St. John is Going Green!
- Wed 25th March 2009, 3:02 pm
The St. John Associates Inc. hired Joe Caserta of Caserta Concepts, LLC. , LLC. , to assess the environmental impact of its operations and facilities. The purpose of this assessment is to identify opportunities for improvement to create a more environmentally responsible company.
As a leader in the direct mail business, The St. John Associates Inc. strives to apply their values in their office and business practices. Moreover, promoting energy and environmental conservation within the company will help build a cleaner, healthier environment for their clients, staff, and community.
As a matter of social leadership, we have chosen to recognize that we do have an environmental footprint and are actively looking to reduce it. St. John has made the commitment to measure, monitor and manage their carbon footprint and ultimately create a plan to reduce it over the next five years.
New Move Update – USPS Requirements Effective Nov. 23, 2008
- Wed 25th March 2009, 2:59 pm
Are you ready? The Postal Service’s new Move Update requirements go into effect November 23, 2008. These new more stringent requirements are designed to reduce unnecessary USPS forwarding and return costs through more frequent matching of mailer address records to USPS maintained Change of Address data.
Under the new guidelines, both First Class and Standard Class mail files require processing through an approved compliance method within 95 days of the mail date. August 20th is 95 days prior to the implementation date. Files processed prior to this date, will not be in compliance with the new rule if mailed on or after November 23, 2008.
USPS authorized methods for First and Standard Class mail to meet the new Move Update standards include:
- NCOA processing
- FastForwardT MLOCR processing (letter mail only)
- OneCode ACST (Address Change Service) in conjunction with an Intelligent Mail barcode and MID using appropriate on-piece ancillary service endorsement.
- Address Change Service used with an ACS participant code and an appropriate on-piece ancillary service endorsement.
- Alternative approved USPS method (available for First Class mail only)
Mailings of any First Class discounted rate category and all Standard Class that are not in compliance may be subject to a surcharge of $0.07 per piece across the entire mailing (Note the USPS has publicly announced this rate, however, they have not published this final rate in any official USPS document.)
For more information on the USPS regulations, visit www.usps.com
For more information on the contributor, Greg Wells, click here.
Keep Your Mailing Lists Current and Cut Costly Postage
- Wed 25th March 2009, 2:56 pm
The new postal rates are probably taking a toll on your bottom line so here are few tips for reducing costs on your next direct mail campaign using our data processing services.
We recommend the following things to help reduce your postage costs and soft costs associated with undeliverable-as-addressed mail.
#1 Move/Update
Update your list with National Change of Address [NCOA]. We recommend processing 2-3 times annually and using the 48 month version to most effectively reach your target customers that may have moved and to eliminate undeliverable addresses from your mailing list before you mail your campaign.
#2 Deceased / Do Not Mail
Remove costly names that won`t respond with Mailing List Suppression Services such as “DMA Do Not Mail” file and the “Deceased Processing” file to eliminate "dead wood" from your upcoming mailing campaign.
#3 Duplicates
Eliminate Costly Duplicates between your mailing file segments and with-in each file by using Merge/Purge Processing before you mail. Remember, there are many options when doing a merge/purge such as keeping only 1 person per household, 1 person per family or 1 person per address. These options can make a big difference in locating and removing costly duplicates.
For information on the above services and more, please contact me at 718-655-2500 ext. 131.
For more about Greg Wells, click here.
Welcome To Our Blog!
- Wed 25th March 2009, 2:50 pm
The St. John Letter Company was founded by Henrietta St. John and Helen Fisler in March of 1919. A year later they were joined by Frances Hildreth and operated out of a small office on 42nd St. in Manhattan. At a time when women were not yet afforded the right to vote, these three remarkable and pioneering women laid the foundation for a company that would stand the test of time.
With eighty-eight of knowledge and experience in Mailing and Fulfillment, we have adapted to the increasingly rapid change in technology. This blog is a natural evolution as we embrace electronic communication while ensuring that we stay true to our core competency of serving the Direct Mail community.
In future postings, we will discuss topics relating to:
- Postal Issues
- Direct Marketing
- Direct Mail Production
We also would like to hear from you regarding topics that you would like to know more about or if you have information to share with our community.
Thank you for visiting us.
