourage the continued growth in IMb adoption and, more specifically, full-service adoption (since there is no scheduled retirement of the POSTNET barcode), the USPS is re-enforcing its determination to enhance the value of the IMb. As noted previously, one of the ways that the USPS plans on enhancing the IMb value is by providing scan data, free of charge, to full-service mailers. The scan data to be provided is: IMb piece scans, IM tray scans, nesting information and IM container scans.

For Basic IMb users and at a nominal charge (TBD), IMb and a full suite of scan data options are being considered. Another way of encouraging adoption is that all future mail incentives and promotions will require mailers to submit electronic documentation or, perhaps, to fully comply with full-service IMb requirements. The QR Barcode discount is an example of where eDoc is required, which may have the added benefit of driving more Standard Mail adoption to full-service IMb (since meeting eDoc requirements gets mailers further down the path of full-service).

At NPF in San Diego in May, the USPS stressed the value that the full-service IMb offers them in the visibility of mail as it’s being processed throughout the postal processing facilities. This provides them with unprecedented diagnostics capabilities to determine any delays in the processing of mail, which can also be used in determining the impacts of changes in the postal network. In addition, the USPS is really listening to the concerns expressed about the fullservice onboarding process, which included inconsistencies around the US in critical entry times (CETs) and critical access times (CATs).

As a result, national CETs and CATs have been established that will be used to determine the Start-the-Clock (STC) times for Service Performance Measurement.

One of the recent announcements by the USPS was the development of a Mail Preparation and Data Quality Dashboard, which was said to be made available for pilot in June of this year. The dashboard will provide customer specific feedback on mail data quality (fullservice eDoc quality warnings and errors), start-the-clock (start-theclock exclusions), mail acceptance verification (manual and MERLIN mail preparation verification) and address quality (Move Update verification on MERLIN).

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Who’s Using IMb? At NPF, the USPS reported that for the first six months of FY 2011: About 47% of First-Class Mail letters/cards and flats used the IMb Full-Service as compared to 28% in FY 2010.

For Periodicals, the IMb is being used on about 48.2% of total volume compared to 29% in FY 2010.

Standard Mail IMb Full-Service adoption is not growing as fast and is at a rate of about 30% of total Standard Mail letters/flats volume is using IMb FullService, compared to 18% last year.

To update on Seamless Acceptance (SA), there is an MTAC Workgroup (143) created to determine the value of SA and the metrics to track its progress and success. An example of SA is the eInduction (also known as eDropship), which will be available in November, 2011.

As we’ve been writing about for the past year or so, the vision of the USPS for SA is to be able to monitor the overall mail quality and deliverability (to include barcode and address quality, move update compliance, etc.) and provide mailer specific feedback. It’s not too much of a stretch to think that the USPS will eventually use this system as a means of taking back discounts for pieces that do not meet established requirements. Given the 2010 update to the Christianson and Associates Study, which showed that the USPS spent $1.3B on Undeliverable as Addressed (UAA) mail, it would seem that the USPS may see this as the new frontier in the battle against UAA mail. Again, stay tuned…. a Kevin Conti is Director of Mailing Solutions at Pitney Bowes Software.

David Robinson is currently the Director of Address Quality for Pitney Bowes.

What You Think

With Jacquelyn McPeak, CMDSM

Mail Managers and Social Media Thanks so much to the managers that took the time to answer the three-minute survey concerning career development. The career development questions generated 40% more responses than the previous questions concerning services you receive from the u.S. Postal Service.

Fifty-five percent of the managers do not believe a significant uptick in the economy will increase promotional opportunities for them within their organization, as compared to 45% who do believe it. Of the 50 comments made by managers concerning the increased promotional opportunities, the top three trends included the following:

The Breakdown The majority of the respondents either work in or are responsible for the mail facility in a business, while 23% work for a company that provides mailing services such as presort, lettershop and data for other organizations.

23

%

77%

Fifty-eight percent of the managers indicated the path between promotions within their organization is longer than in the past.

Forty-six percent said the promotions are the same as in the past and four percent said periods between promotions are shorter.

It was not surprising to see the low percentage of managers utilizing Facebook and Twitter as a network tool to further their career development as compared to those managers that use LinkedIn.

22% - Increased business provides promotional opportunities 22% - Nowhere to move up the ladder in my organization 3% - Industry is in a decline; lean and mean is the standard Don’t have a mentor

15%

Have a mentor

Only 15% of the managers have a mentor to assist them in their career path as compared to 85% that do not have a mentor.

85%

Serve as a mentor

90%

Use

94%

Don’t serve as a mentor

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

The managers indicated the highest level of value the networking medium brings to them in career development is average.

ExcEllEnt VEry good

56%

However, over half of the managers (56%) serve as a mentor to assist employees in their career path while 44% do not.

Fifty-seven percent of the managers have not thought of changing careers (leaving the mailing industry) and four percent have.

Of the 20 comments made by managers, the top three trends concerning managers that have not thought of changing careers included the following:

06%

10%

41%

59%

Do Not

44%

aVEragE

poor

LinkedIn

21%

26%

38%

15%

Facebook

10%

15 %

45%

30%

Twitter

06%

00%

41%

53%

36% - No, I like my job 28% - No, there are more workers than jobs 16% - No, because of my age and the economic situation Jacquelyn McPeak CMDSM is President of Mail Management Enterprises LLC. She was awarded the MSMA Distinguished Service Award in 2002 for her efforts on behalf of the Certified Mail and Distribution Systems Managers Certification Program and the 2008 Franklin Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to mail communication. Contact mailmgmt@aol.com or 410-883-3224.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AuGuST 2011

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L I A M T C E R I D G E N V I T C MAKI A R E T N I D N A E L I MOB QR Codes are growing in popularity, but be sure you’re using them effectively

By David Henkel A recent TV ad put out by a national electronics retailer pokes fun at how quickly technology is advancing. In the commercial, a restaurant patron using a laptop computer spits out his coffee when he sees a newspaper ad for “The even newer laptop.” A woman with a smartphone looks aghast at a billboard declaring “It’s newer than your phone!” Technology is indeed moving fast, and not just for consumers. One of the key challenges we face as marketers today is keeping abreast of evolving technology and offering our own customers the multiple channels they are looking for to engage with our brands.

According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of all American adults, or 47%, get real-time information on their mobile phone or tablet computer. Thirty-seven percent reported getting information about restaurants or other local businesses on their phones or tablets. Smartphones are increasingly becoming an integral part of our daily lives. Many people don’t leave home without them and view their smartphones as a very personal device.

One of the newest and most intriguing ways we can enhance the traditional power of direct mail is by offering our customers with smartphones an immediate call to action — Quick Response Codes, or QR Codes. These two-dimensional barcodes can feature URLs that drive users from printed material to the Web via mobile devices. QR Codes can turn a printed direct mail piece into an instant interactive mobile response, allowing static messages to become a hyperlink to just about anything online.

Turning Static Print to an Interactive Response The process of using a QR Code is simple: A smartphone user 16

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with a pre-loaded QR Code reader installed can quickly scan a barcode on a direct mail piece and be immediately taken to online content without having to type in a Web address. QR Codes are commonplace in Japan and have picked up a lot of momentum in the United States in just this past year. In addition to direct mail, QR Codes are now appearing in magazines and on billboards, product packages and store shelves. The codes provide a great call-to-action that takes advantage of the growth in smartphone use. Mobio Identity Systems Inc., a mobile payments company, reported that QR Code scanning in the last six months of 2010 increased 1,200% across North America.

Personalize the Message On a direct mail piece, a QR Code could be embedded with a personalized URL (PURL). A PURL provides a Web address for an individual so that the content at the address can be unique for that visitor. A business could create unique QR Codes with PURLs for everyone on its direct mail list. Once on a PURL microsite, a visitor may be invited to sign up for monthly newsletters, view a video or request a mailed fulfillment package. They can share as much or as little contact information as they desire. Additionally, the online interaction can be tracked, making it easier to measure in terms of campaign ROI. These personalized Web addresses can, of course, be directly put on a direct mail piece in conjunction with a QR Code, giving the recipient the choice of either manually typing in the PURL into a Web browser or using their smartphone to quickly scan the QR Code to see the online content.

Use Email and Texts in the Campaign Email and SMS mobile text messaging can also be integrated into the multi-touch marketing campaign. For example, a consumer receives a traditional postal direct mail piece that includes a QR Code.

She scans the QR Code with her smartphone and is immediately linked to a microsite optimized for mobile that offers information she is specifically interested in. Once on this microsite, she may find anything from an invitation to sign up for a monthly e-newsletter to an embedded video to downloadable coupons. Then, shortly after she visits the microsite, she receives an email or SMS text response thanking her for visiting the site. Based on information she chose to share while at the microsite, she may receive an additional direct mail piece, text or social media notification as a follow up to the product or service she expressed interest in.

