Failure to manage returned mailings costs £145m, claims new study

A new study by The Software Bureau has claimed that 60% of marketers do not practise reverse marketing – and this oversight is costing them £145m a year. Reverse marketing enables organisations to compile in-house “do not mail” lists which can be screened against future campaigns, thereby reducing the volume of mistargeted mailings. This not only saves money but improves the reputation of the organisation amongst customers.

“Approximately 90m pieces of direct mail (2.5%) are returned to sender each year. Forty percent of these or 36m are returned due to the recipient’s wish to be removed from the marketing database, equating to a loss of potential revenue of £116m and £29m in wasted production costs.”

The study revealed B2B organisations to be the worst culprits followed by retailers, credit card providers, retailers, pension providers and charities. Local government was found to be the most responsible.

Martin Rides, Managing Director of The Software Bureau, commented: “The fact that every piece of returned mail costs businesses £4 is incredible – this soon adds up amounting to thousands per year. Reverse marketing is a key component to reducing the volume of mistargeted direct mail.

“It is shocking that only four in 10 organisations manage their returns and more importantly learn from them. Our new initiative Lean DM helps organisations to identify the areas which produce the most wastage in their direct mail activity and minimise it. With the advent of GDPR and increased scrutiny from the media and legislative bodies it is crucial that organisations focus on data hygiene.”