The past 12 months of economic doom and gloom have forced me to pick up my rose-colored glasses and put them back on again. That’s right. After seeing things as they really are, I’ve decided it’s time for a healthy dose of optimism.

It’s surprising what a little hint of color will do for your life. Take direct marketing for example. Instead of opining that direct mail is dead, I put on my rose-colored glasses and see an opportunity where many saw none.

Did you ever consider that the fact that the USPS lost 9 billion pieces of volume during the last year could be a good thing? Did you ever stop to think that that is exactly why now is a great time for direct mail?

Mailboxes are less cluttered. There’s more room to stand out and be noticed. And with all the advancements in direct mail today, we can tailor our message to the recipient so we are more relevant than ever.

I’m sure that by now many of you have read the article in the July 13th issue of DM News titled “Interactive spend to hit $55B by 2014: Forrester” in which Paul Dunay, global managing director of services marketing at Avaya, a telecommunications and network equipment maker put all its eggs in the online, search and social media basket, is quoted as saying “Direct Mail is dead, dead, dead.  "There are easier ways to reach people."

My simple reply is that direct mail is not dead, it’s just playing possum.

Yes, we will certainly see postal volumes decrease as the trend moves away from spray and pray junk mail to highly targeted, timely and personalized mail, but the number of these campaigns is actually increasing.  

That’s because direct mail is becoming increasingly more effective as companies learn how to boost response rates to in excess of 20%, thanks to developments in digital printing and variable data software.  

Before you follow Dunay’s lead and toss your direct mail campaign to the wind, take note:  direct mail is increasingly being used by many firms to successfully drive online marketing campaigns.

According to InfoTrends, more channels add up to more profits.  Campaigns that use print, email, and Web landing pages are the most profitable of all forms of multichannel direct marketing.  Another benefit: increased customer satisfaction with improved response rates and retention.

In difficult financial times, consumers are looking for assurance that companies are still succeeding – what better way to send this message than through an integrated direct mail campaign with compelling graphics and copy, in a tangible form?

Paper and ink quality say a lot about the financial health of an organization, while electronic communications can be perceived as less successful or cheap by the recipient.  Not to mention the fact that a new study by WorkPlace Media shows that social networks have little effect on brand perception.

Dunay may be seeking low cost ways of reaching his target audience, but at what cost?

For the last few years, in response to escalating paper, print and postage costs, direct mail buyers expanded the number of vendors asked to bid on their work. For a time this made sense but we may have reached a tipping point.

Years of intense bidding have driven costs to the floor and now buyers may be chasing a mirage of diminishing returns. As unit costs drop often the cost of doing business goes up. Having too many vendors means sending and responding to more emails, phone calls, faxes and texts. Each additional bid request creates several interactions all requiring the buyers time. More vendors mean more time spent seeing more sales reps all asking for the same business. Is it any wonder buyers have been working longer hours?

Ultimately, costs can be cut only so far. Years of intense bidding have already driven most of the waste out of the system. The best vendors are those who have been adapting to the low cost reality all along and have become adept at operating on razor thin margins. Weak vendors, those that have not gotten their cost structures in line may continue to quote cheap prices but  may not be viable for the long haul. Going forward, a buyer’s time spent getting multiple bids on every job is likely time wasted and creating hidden costs.

For buyers it may be time to shift gears. Now more than ever having fewer, better vendors may prove more valuable than just having many vendors. Buyers can start by getting rid of any troublesome vendors. This will quickly increase the  efficiency of purchasing and administrative staffs. Further, perform a strategic analysis of the vendor list to cut back to the right number and combination of a select few qualified vendors. This will reduce the administrative costs of working with many. By shifting the focus to vendor capability and quality buyers can concentrate on developing closer working relationships with fewer better vendors to minimize costs now and in the future.

A lot has changed at colortree.com thanks to the ongoing feedback we've received from you. Our goal in re-designing the site was to better serve customers who buy and sell full color and custom envelopes.

Site improvements include: a new look and feel featuring more information that is easier to find and read, streamlined navigation, online quotations and expanded toolsets for pre-press, production and sales professionals.

Visitors to the site can also get quick answers to frequently asked questions, job aids that explain how to measure envelopes, specify windows and order envelopes like a pro.

There are also some new envelope sales tools that we think customers will find useful. At Colortree.com people can learn about printed envelopes in general or drill down to specifics about the products we specialize in - Colortree High Definition envelopes and custom flexo and JET imprint envelopes. We believe colortree.com will help make buying and selling full color and custom envelopes more interesting and easier. 

Thank you for visiting and be sure to let us know what you think of the new site!