Intelligent Mail Tracking QR Codes can help us track useful information for our campaigns.

We can analyze which QR Codes are being scanned the most to determine what offers are working the best and in which geographical area they are being scanned. This information could help develop the next campaign. Additionally, utilizing intelligent mail tracking available through the United States Postal Service’s CONFIRM enables marketers to electronically determine the progress of their mailing through the postal system. Delivery alerts then make it possible for a marketer to notify customers via email or a mobile text message to expect a personalized package in the mail, sparking curiosity.

Combining direct mail and QR Codes can also save time and money. Rather than having to pay for business reply mail and waiting for the post office to return the information, customers can be directed to respond online in real-time, through social media outlets or traditional mail, depending on the preference of the customer. By giving customers choices to efficiently communicate and participate in a campaign, the more likely they are to say ‘yes’ to an offer.

A point of caution: While the use of QR Codes is on the rise in many places, there still may be a level of unfamiliarity within your target audience. When including a QR Code as a call-to-action on a direct mail piece, provide brief, easy-to-understand directions of how to use it. Consider adding a website URL where a user could download a QR Code-reader for their phone. And be sure to give consumers a good reason to scan the code. The printed direct mail piece will certainly carry information, but the code can enhance that by taking people to a video where they can watch case studies or see a demonstration.

Combining the power of direct mail and online digital content, QR Codes are helping to make integrated marketing more effective than ever. QR Codes are, for good reason, one of the hottest applications in marketing today. Easy to track and offering an immediate response mechanism that catches your customer at the very moment of interest, QR Codes are creating a whole new generation of direct mail.

David Henkel is president of Johnson and Quin, a national leader in integrated direct marketing solutions located in Niles, Illinois. He can be reached at dhenkel@J-QUIN.com. or www.j-quin.com

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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Changing the Face of Mail Breakthroughs in inline envelope printing are producing eye-catching results

By John Kline If you’ve ever watched someone sort their mail, you know that an outer envelope can mean the difference between a new lead, an engaged customer and a successful contact… or a quick trip to the discard pile.

Techniques to improve open rates, such as color, personalization, closed-faced envelopes and one-to-one offers are known to work but have traditionally involved too much money, too much time and too

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many capital expenditures for a profitable return. That’s why the latest innovations in envelope finishing are so timely in today’s market.

Innovative mailers and service bureaus can now print high-quality, variable, full-color text and images directly on envelopes — inline as part of their mail insertion workflow — all at production speeds.

The economics of this new technology play out in three important ways: lower cost, improved response and greater flexibility.

Eliminating Preprinted Envelopes One of the biggest shifts in the industry today is the move to a “white paper” production environment — where all variable data, logos, graphics and images are printed at the same time using digital print technology versus the traditional process of printing variable data on pre-printed forms. When it comes to envelopes, you can start with straight-from-the-carton plain envelopes and add the logo, postage imprint, image, teaser message and address all in a single pass during the high-speed mail finishing process.

From a cost perspective, this eliminates the cost of preprints, storage and inventory management. On-the-fly printing also reduces the waste associated with overs, a common occurrence when orders for outer envelopes come in before mail quantities are finalized.

Because graphics and messages are all data-driven, production managers can also combine multiple mailings in a single job run — picking up economies of scale and minimizing job changeover costs. As an added advantage, mailers who presort can also achieve higher densities of three- and five-digit sorts, reducing overall postage.

Increasing Mail Piece Effectiveness Not surprisingly, studies show that consumers are 70% more likely to open a mailpiece with color text and graphics on the front before opening pieces with no headline or graphic — and results improve even more when these messages are personalized.

The ability to print dynamic, relevant envelopes in a cost-effective manner is already providing some mailers with a significant advantage… a critical edge when companies are looking to generate more value out of each and every communication they send.

Many mailers are targeting one-to-one messages based on demographics, geography or past purchases. Some may even choose to sell space on the outside of envelopes to third-party advertisers — a premium ad buy, as the outside of envelopes are read by each and every recipient.

In certain industries, we also see mailers switching to closed-faced envelopes, printing crisp addresses and barcodes directly on the envelope. In addition to the perception of added privacy, this change frees up space on the document and avoids postal issues that arise when addresses do not align with envelope windows.

Gaining Speed and Flexibility Companies are used to making last-minute text changes to personalized letters, but envelopes are usually approved weeks — if not months — in advance of a mail date. One of the most valuable advantages of inline envelope printing comes from the ability to make changes right up until the mail is prepped. In terms of practical applications, this flexibility makes it easy to respond to competition, leverage insights from earlier mail drops, deliver event-based marketing or communicate last-minute service alerts with speed and efficiency.

Many such firms are already calling inline envelope finishing a “game changer” for one simple reason: These capabilities make it easier to make money. While a relatively new innovation, best practices are already emerging relative to these technologies. In

particular, mailers and service bureaus have honed in on five factors that are critical to success:

 Ease of integration. Inline envelope printers should be config-









ured to work with your existing systems and data streams, so you can add new capabilities while minimizing capital expenses.

Ease of implementation. Users should have built-in tools that make it easy to author content and create dynamic messages. Likewise, mailers should be able to control and manage jobs intuitively, with tools to match colors, analyze ink coverage and optimize overall resolution and costs.

Print quality. With quick-drying inks and image optimization tools, inline print quality should measure up to the quality expected.

Time to market. Lower capital expenses can help streamline budget approval, while systems set up for more “plug-andplay” installation can help minimize the need for in-house IT resources.

Added-value features. Hot swappable ink cartridges, for example, can help minimize downtime and keep your systems running. Other features, such as integrated print controllers, ensure that the same data being used for addressing and personalizing letters will work for your envelopes as well.

Business heads no longer need to be convinced about the power of color personalization. Today, the market realizes that better use of relevant, variable messaging can increase revenue, order size and response.

Once you have the capabilities for variable color envelope printing, database and marketing analytics can help you or your clients segment customers and pinpoint high-potential opportunities. You can achieve meaningful results by applying basic segmentation strategies and, as you gain experience, create rules-based macros that generate more advanced segments automatically.

To create a simple segmentation strategy, identify one factor that may lead to a difference in customers’ needs. For example, in auto leasing, that may be time left on lease: you can create distinct messages for those who are new, at mid-term or near the end of their lease. For a home equity loan, a person’s available credit line may tell you whether you need to encourage activation and usage or add an additional credit line. A wide range of variables exist which can be used to target customers, including income, gender, geography, extent of relationship, participation in a loyalty program and more.

For more advanced segmentation, you can model likely buyers, calculate lifetime value of customers or overlay multiple criteria to create true 1:1 marketing programs. Geo-demographic data and cluster analysis, for example, can help a car manufacturer know whether to pitch an SUV or an ecologically-friendly Hybrid. The secret is to start small, build a track record of success and expand your efforts over time — adopting the test-measure-refine behavior of a direct marketer.

John Kline is Vice President, Global Inserter Solutions, Document Messaging Technologies, Pitney Bowes Inc. Visit www.pb.com for more information.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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By Richard Rosen

Mail Quality Control in a Multichannel World

Done properly, a multichannel delivery system is a win-win.

In today’s multichannel communications world, successful companies communicate with their customers by paper and electronic delivery channels. A recent study conducted by InfoTrends (The Future of Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment in North America) showed that while 65% preferred to receive their bills and statements by paper, a large number (46%) also prefer email.

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Building a quality mail delivery engine is all about delivering mail by the most cost-effective method while meeting the delivery preferences of customers. Businesses love email because of the low cost, and more and more customers hate paper. That sounds like a match made in heaven.

The migration from paper to electronic delivery is well underway.

Companies offering multichannel mail delivery options have been able to sign up, on average, 10% of their customers to view their mail on the business’s web portal and suppress paper. Opportunities to enable the dramatic growth of web and email messaging will take place as PUSH email delivery replaces more and more paper. By working in harmony with a business’ website, PUSH eDocument and eBilling solutions will move paper suppression rates into the 40-50% range.

When it comes to quality, every company and industry has its own benchmarks and standards. For those of us in the communications and messaging business, it means getting the right documents, correctly printed and assembled, to the right person in a useable format, on time.

In the past, the attention was on whether you printed all of the pages in the batch, got them (all) into the right envelope, prepared the mail properly for the USPS and delivered it to Jane Doe on time. Today, the focus has expanded to include: Did the server receive and build the batch correctly? Were the emails delivered or were they stuck in a spam filter? Were they blocked by a firewall?

Could Jane open the email?

The basic result may be the same: delivering mail to the customer.

But now, electronic delivery ensures that not only will the mail be delivered more quickly, at lower cost, but Jane will be more receptive to opening the mail, paying her bill and reading/responding to the marketing inserts. One mailer reported a 23.2% increase in their portal usage from customers who previously received paper bills but now receive their bills through the Striata email delivery system.

