What about a National Do Not Mail List?

The Federal Government has instituted the National Do Not Call List so we can have a reprieve from unwanted telephone solicitations.  If you haven't already signed up, here is your chance.  All you have to do is visit the National Do Not Call Registry website and register your telephone numbers.  Telemarketers are required by law to remove your telephone numbers from their calling lists if your number is registered.  That was easy!

But what about junk mail?  According to the Ohio EPA Office of Compliance Assistance and Pollution Prevention “Each year, 100 million trees are used to produce junk mail; 250,000 homes could be heated with one day's supply of junk mail; and Americans receive almost 4 million tons of junk mail every year.”

Wouldn't we all benefit from a national Do Not Mail registry?  Marketers would not send mail to those who have no interest in receiving it.  Environmentally conscious mail recipients wouldn't have to recycle ridiculous amounts of mail every day.  For those who don’t bother to recycle, our garbage dumps would not be filled with a shameful amount of wasted paper.    

So what will it take to make a national Do Not Mail registry a reality?  Do Americans have what it takes to tackle this seemingly unreachable goal?  We believe that Americans want to be heard on this issue.  That they are tired of having to sift through unwanted catalogs, credit card offers they can’t really apply for, and cell phone service solicitations in month three of their current cell phone provider’s two year agreement that carries a hefty termination clause. 

No doubt It will take some work on the part of all Americans to make a National Do Not Mail list a reality.  Should they write their Congressmen, their Mayor or even the President?  We would like to extend an opportunity to all of those who share our opinion on a need for a centralized database of Do Not Mail recipients to share their comments here.

Check Writing Services Can Market Your Business

Does your company write checks to vendors, affiliates, customers, consultants or employees?  Chances are you write checks to most, if not all.  And if you don’t have the appropriate software and equipment, you’re likely hand signing each check or having an employee spend ridiculous amounts of time using an insecure manual stamp to apply your signature.  Either method represents an opportunity cost to your bottom line.  Writing checks is a readily accepted cost of doing business for most companies.  You are required to make the payments and therefore must pay for the obvious costs of writing those checks.  These costs typically include check stock, MICR toner, equipment, software, labor, maintenance and postage to name a few.  But what if writing checks didn’t have to be just an expense?  What if you could use that check to market your company or services and increase your customer base and revenue?  It seems like an obvious course of action to capitalize on a process that you have to perform, yet many companies are missing the unique opportunity to market themselves when making their check payments.  Most often this is because they do not possess the software, equipment or understanding necessary to make check marketing a reality.  But there is light at the end of the check writing tunnel.  There are business process outsourcing companies that will handle the check writing and check mailing process for you and help to deliver your marketing message at the same time. 

Cytech Marketing Group, Inc. offers variable data printing (VDP) services to create custom payments on behalf of their clients.  You simply send a check payment file in a predetermined format and the rest of the work is done for you.  The check payment files are processed, your customized checks are printed, postage is applied and checks are mailed to your payees.  Inevitably, the result is a decrease in overhead as you eliminate everything required to handle the check writing process.  The strictest of security measures are followed to ensure that your payees receive the appropriate amounts in the least amount of time.  Checks can either be written on your account, or on an escrow account on your behalf.  When checks written on an escrow account, check reconciliation services are performed for you further eliminating expense.  Checks are custom designed with your company, payee and bank account information and your logo and tagline are included to reinforce your brand identity.  Most importantly you are encouraged to include your own custom message with a call to action on your check stub.  This call to action could be a customer referral reward, a coupon, an invitation to participate in a survey, a rebate opportunity, and much more.  For large volume check payments you will be able to realize significant cost savings on postage without having to suffer the rigors of obtaining a US Postal Service permit.  The opportunities are endless and the additional marketing costs you nothing.  In fact, it is more likely that you will save a significant amount of money by outsourcing the check writing process as it is not your core competency and allows your in-house staff to focus on the growth of your organization.  For additional information on how you can capitalize on using your checks as a marketing tool and to request a sample check, visit Cytech Marketing Group or contact Kimberly Rogers at (315) 533-1849 or kim@cytechmarketing.com.