UK direct mail service guarantees against undelivered items

Marketing companies in the UK are being offered a new direct marketing mail service that comes with a guarantee against undelivered mail. The new service comes from a partnership between marketing list provider Selectabase and European hybrid mail service Maileva, which is part of Swiss-French postal joint venture Asendia.

The two companies say that together they can provide a complete direct mail service that aims to take the hassle out of creating and implementing a direct market campaign.

A mail campaign can be created online, addresses selected, and then mailpieces printed and mailed out through Maileva’s hybrid mail delivery system.

The service has no minimum quantity, so can be used for test campaigns “for just a few pounds”, the firms said.

And, if any mail is returned as undeliverable, Selectabase and Maileva said they will provide free data to correct the problem address – and also print and fulfill the mailpiece again, while providing free postage to get the item to its target.

The alliance between Kent-based Selectabase and Maileva, which is run by Asendia subsidiary BTB Mailflight in the UK, offers access to a database of 36m households and 2.5m businesses in Britain, which the companies say can be broken down into a range of demographics “at the click of a few buttons”.

The Maileva hybrid service means customers or prospects can receive personalised and targeted mail, with the two companies citing MMC research suggesting that direct mail return on investment is on the up, with open rates at 91%, compared to email open rates of 11%.

SMEs

Pascal Brighi, Maileva’s UK director, said the guarantee for the new service was meant to reassure customers regarding the purchase of mailing lists online.

“We are mindful that customers may be wary about buying mailing lists online, so we wanted to alleviate any concerns by offering a market-leading guarantee,” he said.

“This means that customers can now order data, create their mailing, and get it produced and mailed all from one website.”

Steven Sellwood, the Selectabase managing director, said the offering was particularly aimed at small businesses, who may have been “turned off” from direct mail because of the complexities and costs that can be involved in creating a campaign.

“Typically there are many suppliers to manage – from list brokers and printers to mailing houses and postal operators,” he said. “But now thanks to Selectabase and Maileva, producing a direct mail campaign is quick, easy and cost effective, you can do it all from your PC in a matter of minutes.”

Maileva was launched in France by La Poste’s Docapost business in 2002, and in the UK by BTB Mailflight in 2010. BTB Mailflight is now part of Asendia, the company launched this summer as a merger between the international mail businesses of La Poste and Swiss Post. The company said its European hybrid mail service produced 90m pages for 10,000 customers in 2011.