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby Technology for paper-based mail has come a long way. Sophisticated vision and matching systems can confirm that all mail pages were correctly inserted into the envelope; software will prepare the batches, manage the print process and prepare all of the correct tags, labels and reports; and the IMB can confirm when the letter was sorted in each city as it travels to its destination. Great tools exist to slice and dice the data and create management reports to maximize deliverability and response.

Done properly, a multichannel delivery system is a win-win.

From quality and success standpoints, you need to focus on the following: Manage and maintain customer mail preferences – paper, email, web, fax, sms.  Customers are most likely to open and read documents delivered in their preferred way.  Multiple channels can be utilized to leverage one another.  Paperless adoption will increase if enrollment is simple and easy.

Maintain accurate addresses.  People move and change email addresses.  Monitor bounced emails.  Allow simple self service tools for customers to update their email addresses.

Protect customer privacy and security.  Avoid opportunities for phishing scams by not forcing customers to visit your websitel to retrieve their mail. Include

personal (nonconfidential) information in any email correspondence to add authenticity to the email.  Always encrypt private and confidential electronic documents.

Maintain the integrity of the message content.  Always maintain secure sessions to send and retrieve data with adequate feedback loops. Utilize the data and reports to monitor and confirm processes and delivery.  Digitally sign all email attachments.

Improve processes- with electronic creation and delivery comes the ability to:  Easily monitor results against benchmarks.  Make corrections in minutes or days, not weeks. If one document design works better than another it’s a matter of minutes to make the change, and guess what, no scrap.  Get immediate customer feedback.  Get paid faster and generate new business.

Meet or exceed SLAs.  Absolutely mandatory from a compliance and business perspective, this has major impacts on cash flow, customer satisfaction and call center activity.  Electronic delivery will cut 2+ days from delivery and improve cash flow by 30%.

Get through the electronic firewalls and spam filters (nearly 20% of standard emails are not delivered).  Proper document and message design combined with working with the ISPs to be whitelisted can minimize these potential roadblocks to successful email delivery.

Comply with Can Spam rules and regulations.  Make it convenient to opt out from continuing to receive electronic messages as a normal part of your messaging system.

Engage customers in two way communication –“Pay Now” buttons replace BREs and targeted links to web landing pages replace paper inserts.  An effective mail piece will motivate the proper call to action.  Collect money.  Generate new sales and cross marketing.  Request information.  Draw qualified traffic to your website.

It is a competitive world and offering multichannel delivery options will give you an edge over competition. While electronic delivery has its own set of challenges, the advantages over paper are enormous and measureable. It’s easy to calculate hard dollar saving (60-90%) and the value of better cash flow (+30%). Businesses embracing a multichannel mail delivery strategy will find themselves in an enviable position of: Lower Overhead + Improved Operating Efficiency + Highly Effective (low cost) Marketing + Higher Customer Loyalty and Retention = Higher Profit and Increased Revenue.

Now that is a winning formula.

Richard Rosen, CEO, The RHRosen Group, can be contacted at RichR@RHRosenGroup.com.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

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Providing Gold-Star Customer Service The key to exceeding your customers’ expectations

By Christopher Rausch Customers can be finicky, can’t they? What with all their “I want this and I want that” stuff it’s enough to drive you crazy, isn’t it?

Early in my career, I learned an incredibly valuable lesson that still serves me to this day. Are you ready? Here it is: The customer may not always be right, but they’re always the customer!

That simple statement transformed yours truly from an “Oh, it’s MY problem because YOU’RE upset” kind of guy to a “Wow! I’m so terribly sorry we didn’t perform as expected! Please allow me to make it right for you” one. In short, for your long-term success, it’s imperative your customers are extremely satisfied with your product AND more importantly, your services!

So, let’s examine the players in our customer service world, shall we? There’s you, your team and your customers.

YOU: In my experience, I’ve seen two incredibly important qualities in people who provide exceptional customer service.

They have a genuinely caring attitude, and their leadership (actions) set the example for providing exceptional customer service.

Attitude Once upon a time, I didn’t exactly jump for joy when a customer wasn’t thrilled with our service. As a matter of fact, to be quite honest, I thought customers were more of a pain in the (insert favorite word here) than a pleasure. As a result, I had a stinky attitude and my poor team was inhaling the vapors!

However, when I put two and two together and realized that without them there’s no me, I made it my mission to dig really deep and completely understand my customers and what their needs were.

As you know, there’s only so much one person can do, but with a dedicated army you can conquer the world! Well, maybe not the world, but at least provide some awesome customer service, right?

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Leadership I knew I had to kick my leadership skills up a notch for this one.

So, I rallied my troops and got them to support the idea of sending out an anonymous survey to our customers ranking us on our performance. Now, if you’ve never done this exercise before, please prepare yourself to hear the bad (I call it “constructive”) stuff unless you’re already in tune with your customers and their opinions of you. Otherwise, be prepared to feel like Roseanne Barr trying out for American Idol and dear Simon is the only judge!

YOUR TEAM: Customer Service Survey & Buy-In No matter what business you’re in, it’s imperative to have an awesome support team to handle the business when you’re not around. A critical component to success with teams is having their buy-in from the start. Find their motivation for providing exceptional customer service and you’ll have the world in the palm of your hands. So how do you do that? Well, it’s about creating a customer service culture.

After you’ve received the survey of your services, gather the team around for a “green light” brainstorming session. If you’re not familiar, these are “everything goes” as far as creative ideas are concerned. VERY IMPORTANT: no one is to critique during this session! After you’ve got a good list going, give everyone a copy and have them pick their favorites. A few days later, gather again as a team and determine which actions you can begin taking immediately. Ask for volunteers to drive the initiatives they like best.

Then, as they make progress, be sure to recognize with a heartfelt “Thank you” or maybe even a $5 Starbucks card. Finally, after you feel you and your team have made significant strides, survey again and celebrate your successes!

YOUR CUSTOMERS: Now, if you’re anything like me, don’t you just hate it when you’re on the bad end of a customer service deal and the person never even apologizes for your inconvenience? Gets my blood boiling, I tell you!

The Apology

Body Language

Ever heard of a guy named Randy Pausch? He’s successful for giving the Last Lecture and in that he identifies three parts of an apology. They are incredible for damage control. He says:

Lastly, have you ever been able to tell a person’s mood just by the way they looked? Body language alone accounts for about 85% of all the communication that takes place. So, if you’re saying “Yes, I understand we made a mistake” but your body language says “You’re really getting under my skin right now” you’ve got a communication disconnect. And guess who loses? Remember what I said about being genuine? I strongly suggest you read more about this and teach your staff as well. You’ll be happy you did!

“I’m sorry.”

“It was my fault.”

“How can I make things right?”

The trouble is most of us never think of #3, do we? I have to share with you that when I started asking “How can I make things right?” my customer service ratings started to soar! And better yet, it kept me on the good side with the wife as well.

Ultimately, providing exceptional customer service breaks down to this: Know what you’re customers expect Get your team rallied to consistently deliver it AND MORE! Actively engage them with outstanding communication

Here’s the deal: We have to partner with our customers rather than just serve them. When you partner with someone, you’re showing them you are invested in their success.

Communication It should go without saying, but the most important part of any customer service opportunity is the communication itself. Whether it’s in person, over the phone, or especially over email, you should be really investing everything you have into the process.

Here’s what I mean: • Talking versus speaking (are you choosing your words wisely?)

• Listening versus hearing (are you really listening or just partially?)

• Body language (are your face and body supporting what you’re saying or doing the contrary?)

These are what I like to call the Golden Nuggets for Communicating Effectively. Now, let’s talk a little bit about each one.

And, since you’ve stuck with this article until the end, here are additional suggestions you can begin using immediately:  Join a local Toastmasters group (to improve your communica-

tion skills)  Publish your pledge commitments to your customers  Create a disaster recovery manual (show them you have a

plan to take care of them)  Be the absolute expert in your field!  Have your team build a mission statement and post to your

customers  Go out and visit regularly with your customers to see how

Talking Since we live in such an incredibly fast-paced world, chances are we’re not really thinking about our word choices as much as we should be. It only takes a few words to alter the course of events from positive to negative. So, rather than just babbling for the sake of getting something out, take time to carefully consider your word choices. For example: • “You’re wrong” versus “I see your point, and may I offer an alternative?”

• “Why are you so mad?” versus “I completely understand and would feel the same if I were in your shoes.”

Do you see where I’m going with this? I can’t begin to tell you the dramatic effect this alone has done to my customer service culture!

Listening If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Did you just hear a word I said?” then you know all too well about the power of the brain. You see, we can think way faster than anyone can talk. So, that sets us up to miss what people are saying if we’re not actively listening. When your customers are talking to you, it’s imperative you listen with everything you have. Then, and most importantly, paraphrase back to them what you understood. Again, invaluable tool to exceeding your customers expectations! Why? Because when you actually listen it shows genuine care for their situation. Secondly, because you state back to them what you heard, you have the opportunity to correct any misinformation that might have taken place.

they’re doing  Modify staff titles to show they are experts (“Specialist, “Senior”)  Google “Top 10 customer service tips” and read all you can  Create a suggestion box (just make sure it’s bigger than a

pack of gum!)

