Argentinian postal company Nexo Correo is expecting its annual turnover to grow by 20% this year, thanks to its expansion of added value services and digital technology.
The company has attributed much of its success since its foundation in 1978 to constant innovation, which has seen it over the years developing and deploying technology including bar coding systems and online tracking systems, growing to a workforce of around 200.
It is now aiming for growth in the highly-competitive direct marketing field, as well as through new digital enhancements for its physical mail services.
The mail industry in Argentina has grown 40% in the last six years according to the country’s National Communications Committee (CNC), reaching an annual turnover of ARS $3.42bn (USD $837m) by 2009, with private operators accounting for about 60% of market volume.
Nexo Correo, which is based in the Buenos Aires area, where around 60-70% of the country’s mail volume is found, expects to grow steadily along with the Argentinian postal market under new regulations encouraging the use of technology to improve the efficiency of the physical mail.
Although market growth in Argentina has slowed during the global recession, with postal volumes shrinking by a few percent, Nexo believes its added-value approach will bring new business.
Nexo Correo founder and CEO Javier Honikman has seen his company branching into a full range of postal services and direct marketing
CEO Javier Honikman, who founded Nexo in 1978 as a bicycle courier company, said: “What started out as a way for people to have better options for sending envelopes and packages has today become a company that provides a full range of tools and solutions in postal services and direct marketing.”
Direct mail
In direct marketing, the company is offering an array of added value services alongside its mailing service that include the design and editorial of direct mail campaigns, personalisation of mailings, printing and finishing as well as the following up of direct mailings.
It also offers companies the chance to go “green” and consider the environmental impacts of marketing.
Marketing director Marco Zuin told Post&Parcel that one of the key strengths of Nexo was in meeting specific needs of its customers, and providing support through the whole direct mail process.
Nexo’s corporate clients currently include the likes of Coca-Cola, Renault, Danone and Lonely Planet as well as Brazilan bank Banco Itau, Argentinian publishing firm Manzi Publicidad and the South African Embassy.
Zuin said the Nexo marketing department has designers to help clients through the creative aspects and assess the inclusion of variable data to allow a high level of customisation for campaigns. The company also takes care of printing and finishing for items as well as the distribution and reporting of distribution result, he said.
“It is a fact that competitive prices in online campaigns have made the volume of direct marketing pieces decrease over recent years,” Zuin said. “Therefore, only companies whose products and clients justify a higher investment in establishing more ‘tangible’ bonds will choose direct marketing via postal service.
“It is also a fact that those who implement this tool correctly will continue to have higher effectiveness and more results than with any other marketing strategy,” the Nexo marketing director told Post&Parcel.
Zuin said Nexo has reformulated its marketing strategies to make new clients aware of the added-value service offerings through direct mail campaigns and new, modernised website offering service information and easy access to service quotes.
Digital services
Along with its modern new website, Nexo is making more use of digital technology across its delivery services, both to improve internal processes and improve the customer experience.
It has ventured into the hybrid mail sphere, with an online postcard generation tool allowing customers to create postcards from personal photographs or pre-set templates for sending anywhere in the world.
Nexo launched a new website-based delivery re-scheduling service last month that should provide convenience for customers and reduce pressure at Nexo offices as new collections can be arranged online.
The next step is the introduction of a new digital proof-of-delivery service to support the existing paper-based system, which should be phased in throughout this year.
Zuin said the technology has “a lot of potential”, and could lead to a wider offering of digital services in future.
“The digitalization of delivery notes gives way to faster searches, lessens paper handling, decreases physical storing space and allows, through tracking services, access to files by multiple users,” he said.
Source: James Cartledge, Post&Parcel
Tags: Argentina, Correo Nexo, Digital, direct mail, Direct Marketing
