Small Business Mail Advice

Minimize Costs for Returned Mail

What does returned mail cost small business owners? More than you might imagine. We take a look at the many costs small businesses must pay for returned mail.

Returned mail is a common problem for business owners.

In fact, industry experts estimate that two and a half percent of all first class mail is returned.

For small companies, the costs for returned mail add up.

For starters, you spent the money on the postage for the mailing but it never made it to the intended recipient. You may as well have taken that money and thrown it out the window. It's gone and you got no benefit from it.

What else has been wasted?

You've spent money on the mailer itself, whether it be a postcard, letter or whatever. That money also goes down the drain when a piece of mail is returned.

Plus, there's the opportunity cost. If the mailing had gotten to the recipient, what was the possible result? A new customer? Timely payment of an invoice? A contract renewal?

When mail is returned, all of these possibilities vanish. You lose the money that would have come from the mailing's having gotten to the recipient. Moreover, you now need to go through the pain and expense of resending the mailing.

The extent of financial damage caused by return mail goes well beyond what most might think. It hurts profitability on its face, and, in the case of things like undeliverable invoices, it can cause cash flow problems.

The solution is relatively simple. Addresses must be verified prior to sending a mailing. Build address cleansing and address verification into your business process and you'll greatly reduce your returned mail, increasing your business profitability in the process.

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