Royal Mail has made it easier than ever to start a mail campaign with their network of highly regarded Mail Made Easy experts.

MarketReach was launched in 2015 to promote the effectiveness of mail and improved ROI for companies such as Hive, Ikea and Kit Kat.

A resounding 87% of recipients went to their newsagents to claim a free Kit Kat [1]

Sharp Cat is proud to be one of Royal Mail’s trusted partners with established credentials, on standby with all the support you’ll need such as robust data security, high quality print and fast mailing.

What Can a Mail Made Easy Partner Do for You?

Choosing a Mail Made Easy partner can help you with the mailing process by finding the right target audience, developing your designs to drive response, delivering your campaign and reporting on the results.

Covering catalogues, direct mail or door drops, Mail Made Easy can help you with the entire campaign or a small part of the process.

Mail Made Easy can also help with integrating existing marketing activity with direct mail. Having each platform of communication build on the previous one, to maintain continuity plus break up the expected routine of some marketing campaigns.

Why Does Mail Cut Through the Noise?

In our digital world, it’s never been easier to target customers. However, we receive up to 10,000 marketing messages a day[2], so it’s never been harder to cut through the noise and stand out as a brand.  With 51% of emails being deleted within 2 seconds[3], brands must demonstrate that they value their customers. Sending a tangible piece of mail that your customer must physically interact with is more likely to grab their attention.

The physicality of mail is the perfect opportunity for your customers to feel valued and is memorable too; 80% of people say then can remember mail advertising sent to them in the last 4 weeks[5].

How Do Mail & E-Mail Complement Each Other?

Email is quick, easy to read, informative and can be responded to instantly. It’s most appropriate for quick messages such as order confirmation or acknowledging an enquiry. People recognise its informal feel, making it perfect for following up on enquiries, requests and offers.

Mail can immerse the customer and hold attention for a lot longer. This makes mail suited to communications to contemplate for a while, such as catalogues or brochures.

The main challenge brands face is evolving a transactional relationship into a strong, loyal, personal relationship. Use mail to take the time to tell customers more about the brand, products and services on offer.

The crucial differentiator between mail and e-mail is how mail can make us feel valued.

We believe that attention to detail at the beginning of a mailing makes for success at the end. Our comprehensive mail services give you all the support needed for a strong mailing campaign.

 With a reputation for high-standard mail services, we welcome fast turnaround mailings, always meet tight deadlines and welcome your call.

[1] KitKat: D&AD, 2012

[2] American Marketing Association, 2018.

[3] Litmus Email Analytics, 2013

[4] Royal Mail MarketReach, 2014.

[5] TGI, Kantar Media, 2014.

[6] Royal Mail MarketReach, 2014.

The post Royal Mail MarketReach: Encouraging Brands to Use Combination of Mail & E-Mail in Marketing Campaigns appeared first on Sharp Cat.

The post How Geolist Data Helps the Construction Industry appeared first on Sharp Cat.

At Sharp Cat, we aim to deliver more for your money to ensure you are getting the best value mailings. Following our last article, where we highlighted just a few of the perks that can make your campaign worthwhile, we still have some unique services that you need to know about before choosing your mailing house!

Account Managers

Have you ever found it troublesome to get in contact with your supplier? As standard, every client receives 2 Account Managers so you will always have someone to communicate with throughout your mailing.

Double the Account Managers also means double the expertise; with continuous communication, they’re available to provide their insights through every step of your project to help you reach your marketing objective.

Mail Opt Out & Returns Handling

A cluttered office means a cluttered mind! Don’t let returned mailings affect your productivity when we can provide a painless return handling process that is GDPR complaint and maintains good customer relations – all without you lifting a finger!

Simply opt-in to return management and we will handle undeliverable or returned mail. We supply monthly updates where you can see what has been sent back and the reason for return.

Pallet Recycling Scheme

Sharp Cat operates a unique recycling scheme offering delivery pallets to the community. Repurposing everyday items gives you a unique piece of furniture that can be sized to fit any nook or cranny, so you’ll finish with something that’s tailored to you.

Sharp Cat has a wealth of print and mail information to share plus a variety of added value services. To find out how we can tailor your campaigns to meet your marketing needs, email mail@sharpcat.co.uk or give us a call on 0333 772 0946.

The post 3 MORE Free Sharp Cat Services You Probably Didn’t Know Existed! appeared first on Sharp Cat.

In a digital world, businesses are torn between e-marketing or direct mail. It’s apparent that social media and emails reach a wide audience, but we are exposed to at least 4,000 ads each day![1] Have you engaged with your customer? Have you cut through the noise?

To make marketing campaigns as effective as possible we work with you to advise how to target the right audience. We can help you…

• Produce powerful messages and designs
• Print and produce engaging marketing material
• Measure the success of your campaign.

1.    Eye Tracking Technology – scientific analysis of your creative

Eye tracking provides an insight into how customers are looking at your advertisement and how slight modifications to the creative can increase its effectiveness.[2] Following a reader’s eye movements through eye tracking technology explains how a mailing grabs our immediate attention; giving marketers that crucial insight into the customer’s perspective.

Heat maps provide a visual representation of what someone may be drawn to within the essential first few moments of your communication. Simply using different visuals or arrangements can have a significant effect on your customer’s response.