Be proactive to your customers (news, reports, services etc.)

Be prompt, consistent, innovative Have an open house and invite them in Create customer service awards for your staff Recognize a particular customer and highlight in your company newsletter  Create a fun environment for your staff to work in (music, pictures, theme days)     

And lastly, always, and I mean always, thank your customers for their business! Without it, who needs you?

In addition to founding Master Motivators (professional speaking, business consulting, and life coaching), Christopher has enjoyed 18 years working for PADI as the Director of Materials managing Mail, Print, and Distribution Services. He holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management.

Master Motivators offers straightforward business consulting and speaking services in the areas of personal development, team building and relationship strengthening. To read more about Christopher via his blog and Twitter pages, please visit his website at www.master-motivators.com or email directly at Christopher@master-motivators.com.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

23

Reality Check

With Wanda Senne

Now What?

R

etired, downsized, need something to do? You ask yourself, “Now what?” I know that at least 2,000 USPS former employees that took advantage of a recent early retirement offer may just be working through that question. For the people who are missing their knowledge and contributions (I’m one of them) the”now what” question is approached in a totally different light. How do we fill the gap and continue to get the work done? The people “left behind” suffer what is called “survivor syndrome” or the emotional effects of the downsizing, according to Jean M. Phillips and Stanley M. Gully in Staffing Strategies.

Some of these effects include fear, anger, frustration, anxiety and mistrust. Often survivors from the same company feel guilty that they are still working and wonder when they will be downsized. All of this can lead to either a reduction in productivity and commitment to the company as well as behavior that will be less flexible, OR employees will work harder because of feeling guilty.

People will use either a proactive or reactive approach in challenging situations, according to Stephen Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Successful People. Which category do you fall into?

Typical Proactive Behaviors • Focus on problem solving and personal growth • Take responsibility for own behavior and for personal or team assignments and productivity • Seek synergistic solutions through productive activities • Employ personal motivation skills based on positive expectations • Encourage and assist others • Network and strive to develop mutually beneficial relationships, share information and perspectives and get and give support

Typical Reactive Behaviors • Focus on problems/difficulties of the situation and have a generally negative attitude • Blame others or circumstances for the difficulty or shift responsibility for solution to others • Procrastinate in the face of a difficult task or problem relationship • Don’t seek resources for problem solving (networking, researching for useful information) • Don’t strive to motivate self or others or excel • Diminish energy of others For those of you proactive retired folks asking “now what” and are looking to find a new career, here are a few suggestions. Take a look at O*NET resource center at www.onetcenter.org and answer 60 quick questions that will give you some insight into what you enjoy. I did and found out that I scored highest in social (28), followed by artistic (16) and conventional (15). From that 24

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score I found out that I like working with others to help them learn and grow. That would indicate teaching, giving advice (I’d never do that – just ask my husband), helping and being of service to others. I like creativity and work that can be done without following a set of rules – what DMM?! No worries, USPS acceptance folks — conventional points out that I like working with clear rules and following a strong leader. No wonder I’m confused – like rules, don’t like rules!

The next step is to get the resume ready and be sure to do your best to get noticed! Good resources include eResumes.com, Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) and Quintessential Careers. Use keywords in your resume that match the job requirements you’re applying for. Many companies now use software systems that search for key characteristics. And please, don’t use a goofy email address like hotchick@youwhowhatever.net unless you’re applying at a club! Some of the best job search sites are: CareerBuilder.com, CareerOneStop, Indeed.com, and for a temporary or flexible job try SnagaJob.com (really).

And don’t be afraid of networking! After all, 65% of jobs are identified that way.

And for those of you who answered the “now what” with the top ten ranked retirement activities – have a blast! Here they are from retirement-cafe.com along with estimated annual cost: Travel

$7,700

Family/Friends

$3,900

Hobbies

$2,200

Garden work

$1,500

Going Fishing

$2,700

Golf

$3,500

Volunteer Work

$2,000

Reading

$ 900

Exercise

$1,500

Home Renovations

$7,000

To many, many USPS folks – Enjoy your “now what” – you earned it! a Wanda Senne is the National Director of Postal Development for World Marketing. Contact her at wsenne@worldmarkinc.com or 770-431-2591.

Pushing the Envelope

With Kate Muth

Paving the Way for the Future

IN

a lighter moment at last year’s Innovation Symposium that was part of the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee meeting, a few attendees joked that the Postal Service needed to develop a transporter, the fictional teleportation machine of Star Trek fame. This would be the ideal delivery system — very low labor costs and extremely precise and punctual delivery. While the idea was clearly a joke, the larger point of the discussion was not lost on those in attendance: We will still need some sort of physical mail delivery system for a number of years. Even as electronic and digital communications grow, people continue to order goods for physical delivery to their homes or businesses. Minus a transporter, they won’t simply appear at the door. Someone has to deliver them.

But what that future postal system should look like is part of the debate now roiling through the mailing community. With less mail volume and fewer customer visits to post offices, it seems clear that it will have to be a leaner version of what we have today. Postmaster General Pat Donahoe acknowledges as much, stating one of his strategic goals is to “become a leaner, faster, smarter organization.” Yet, even a smaller Postal Service is a huge organization.

With $67 billion in revenue, it is the largest civilian organization in the federal government, and if it were a private sector company would be ranked 29th on the Fortune 500 list. A $10 billion or $15 billion drop in revenue, which is enormous, still leaves the Postal Service as a $50 billion entity — bigger than Google, Starbucks and many other ubiquitous companies.

allow for less frequent delivery, or lower service standards, or for a variation in prices rather than a uniform First-Class stamp? Should the Postal Service’s primary role be as a supplemental provider for those who can’t or won’t make the leap to digital communications? Should the mission include an explicit reference to a digital role for the Postal Service? Or should Congress start making plans to slowly wind down this national infrastructure?

These are difficult policy decisions that no matter how they are decided would make some portion of stakeholders unhappy. But talking about a future postal system without talking about the Postal Service’s mission in a rapidly changing communications environment makes no sense. Let’s be proud of how well the Postal Service has met its mission for 235 years, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking it can last another two centuries. We have a better chance of seeing that transporter invented. a Kate Muth is President of Muth Communications, a writing, editing and consulting firm. Contact her at katemuth@comcast.net.

But our focus shouldn’t only be on size. It should also be on mission. That is, we should think about the Postal Service’s mission, which undoubtedly needs an update in this era of digital communications. Let’s build the new business model with the mission in mind. Then, we can figure out how to tailor the organization to meet the mission. Yes, I’m sure it will mean a smaller version of what we have today, but at least we’d be rightsizing with this key piece of the strategic goal in hand.

It might surprise people to know that for nearly 235 years, the Postal Service’s mission has remained essentially unchanged. Despite the dramatic changes in communications, the primary mission continues to be to “bind the nation together” through “reliable, affordable, universal mail service delivery.” As the 2003 Presidential Commission on the United States Postal Service said, “The national post office has bound the country together and advanced commerce by enabling the exchange of goods, ideas and information.” This universal service obligation is enshrined in statute and the Postal Service is responsible for meeting the obligation in good economic times and bad.

With so many other ways to communicate and less reliance on hard copy, does the mission still make sense? Does mail really still bind the nation together? Should universal service be redefined to www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com a AUGUST 2011

25

TOP COMPANIES 2011

“From challenges come opportunities.” That

BELL AND HOWELL,

provider of BCC solutions

truism perfectly describes modern mailing, in which technological, economic and regulatory pressures constantly drive all of us to find innovative ways to maintain and grow our businesses. These are exciting times. Our industry has a chance to truly expand its scope by using technology to focus on address and data quality as the new foundation of mailings. We can use Intelligent Mail to open new

Bell and Howell, provider of BCC solutions, is a leading provider of solutions and services for paper-based and digital messaging solutions. The company’s complete portfolio includes products that reduce production and postage costs, increase operational efficiency, message impact and relevancy, and ensure integrity and quality of every item produced. Supporting these solutions is one of the largest dedicated service organizations in the industry.

Bell and Howell Solutions Database/Postal Software The BCC Mail Manager family of USPS-certified software delivers premiere functionality and scalability to professional printers, mailers and direct marketers of all sizes and specialties.

BCC Mail Manager Full Service, Bell and Howell’s top-tier product, is built for high-volume operations and offers benefits including faster address-matching processing speeds than industry-standard match rates, co-mail and co-palletization capabilities, enhanced merge/ purge functionality, advanced Mail.dat updating and Full Service Intelligent Mail support.

doors of communication and understanding between mailers and recipients. We can pursue postal models based on quality instead of quantity, and make every mailpiece count. With complete, correct and current addresses — and with their delivery streams enhanced by visibility, predictability and postal accountability — mailers can enjoy increased customer loyalty and new incremental revenues. Bell and Howell believes in that vision, and we’re proud to be a postal partner upon whom our customers can rely to transform challenges into opportunities.

