Customer Communication: One Retail Bank’s Approach to Driving Down Postage Expenses

With postage expenses continually on the rise, many financial services providers are looking at different strategies for communicating with customers and attracting new ones.  Many firms are feeling the effects of increased postage expenses required for building and maintaining these relationships.

After the latest postal hike of five percent, Standard Register provided one leading retail bank with a detailed look at the processes, procedures and costs associated with their customer account communications, specifically the insufficient funds notices (NSF).  Standard Register made the bank aware of the potential savings they could achieve by streamlining their customer notices.  Today the firm has realized dramatic savings in their postage expenses. 

Disjointed Operations
Serving an extensive customer base throughout multiple regions of the U.S., this leading financial services provider previously relied on two separate operations for the production and distribution of daily NSF notices.  Half of the daily notices, printed in standard letter format, were produced in their internal print and rendering operations. 

The remaining half of the daily NSF notices was sourced through a specialized provider, using the same format, but at a slightly higher fulfillment cost.  This led to program management challenges, and the bank was incurring letter-rate postage expenses. 

After struggling to explore various formats, sorting options and paper stocks for savings opportunities, the firm concluded that such subtle changes would not result in sizable enough savings for the bank. 

That was when an idea Standard Register had previously presented was looked at once more for further consideration.  Turning to trusted partner Standard Register for guidance, it wasn’t until then that the opportunity for substantial postage savings was identified. 

Condensed Communications
An often overlooked mailing option, the double postcard application was presented by Standard Register. The published United States Postal Service postage rates for postcards versus letters (based on a 3-digit sort) provide an opportunity for over 35 percent savings in postage expenses. By transitioning from the previous standard letter and #10 envelope mailing format to the new double postcard, the bank now takes advantage of the postcard mailing rates while still meeting the requirements of internal sponsors in marketing and customer security.

Simple yet effective, the double postcard gives the firm ample space to present customer account messages, and also allows room for a return postcard—should the bank want a specific response. 

Broad Acceptance
Now printed and distributed from a single supplier, utilizing four on-demand printing facilities strategically located throughout the country, the insufficient funds notices have acted as a foundation for developing a new way of reducing the expense of customer communications throughout the organization.  This leading financial services provider plans to take advantage of the document management expertise and capacity of Standard Register, and expand their customer notice program to mailings beyond the NSF where additional postage savings can be realized. 

At their core, financial institutions rely on the proper and efficient management of information, much of which resides in the form of widely distributed printed documents.  However, once a document has been produced it must be delivered, and the effects of increasing postal rates are felt by organizations across the board.

As a result, many organizations, like this leading financial services provider, are exploring ways to offset this additional expense by bolstering print/mail efficiency and enhancing the marketing value of their customer communications and other key documents. 

Learn how to reduce postage with a targeted customer notice solution.   Consider your USPS costs -- contact us now.