2.    Trees for Life – rewilding ancient forests

Sharp Cat makes it easy for everyone to be green! With each mailing sent out, a new tree is planted in the Trees for Life UK forest restoration project on your behalf.

We’ll keep you posted by giving you annual updates on the number of trees you’ve planted to show how your organisation is contributing to a better environment.

3.    Postal Information Reports (PIRs) – posting confirmation

Following your mailing, we provide a full postal information report as a permanent reference of the important statistics relating to your campaign. All PIRs will include:

• A description and image of what was mailed
• Valuable facts and figures about the data collected in your campaign
• A visual map of the households and businesses receiving your mail
• The number of trees you have indirectly planted
• The option to add your own branding, so you can present your PIRs to clients

Click here to have a look at our sample PIRs!

The Catters team are here to enhance your marketing strategy through mail and aim for your campaign to get the best results possible; providing reports, case studies, statistics and research tools so you can produce mail that will engage with your customer. Best of all, all these services are free of charge!

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/08/25/finding-brand-success-in-the-digital-world/#295f249d626e

[2] https://dma.org.uk/article/focus-on-eye-tracking

The post 3 FREE Sharp Cat Services You Probably Never Knew Existed! appeared first on Sharp Cat.

Confronted by the evident repercussions of decades of neglecting our environment, every business and individual is encouraged to take an active role in recycling.

Why should businesses monitor their environmental performance? Identifying and controlling your impact whilst demonstrating your commitment to protecting the environment will not only strengthen your brand, but also save costs through improving efficiency, productivity and reducing waste.

So, is direct mail a sustainable, communication resource to use? Yes! The reason being that paper is one of the most recycled products in the world, with recycling rates meeting 70-75% in most regions – generally the maximum recycling rate.[1]

To help maximise sustainability we’ve established some simple, straightforward approaches that can be implemented to make your mailing campaigns even more eco-friendly.

1. Re-Evaluate Plastic Envelopes

Plastic has become the most common form of marine debris and one of the central concerns we see pop up on our news feeds. Businesses are facing more pressure than ever to evaluate whether their plastic packaging is a necessity for their products. But how can you use plastic whilst minimising the consequences of the environment?

Sharp Cat has adopted a compostable and biodegradable polywrap – produced from potato starch. It’s a responsible alternative protecting your mail without leaving harmful toxins, whilst providing a robust and high-quality finish. At the end of its life, it can be thrown into the green bin or compost bin, allowing an enhanced customer experience where they can easily dispose of the packaging.

2. Have Your Data Cleaned

Whilst clean data is critical for the success of any kind of mail advertising, it can also reduce your environmental impact. Segmenting your audience by targeting interested recipients reduces the physical volume of direct mail pieces sent out, lowers costs and increases ROI.

Partially Addressed Mail is another responsible and GDPR friendly way to acquire new prospects, without using their personal data. Offering a solution to cold data lists, it applies data sources such as geo-demographics in order to identify postcodes and households with a strong match for new potential customers.

Personalise your marketing strategy towards those who have expressed interest. Use a returns handling service, such as Mail Opt Out. This provides a simple option for customers to choose to opt out of unwanted mailings whilst keeping your office space uncluttered. Visit mailoptout.co.uk for more details.

3. Only Work With Sustainable Paper Sources

Have you thought about where your printed paper originates from? Deforestation devastation is associated with unsustainable paper stocks. To ensure that your stocks are planted and harvested for paper use all you need to do is choose a printer that buys sustainably sourced paper stocks. Look for print and mail companies with PEFC and FSC papers.

It’s the small changes that add up to big differences in our environment.

[1] Two Sides 2019, Myths & Facts

The post 3 Easy Ways to Make Mail Environmentally Friendly appeared first on Sharp Cat.

Hope it helps but please feal free to speak to one of the team.

The post Direct Mail Envelope Sizes appeared first on Sharp Cat.

To be GDPR compliant, your company must identify which of the six legal bases for processing data you are using. The six lawful bases for processing data are as follows:

(a) Consent of the data subject;

(b) Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with the data subject, or to take steps to enter into a contract;

(c) Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation;

(d) Processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of a data subject or another person;

(e) Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; and/or

(f) Necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the controller or a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests, rights or freedoms of the data subject.

Failure to have the necessary legal ground to process an individual’s data could result in legal action.

The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) issued an assessment to help you decide if your business really needs to process data and if you are actually able to. The assessment is broken down into a three-part test:

Purpose test: are you pursuing legitimate interests?
Necessity test: is the processing necessary for that purpose?
Balancing test: do the individual’s interests override the legitimate interests?
This assessment ensures that you only data you definitely need is processed, and that the use for that data is completely legitimate.

For direct mail marketing, you will not actually need the initial consent from consumers to advertise to them. However, they still of course have option to opt out if they no longer wish to receive your advertisements or they no longer wish for their information to be used for direct marketing. When advertising to them, you must check how consumers wish to be contacted, and always give them the opportunity to opt out, and make it easy for them to do so. You must also ask for the permission for you to share their information with other companies.

Before the 25th of May hits, please ensure you are fully adhering to these new regulations set by the ICO. Ensure all you customers know exactly how and why their data is being processed and that they can opt out at any point. By studying the GDPR and following it very carefully, you can ensure your business can still thrive and can avoid getting into any legal action with regards to data protection.

The post GDPR – PROCESSING DATA AND DIRECT MAIL MARKETING appeared first on Sharp Cat.