CHRIS LIEN

Barcode Quality The Mail Verifier Plus (MVP) is a commercial version of a product developed for the USPS

by Bell and Howell. This desktop sampling tool measures mailpiece reflectance and predicts POSTNET, PLANET and Intelligent Mail barcode acceptance according to DMM specifications, in advance of make-or-break MERLIN testing. The MVP also provides a breakdown of separate Intelligent Mail barcode components — Barcode ID, Special Services, Mailer ID, Serial Number and ZIP Code — to help users verify that the correct services have been activated as part of their mailing.

Address Quality Data Services deliver Move Update technology that helps mailers meet USPS First-Class and Standard Mail address-correction requirements. With access to NCOALink FSP and LSP (with ANKLink), DPV, SuiteLink and LACSLink, users can ensure their list data are complete, correct and current; and that their mailings will receive appropriate discounts. Value-added services like Suppression (for optimal list targeting) and Address Resolution Service (which improves upon DPV results) enhance address quality even further.

Mailpiece Tracking Track N Trace, accessible from within Bell and Howell’s BCC Mail Manager and BCC Mail Manager Full Service software packages, uses USPS OneCode Confirm technology and the Intelligent Mail barcode to provide essential delivery monitoring data that helps mailers control delivery effectiveness. Unique identification of individual mailpieces ensures granular precision, and flexible delivery reporting helps users make the most of the service.

BELL AND HOWELL 75 Josons Drive Rochester, NY 14623 Phone: (800) 453-3130 Web: www.bccsoftware.com Email: info@bccsoftware.com

26

AUGUST 2011

Bell and Howell, LLC is a leading provider of hardware, software and service solutions for paper-based and digital messaging. The company’s portfolio includes products that reduce production and postage costs; increase operational efficiency, message impact and relevancy; and ensure integrity and quality.

Supporting these offerings is one of the largest dedicated service organizations in the industry. The company maintains facilities in Durham, N.C., Wheeling, Ill., Bethlehem, Pa., Rochester, N.Y., and Waterloo, ON.

TOP companies 2011

Bell and Howell

Our Solutions Inserting & Finishing Bell and Howell offers a complete line of inserting and inveloping solutions for all market segments.

The modular design of our systems provides the flexibility to fit the needs of any application, add functionality when needed and optimize return on investment. Bell and Howell solutions range from simple to sophisticated to provide customers with the degree of automation and intelligence they require.

Sorting Solutions and Postal Software Our sorting and postal solutions enable mailers to maximize postage discounts while achieving the highest degree of efficiency throughout the mailing process.

Bell and Howell letter and flats sorting platforms are used by presorters, and private and government posts throughout the U.S. and Europe, and process more than 100 million mailpieces every day.

Our latest innovation, Digital Co-mingle, allows customers to enhance operations to achieve a greater overall savings per mailpiece. Our solution analyzes data to determine which mailings would benefit from co-mingling. This allows for the highest possible discounts and gives customers the tools to plan production, planning and processing of available capacity.

Production Software The Bell and Howell ADF software suite enables production mail companies to lower costs, increase the traceability and relevance of print and electronic customer communications, improve productivity, and monitor and analyze the quality and integrity of production operations.

Vision Technologies JETVision is the leading integrity and quality control solution, and designed to lower costs, improve productivity, collect and analyze data from virtually any system or production process.

JETVision is available in several different hardware configurations, with a wide range of software offerings. The hardware configurations are designed for easy integration with a production system, process or work area, and the software offerings are packaged to address unique quality, integrity and productivity requirements.

Our Services Our Services group sets itself apart from the competition with unmatched knowledge, reach, reliability and infrastructure. We accelerate ROI by integrating leading-edge technologies, robust performance analytics and proven methodologies.

We believe a highly integrated, strategic service partnership with continuous operational improvement is the best foundation for achieving business success. By becoming an extension of your business dedicated to delivering the highest levels of performance and value, we enable you to focus your resources on what matters most—moving your business forward.

Bell and Howell 3791 S. Alston Avenue Durham, NC 27713 Web: www.bellhowell.net Phone: 800-220-3030 Email: marketing@bhemail.com JULY - AUGUST 2011

27

TOPCOMPANIES companies2010 2011 TOP

Collins Ink COLLINS INK Collins InkinCorporation one thing: We make inkjetand inks.

Our inkjet goal isinks. to beCollins the kind with which we Versamark, would like Collins Ink is its 19th yeardoes of formulating, manufacturing selling Inkof is company cooperating with Kodak to partner.

Having this philosophy does two things: it inspires a certain amount of customer loyalty and it makes it easier for Inc., by having Kodak as the exclusive distributor of all of the inks that Collins manufactures for use in Kodak Versamark continuous usprinters. to comeIntoaddition, work every day.manufactures more than 80% of the KV brand inks. These inks are used in bindery line, lottery inkjet Collins ticket and transactional printing applications, where speed and performance are paramount. Collins operates out of an 83,000 As we toward the future, we development will continue to push the envelope and new inks for your unique applications. Colsquare foot,look state-of-the-art, technical and manufacturing site in develop Cincinnati, Ohio. lins is made up of a group of dedicated people who work with customers in an honest and straightforward way. Our goal is to make yourHP experience with Collinsfor a positive one, whether or Ink not is you decide to use inks. being furnished new 45A carAn authorized distribution partner over three years, Collins one of a few ink our companies tridges, into which Collins’ brand inks are filled. In addition to supplying a variety of black inks to suit most application parameters, Collins quality innovative inkjet formail Thermal, CIJ Collins (single Ink jet & array), Piezo and Micropiezo technologies, at Collins has produces developedhigh many specialty inks for theinks direct market. provides spot color matching capability in both a fair price.

We are the leader in providing standard and custom formulations of water-based, solvent-based, oil-based, and Kodak Versamark and HP type inks. New bulk systems (Bulk Supply Stations) are available for providing HP inks for large users at UVcosts. curable inks to fulfill customers’ needs. Twenty-one years of inkjet experience and a hands-on approach to the market has lower enabled Collins to pioneer the industrial inkjet market. Our reputation for strong technical leadership and experienced R&D allows to established collaborate with industry leaders such as Kodak, HP , Lexmark, and more. inks to printers utilizing Xaar Collins has us also signifimany cant business supplying water-based, oil-based andXaar solvent-based and Spectra drop on demand printheads. In addition, solvent-based inkjet inks are supplied to customers utilizing Domino and Videojet CIJ technology.

In April 2009, Collins acquired Hexion Specialty Chemical’s UV Curable Inkjet and Optical disc coating business. Collins plans to become the leader in UV inkjet technology and will improve, expand and aggressively promote the platforms in the graphic arts and industrial market.

Collins has combined its research and development skills with very efficient manufacturing. This has allowed Collins to gain market penetration through providing high-quality inks with value pricing and outstanding service.

COLLINS Collins INK ink CORP. corp.

1201 Edison Dr. Cincinnati OH 45216 Phone: 513-948-9000 Web: www.collinsink.com Email: info@collinsink.com 28

DYMO is fast-becoming the worldwide leader in providing innovative solutions that help people accomplish their tasks more easily and look good doing it.

We believe that for many of the things people do every day, “There’s got to be a better way,” and DYMO products offer that better way.

DYMO offers a complete range of products for the office, the warehouse, the worksite, the home and even the classroom. From simple embossers, manual label makers and desktop products to industrial portables, computer-connected products, and cutting-edge software and online service, DYMO is here to simplify your tasks while helping you look more professional.

TOP companies 2011

DYMO

From our initial beginnings in 1958 as an embossing company based in California, DYMO has grown to be a company with global reach. We were acquired by Newell Rubbermaid, a Fortune 100 company, in 2005, and have since broadened our product lines to include contact management software and business card scanning solutions, mailing and shipping scales and online postage. In the coming years, we plan to continue this expansion into other areas where we see the possibility of making people’s jobs easier through innovative technology solutions. DYMO Brands now include Pelouze, CardScan and RHINO, and we have close partnerships with Endicia and Mimio, two other Newell Rubbermaid companies.

DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo Label faster. Mail smarter. Look sharp. The DYMO LabelWriter 450 Twin Turbo label printer holds two label rolls, so you can print labels and postage even faster. Label, mail, and file smarter with proprietary DYMO Productivity Software, featuring the new DYMO Label v.8, DYMO Stamps, DYMO File and Address Fixer. DYMO Label v.8 software enables you to create and print address, shipping, file, folder and barcode labels, plus name badges and more – all without the extra work and hassles of printing sheet labels on a standard desktop printer.

• Have two rolls of labels ready to print at all times – perfect for printing address labels and DYMO Stamps postage without swapping label rolls • Print USPS-approved DYMO Stamps postage directly from your desktop – no monthly fee, contracts or commients required* • Print fast – up to 71 labels per minute**, 40% faster than our base model • Uses thermal printing technology – no expensive ink or toner needed, ever • Create labels directly from text in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, QuickBooks and other programs, without retyping • Built-in address book easily prints labels from your Outlook Contacts or Mac Address Book – just search and filter your contacts to print exactly the labels you want • Verify US addresses and ZIP+4 codes with included Address Fixer software (Requires Internet connection) • Print one label or hundreds, without the waste and layout hassles of sheet labels • Print crystal-clear text, graphics and barcodes with improved 600 x 300 dpi graphics mode • Put it anywhere – compact size, new design and colors fit in any modern workspace

DYMO - A Newell Rubbermaid Company 3 Glenlake Parkway Atlanta, GA 30328 Phone: 800-640-6944 Web: www.dymo.com 29

TOP companies 2011

No More Meter!

• Weigh, permit, and barcode in one pass • Eliminate second pass sorting • Smallest footprint on the market and quickest ROI

Engineering Innovation Specialists in postage savings solutions for mailers of all sizes, Engineering Innovation Inc. (EII) offers solutions for all types of mail including letters, flats and parcels. EII is best known as the creator of the EZ-Flats manifesting system that simplifies presorting flats for Automation discounts. In the last three years, EII has rounded out its product offerings to include solutions for letters and parcels.

EII combines more than 30 years of mailroom experience with over 20 years of postal automation design experience to develop solutions that work for mailers of all sizes. EII’s mission is to develop practical products that work in the real-world and to provide service after the sale that is second to none.

EII solutions include The CHAMP tabletop manifesting system for generating postal savings on a variety of mail, EZ-Flats for getting maximum discounts on Flat mail, EZ-Letters optimizes letter processing in a small footprint, and the revolutionary EZ-Parcels automatically processes USPS parcels. In line with EII’s commitment to provide the mailing industry with costeffective solutions for maximizing postage savings, these systems open up new savings/revenue opportunities for presorting companies, corporate mailers, government offices and shippers.

EII’s mailing systems enable manifesting of Commercial First Class Flats, First Class Parcels, Priority Mail (including Commercial Plus and Cubic rates), Bound Printed Matter Parcels and Flats, and Standard Parcels and Flats, Media mail, Library mail, and Parcel Post.

EII equipment works in conjunction with EZ-Confirm.com to completely automate mail preparation and tracking for parcels that require tracking. All equipment includes options for Wide Area Barcode Reader, UMove Move Update processes, processing International Mail, and processing Inbound Mail.

Engineering Innovation Inc. 526 N. Earl Avenue Lafayette, IN 47904 Phone: 765-807-0699 Web: www.eii-online.com Email: sales@eii-online.com 30

John Harnett and has been located in Englewood, NJ for 34 years. John Harnett began his career at the age of 19 in northern New Jersey as a pressmans helper. His sons David and Andrew Harnett have been active in the business in various roles for many years. NJBF is now owned by the partnership of

TOP COMPANIES 2011

NJBF was founded in 1976 by

David and Andrew Harnett.

In February of 2002 InfoSeal LLC was founded by David and Andrew Harnett and production of self-mailer products was restarted in

INFOSEAL

the former Transkrit building

InfoSeal, LLC and its sister company New Jersey Business Forms (NJBF) are web offset printers manufacturing a variety of unique products. Core products that the companies offer include cut sheet pressure seal self mailers in stock and custom formats, jumbo roll pressure seal forms in up to 16 colors and form/label combinations in stock and custom layouts. Both plants run new Muller Martini UV web offset presses capable of printing in up to 16 colors with re-insertion.

InfoSeal is unique in its long experience with self-mailer documents and maintains numerous patents on self-mailer formats. The company offers a single source pressure seal solution of pressure seal forms, pressure seal machines and nationwide support and onsite service.

InfoSeal values working with knowledgable print resellers, mail shops and inplants that recognize the benefits of pressure seal self-mailers as compared to standard envelope inserted mail. They recognize self-mailer documents are not a commodity but a system solution requiring a top quality supplier and consistent post-sale support.

in Roanoke, VA using assets purchased from the liquidation of the former Dimac Corporation. With first-year sales of $3.4MM, the company now runs three shift five days with 2009 total sales of $14MM. Combined sales for NJBF and InfoSeal for 2009 were $29MM.

Recently, InfoSeal has expanded its line of Pressure Seal folder/sealers and now offers the widest variety of standalone and inline devices to handle any processing volume. For example, the InfoSeal PS225 is one of the most popular pressure seal folder sealers. Its combination of smart design and user-friendly features ensures success in any medium volume print and mail environment.

For higher volumes, InfoSeal’s PS600 (pictured) remains unchallenged. The PS600’s commercial duty construction ensures lasting reliability and uninterrupted productivity. It performs as a commercial duty paper folding machine, which further enhances its value to print and mail centers. The PS600 is a proven performer with dozens of machines installed in high-volume, mission-critical document centers nationwide.

InfoSeal LLC and NJBF are privately owned and actively managed by David and Andrew Harnett.

INFOSEAL LLC

NJBF

1825 Blue Hills Circle Roanoke, VA 24012 Web: www.infoseal.com

55 West Sheffield Avenue Englewood, NJ 07631 Web: www.njbf.com

DAVID HARNETT ANDREW HARNETT Owners

AUGUST 2011

31

TOP cOmPanies companies 2010 2011 TOP

Raymond Melissa, Melissa, aa computer computer Raymond industry veteran, veteran, isis founder founder and and industry CEO of of Melissa Melissa Data Data Corp.

Corp. Ray Ray CEO leads aa team team of of product product and and leads industry specialists specialists responsible responsible industry

Melissa Data Melissa Data specializes in affordable data quality solutions to help you achieve the greatest level of contact data accuracy for high-response/low-cost direct mail and fulfillment applications, database management, target marketing effectiveness and successful CRM.

for establishing establishing the the company’s company’s for corporate growth growth strategy strategy corporate and supervising supervising business business and and and new product product development. development. His His new objective for for the the company company isis objective to continually continually meet meet the the most most to challenging needs needs of of direct direct challenging mail, target target marketing marketing and and data data mail, management professionals professionals to to management help them them save save money, money, increase increase help response and and thrive thrive in in any any response economy. economy.

Established inin 1985 1985 inin South South Established Orange County, County, California, California, Ray Ray Orange inaugurated the the business business with with inaugurated database of of ZIP ZIP Codes Codes to to help help aa database mailers take take advantage advantage of of postal postal mailers benefits by by adding adding the the codes codes to to benefits their delivery delivery addresses. addresses. InIn 1993, 1993, their the premier premier of of the the MAILERS+4 MAILERS+4 the mailing software software program program mailing established the the company company as as aa established leader inin the the direct direct mail mail industry, industry, leader evolving over over the the next next 25 25 years years evolving into one one of of the the most most reputable, reputable, into progressive data data quality quality solution solution progressive providers for for total total data data quality quality providers excellence. Melissa Melissa Data Data excellence. remains one one of of only only aa few few remains privately-owned companies companies inin privately-owned the industry. industry. the

Raymond RaymOnd F. Melissa melissa Founder & CEO ceO

38 AUGUST AUGUST 2011 2010 32

Direct Mail Marketing Software MAILERS+4 CASS/PAVE certified postal automation software processes mailings for maximum postal discounts and direct mail savings. MAILERS+4 verifies, corrects, and standardizes addresses for ZIP + 4 encoding; presorts for First Class, Standard and Periodicals; prints POSTNET and IM barcodes; and eliminates duplicates. Built-in marketing and management tools update area codes; parse and genderize names; select groups or subsets of records; and can localize a mailing by record count or radius. Add-on components enable a residential/business delivery indicator (RBDI); geocoding to the ZIP + 4 level; and SERP certified Canadian address processing. MAILERS+4 provides a direct link to NCOALink and Canadian NCOA change-of-address services; online mailing lists; and multiple list hygiene, enhancement and suppression services.

Melissa Data

Incorporate the CASSinCertified Address Objectsolutions into custom andyou webachieve applications to valiMelissa Data specializes affordable data quality to help the greatest enrich data and standardize data at point of entry, in and batch, before you mail leveldate, of contact accuracy forcontact high-response/low-cost direct or mail fulfillment applicaortarget ship. Automate mail processing to qualifyCRM. mailings for discounted rates with the tions, marketing bulk effectiveness and successful PAVE certified Presort Object. Add the RBDI API to Address Object to determine parcel type and the GeoCoder API toCASS/PAVE add precisecertified demographic data to the 11-digit Maildelivery Preparation Software: MAILERS+4 postal automation softwaredelivproery mailings point of an cesses for address. maximum postal discounts and direct mail savings. MAILERS+4 verifies, corrects, and standardizes addresses for ZIP + 4 encoding; presorts for First Class, Standard and PeriMailing Emailand Lists odicals; printsand POSTNET IM barcodes; and eliminates duplicates. Add-on components enable a Get online counts, purchase and download your to lists minutes, a list specialist can residential/business delivery indicator (RBDI); geocoding theinZIP + 4 level;orand Canadian address help you select the leads for your targeted consumer, and email comprocessing.

MAILERS+4 provides a direct link to business, NCOALink and Canadiansaturation NCOA change-of-address munications.

Listslists; are guaranteed and low cost. services; online mailing and multiple for list deliverability hygiene, enhancement and suppression services.

DataQuality Hygiene, Enhancement andQuality Suppression Services Address Solutions: The Data Suite, available as APIs or Web service, includes No-hassle servicesenrich, help you up withcontact the movers your of listentry, with or USPS and Address Objectdata to validate, and keep standardize data atinpoint in batch, Canadian NCOA change-of address processing, eliminate duplicates undesirables, before you mail or ship.

Other APIs include PAVE-certified Presort Object and to automate bulk CASS process lists mailings to qualifyfor mailings for lowest postage rates. Object Enable to effective mulmail and processing and qualify discounted rates and GeoCoder add precise tichannel by to adding missing phonepoint numbers, delivery addresses and geographic andcommunications demographic data the 11-digitl delivery of an address. email addresses to your records, and target your market more effectively with business Link and consumer appends, including SIC and NAICS codes.

NCOA and Canadian NCOA Services: No-hassle data services help you keep up with movers in your list with 48-USPS and 72-month Canadian NCOA change-of-address processDatabasebatch, Management Solutions ing, including real-time*, fully automated, and custom processing options. We offer the Standalone softwareon programs and scalable, multiplatform APIs and web services enable lowest price guaranteed all our Move Update services. critical data management applications to validate, parse, field, standardize and dedupe contact dataSolutions: in real time, or batch. is customizable a powerful, customizable Deduplication MatchUp is aMatchUp powerful, merge-purgemerge-purge program to program that usesnot-so-obvious 16 built-in matchcodes plus additional custom codesasyou createsoftfor identify and eliminate duplicate records.

The tool is available desktop duplicates.

RightFielder organized database from jumbled, inconsiswaredetecting or as an API to be integrated intocreates customan applications. tent data from a variety of files and formats, including printed labels.

Mailing and Email Lists: Get online counts, purchase and download your lists in minutes, or We Are a listHow specialist canUnique help you select the leads for your targeted business, consumer, saturation, With five specialized divisions, Datafor is 100% able todeliverability offer a full complement of price. costand email communications.

Lists areMelissa guaranteed and the lowest efficient data management, hygiene and enrichment solutions to improve direct mail and shipping ROI: accuracy, heighten service,you’ll enhance response rates as and drive ROI. Guaranteed Our unique ROIcustomer Offer guarantees save as much money you spent on Melissa Data’s unique ROIService offer guarantees you’ll saveoras much as online you spent on our Data Quality Suite or Web in the first 120 days, get it all money back. Our mailing Link Suiteprovide or Webthe Service in quality the first days, or getguaranteed. it all back. Free lists our and Data NCOAQuality services highest at 120 the lowest price Free trials available for for most most products. products. Call 1-800-MELISSA (635-4772) or visit are available visit MelissaData.com.

melissa daTa Melissa Data 22382 Avenida Empresa 22382 Empresa CA RanchoAvenida Santa Margarita, Rancho 92688 Santa Margarita, CA 92688 Phone: 1-800-MELISSA Web: www.MelissaData.com * Melissa Data is a nonexclusive NCOALink Full Service Provider Licensee and receives weekly NCOALink updates from the USPS.

differentiate itself in the market given this industry’s parallel and uniform hardware and software parameters?

Two words: Customer Service.

It all comes down to how we will treat customers. I have no doubt that building partner relationships with customers is a significant, differentiating factor. It’s easy

top compANies 2011

“How can Neopost USA

to describe what customers want when they select our

Neopost UsA

Neopost brand or our Hasler

Neopost USA offers a complete line of Neopost-brand and Hasler-brand mailing, document handling, addressing, document output management and shipping/tracking products for offices and mail centers of all sizes. The Milford, CT-based company’s value-added mailing solutions deliver enhancements and improvements to every step of its customers’ mailflow processes.

living, knowledgeable sales,

brand. They want to talk to a

By leveraging unmatched industry experience, Neopost USA partners with its customers and helps them achieve the highest level of mailing operation efficiency. Neopost USA simplifies and streamlines its customers’ mailing processes so their businesses can run more effectively. Many Neopost USA customers report increased process efficiency, enhanced mailpiece security and integrity, and dramatically reduced mailing and shipping costs.

Neopost USA expects its employees to think like customers. With that basic principle in mind, its sales, service and administrative professionals know exactly how to provide new levels of support quickly and efficiently. Its employees demonstrate the industry-specific expertise that allows customers to embrace them as trusted partners. Its employees are authorized to resolve customers’ issues on the first contact with alacrity, concern and passion.

Neopost USA is the American operating company of Neopost S.A., the world’s fastest-growing provider of innovative mailing and shipping solutions and services. Neopost S.A. is the European leader and number-two worldwide supplier of mailing solutions. It has a direct presence in 15 countries and its products and services are sold in more than 90 countries.

service or customer service company representative who can deliver business solutions quickly or fix problems on the first call. Neopost USA is aligning itself with customers’ objectives, we’re becoming more adaptable and we’re moving faster to benefit our customers. That speed, made possible by our local-market distribution model, will be a critical success factor in the marketplace. Enhancing the customer-facing experience is an investment in ensuring supplier-of-choice status.”

During its 90-plus-year history, the Neopost group has pioneered creative yet practical mailing solutions, including the first electronic postage meter, the first folder/inserters with automated setting adjustments and its renowned digital ink jet mailing systems.

The Neopost group’s attention to progress continuously improves customers’ mailflow procedures. More than 300 of its employees worldwide are dedicated to research and development. Their innovations distinguish Neopost’s current catalogue and future generations of systems, software, infrastructures and mail management networks.

This combination of new product development, value-added services and a nationwide network of dealers and direct sales channels confirms that Neopost USA provides useful mailing solutions for every application. Equally important is Neopost USA’s level of customer service, unprecedented in the industry. Neopost USA’s innovative products, services, mail management strategies and best-practices provide the value and peace of mind its customers deserve.

Neopost UsA 478 Wheelers Farms Rd Milford, CT 06461 Phone: 203-301-3400 Web: www.neopost.com

DeNNis p.

LestrANge President and Chief exeCutive OffiCer AUGUST 2011

33

TOP COMPANIES 2011

Mike Fenton, vice president of sales and operations for Parascript, LLC, has more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing for technology companies in the mail and payment automation industries. Mr. Fenton oversees strategic development, sales and operations management.

Prior to joining Parascript, Mr. Fenton held management positions in sales, marketing and business development for Unisys, NCR Corporation and Recognition International (now BancTec). His MBA is from Syracuse University and he earned his BA in Banking and Finance from the University of Rangoon, Burma.

PARASCRIPT The Parascript image analysis suite extracts meaningful information from images. Parascript software processes over 100 billion checks, forms and mailpieces annually with the highest recognition rates and accuracy available in the market. It enables companies to save money by eliminating costly data entry with automated recognition that accurately, securely and quickly turns characters into useful data. Parascript recognition technology reads all text styles, whole words or phrases, and deciphers machine print and handwriting unreadable by other recognition engines. In addition to industry-leading machine print recognition, Parascript technology pioneered the automatic reading of the most difficult to read characters such as hand print and cursive handwriting widely found on checks, mail and application forms of all types.

Products and Services The Parascript image analysis and pattern recognition technology adds value to resellers and system integrators. The Parascript product suite includes: Forms Processing – FormXtra software processes a variety of form types including business reply cards, insurance claims, loan applications, tax, census and other government forms. FormXtra provides all of the modules required for a complete forms processing workflow, including automatic recognition, data entry software and administration tools that make managing recognition and keying jobs easy.

Address Finalization – Parascript is revolutionizing the way mail centers process and expedite incoming, outgoing and office mail. AddressScript cross-validates the data against the U.S. Postal Service database to ensure the highest accuracy and deliverability. AddressLocator finds addresses anywhere on a form, eliminating the need for costly forms modification.

Check Processing – CheckPlus gives financial institutions of all sizes the ability to capture more information on business and personal checks, cash tickets, deposit slips and money orders with the industry’s highest read rates and accuracy. With CheckPlus, banks can utilize the data for payment processing or other specific applications.

The Parascript fraud detection suite of products helps prevent fraud before it occurs. Parascript CheckStock instantly detects counterfeit or altered checks. SignatureXpert enables organizations to automatically detect counterfeit signatures on checks, absentee ballots, voter registrations, time sheets and other documents by electronically comparing images of questionable signatures against those on file. The results surpass visual verification, ensuring the industry’s highest accuracy rates in detecting forgeries.

MIKE FENTON Vice President

34

AUGUST 2011

PARASCRIPT, LLC 6273 Monarch Park Place Longmont, CO 80503 Phone: 303-381-3100 Web: www.parascript.com

TOP COMPANIES 2011

PITNEY BOWES BUSINESS INSIGHT Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes Inc., is a software and services company that enables organizations to acquire, serve and grow lifetime relationships with their customers. Our proven solutions enable organizations to engage with their customers as individuals and to connect every customer communication — outbound, inbound, marketing, sales or service — into an on-going dialogue where customer insight and understanding form the basis for every interaction. We offer: Enterprise Address Management for Closed Loop Address Quality, Postal Compliance and Savings: Close your address update loop with an automated process for perpetual customer data updates. Undeliverable addresses, change of address or incomplete addresses are flagged and sent to the owner of the customer data, to take action without missing an opportunity.

Intelligent Mail Barcode: Besides lower postal rates, Intelligent Mail benefits include address correction, virtual return mail, tracking and delivery confirmation. This new technology also allows you to embed data into the barcode that provides you specific information, unique to every single piece of mail sent.

Mail Efficiency: Maximize your postal discounts, improve mail delivery and create a more efficient mailroom operation.

Benefit from comprehensive, affordable solutions and industry-leading performance with the widest range of platforms and operating systems and supported by industry experts.

CASS Certified Software: Validate, correct and standardize customer address data. Fully certified by the USPS, our solutions provide a reliable, efficient and affordable way to realize reduced postage costs, accurate address lists, more efficient mailroom operations and improved mail delivery.

Move Verification for Mail and Postal Compliance: It is now more important than ever to ensure your organization maintains eligibility for postal discounts. Our move verification solutions help you manage address changes efficiently while reducing the overhead of return mail.

Presort Products for Mail and Postal Compliance: Maximize postal discounts, presort to the highest level of precision and prepare files for printing with our presort solutions.

SERP Approved Software: Since mailings meet Canada Post Corporation (CPC) standardization requirements, businesses can avoid surcharges for non-standardized pieces and obtain substantial cost savings from CPC discounts and incentives.

Track and Trace for Mail and Postal Compliance: Add intelligence into your mailstream with our powerful mail tracking and data management solutions. Create Intelligent Mail barcodes, capture mailing statistics and connect all this data to other areas of your business for a robust and integrated tracking solution.

On-Demand Offerings for Mail and Postal Compliance: Combine the best of both worlds: the high-quality solutions you expect from Pitney Bowes with the ease of use, maintenance and support available from an on-demand product.

PITNEY BOWES BUSINESS INSIGHT One Global View Troy, NY 12180 Phone: 800.327.8627 Web: goto.pbinsight.com/addressmgt11/ Email: pbbi.sales@pb.com JULY - AUGUST 2011

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TOP cOmPanies 2011

Randy Hoefer has over 14 years of experience developing products for the mailing industry. As Vice President of Research and Product Strategy, Randy is responsible for ensuring that Satori Software products meet the needs of large mailers as well as companies that rely on accurate contact data.

Satori Software solutions help mailers and direct marketers achieve better results from mailing programs and initiatives due in no small part to Randy’s commitment to developing solutions that go beyond what is expected and his extensive knowledge of USPS rules, regulations and offerings.

In his former position of vice president of research and development, Randy led the development of the company’s address management solutions including its bestselling Bulk Mailer software series.

Randy has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Western Washington University.

satori software Organizations worldwide use Satori Software contact data quality solutions to accurately collect addresses, update contact data and save postage on direct mailings. Satori Software sets new standards for ease-of-use and functionality. Satori solutions increase overall address quality, improve deliverability and help customers achieve the best possible postage rates.

Production Mailing Solutions with Integrated Address Management MailRoom ToolKit solutions integrate address correction and presorting into database management systems, websites and other workflow processes.

High-end production mailers use MailRoom ToolKit Architect to integrate address correction and postal presorting into web-to-print, transactional and variable-data mailing systems. Architect also supports integrated 48-month NCOALink processing for fully automated change-ofaddress updates, Basic and Full-Service Intelligent Mail technology and more. Its client/server architecture scales to meet the needs of the most complex printing and mailing organization.

Desktop Mailing Preparation Software Bulk Mailer Business delivers accurate mailing preparation in a powerful, easy-to-use desktop application. CASS and PAVE Gold certified Bulk Mailer Business includes a multiuser interface which grants authorized users access to address lists and task templates from a central location, and ensures the generation of unique Intelligent Mail barcodes. As with all Bulk Mailer products, the trademark Satori wizard-based processes and reusable templates simplify mailing preparation and reduce training hassles.

Integrated Data Enhancement Services Improve the quality of direct mail lists for better campaign results. Append contact details, amend addresses and suppress records on do-not-mail lists all within Bulk Mailer — no need to FTP files and manually reconcile changes.

Satori Software products feature our real-time* Move Update service. Once activated, customers may process address lists against the 48-month NCOALink data set via a secure Internet connection anytime. There’s no manual import/export and no messy data merge.

Satori Software has delivered industry-leading address management solutions since 1982.

With US Headquarters in Seattle, WA and a European Office in London, UK, Satori Software has direct relationships with a wide range of companies — from three-person operations to Fortune 500 enterprises — which already benefit from Satori Software solutions.

Randy HOefeR Vice President of Research and Product strategy

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saTORi sOfTwaRe, inc.

1301 5th Ave, Suite 2200 Seattle, WA 98101-2676 Web: www.satorisoftware.com Phone: 800-553-6477 Email: sales@satorisoftware.com * As a nonexclusive NCOALink Full Service Provider Licensee, Satori Software receives weekly NCOALink updates from USPS.

Tension Launches a New Brand Identity to Highlight Expanded Technology, Services and Global Presence Throughout its history, Tension Envelope Corporation has been an industry leader in envelope design, printing and manufacturing. As the company celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2011 and prepares for the future, it has announced an updated brand identity that includes a new naming convention, redesigned logo and a signature line, “Ingenuity at work.”

With these changes, the company will be known formally as Tension Corporation, or simply Tension. Under the Tension brand there will be three distinct divisions: Tension Envelope, Tension Packaging & Automation, and Tension International.

TOP companies 2011

Tension Envelope

Tension continues to strategically adapt to the changes in the postal landscape and in manufacturing technology, which has impacted the envelope industry. Today, the company focuses on commercial customers for which envelopes and packaging are a mission-critical part of their business enterprise.

Tension has also penetrated the automated fulfillment packaging market by establishing Tension Packaging & Automation, which designs packaging systems for central-fill mail-order pharmacies and direct-to-consumer order fulfillment distribution centers. This includes providing the automation equipment, consumables, software, service, and integration of the systems.

“Envelopes continue to be our core business and a critical part of Tension’s future. However, we have diversified significantly to grow our business,” said Tension President and CEO, Bill Berkley. “We are expanding our global presence and becoming a leader in packaging and automation solutions. This shortening of our name and new forward-looking logo design helps to clarify and stress our comprehensive offerings.”

Tension recently acquired Maverick Enterprises, Inc., a pharmaceutical packaging equipment manufacturer based in Longmont, CO. With this assimilation, the company will now manufacture automated packaging equipment and systems, a step that provides Tension with expanded opportunities for growth in both its pharmaceutical automation and direct-to-consumer fulfillment businesses.

“We have continually modernized to meet market demands,” said Berkley, “while striving to maintain quality and innovation, which are essential.” Lean Sigma has been implemented across the Tension organization to optimize processes for continuous improvement, cost control, defect-free production, and industry-leading quality.

Tension’s new brand identity features clean, contemporary lines and visually represents the company’s rich history by incorporating the classic Tension “T”, first registered in 1968, and the red-and-black color scheme that goes back to the company’s beginnings. The new signature line, “Ingenuity at work,” embodies the service, quality and innovation for which Tension is known.

“We show our ingenuity everyday through our associates’ high level of performance. We provide solutions to help our clients improve internal processes, save money and deliver results,” said Bob Broadbear, COO and VP-Manufacturing. “Companies regularly turn to us for insight on new trends, industry innovations and process improvement recommendations to help their businesses be more successful. That is ingenuity at work.”

Founded in Kansas City, MO, in 1886, Tension Corporation is a family-owned-and-operated company and serves a variety of industries including financial, insurance, direct marketing, photofinishing, billing/statement processors, and retail. With headquarters in Kansas City, Tension produces more than 12 billion envelopes annually with regional plants and offices throughout the country and facilities in China, Malaysia, Australia and Taiwan.

TENSION CORPORATION 819 E 19th Street Kansas City, MO 64108 Web: www.tension.com Phone: 816-471-3800 Email: inform@tension.com 37