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Royal Mail is increasing postal rates from April this year, with first class stamps costing about 39p and second class 30p. In 2008, postal rates had already gone up.
Businesses will face an average of 4.2 percent increase in postal rate; though the hike is expected to be lower for those using pre-paid accounts and franking machines. Considering that Royal Mail apparently continues to make a loss with every piece of mail delivered and postal rates in the UK are amongst the lowest in Europe, one can expect these rates to continue to go up over the next few years.
All the more reason for businesses with a decent volume of mail each month to consider switching to a franking machine; the savings will not be insignificant, particularly if the current trend of frequent postal rate hikes continue.
Businesses will face an average of 4.2 percent increase in postal rate; though the hike is expected to be lower for those using pre-paid accounts and franking machines. Considering that Royal Mail apparently continues to make a loss with every piece of mail delivered and postal rates in the UK are amongst the lowest in Europe, one can expect these rates to continue to go up over the next few years.
All the more reason for businesses with a decent volume of mail each month to consider switching to a franking machine; the savings will not be insignificant, particularly if the current trend of frequent postal rate hikes continue.
How does technological changes in mailing / postal services impact direct marketing, particularly for small to medium sized businesses? Quite a bit, if you go by this interesting blog post by David Jefferies.
The biggest advantages of the automation that has come about in the mailing-related activities are that costs have been cut, errors eliminated and made for better use of human resources. Says David, "At the SME level, folding, inserting and franking technology continues to move on apace. The best technology is developing in line with todays increasingly liberalised postal market to offer users choice, convenience and professionalism." Another important point, according to him, is that current mailing technology allows for marketers to do personalized mailing not withstanding the scale.
While the franking machine and other postal equipment manufacturers look at product development to make life easier for companies to carry out mailing themselves, other developments in terms of services pose their own set of challenges. Take for example, the launch of this service that according to the providers could mean the death of franking machines! Now that's going to an extreme, isn't it?
The biggest advantages of the automation that has come about in the mailing-related activities are that costs have been cut, errors eliminated and made for better use of human resources. Says David, "At the SME level, folding, inserting and franking technology continues to move on apace. The best technology is developing in line with todays increasingly liberalised postal market to offer users choice, convenience and professionalism." Another important point, according to him, is that current mailing technology allows for marketers to do personalized mailing not withstanding the scale.
While the franking machine and other postal equipment manufacturers look at product development to make life easier for companies to carry out mailing themselves, other developments in terms of services pose their own set of challenges. Take for example, the launch of this service that according to the providers could mean the death of franking machines! Now that's going to an extreme, isn't it?
For those running home offices, running to the post office to attend to postal matters can be quite a drain on time, while also potentially having an opportunity cost owing to missed business calls during those visits.
Home franking systems are thus a good option for such businesses and help save these business owners both time and money, says business writer Isla Campbell in a syndicated article. Some of the advantages of franking machine systems that she lists in her article are:
See the full article by Isla here.
Home franking systems are thus a good option for such businesses and help save these business owners both time and money, says business writer Isla Campbell in a syndicated article. Some of the advantages of franking machine systems that she lists in her article are:
- Considerable savings in time: franking machine users don't have to stand in
- Savings in money: More efficient than stamps, which can lead to wastage of hundreds of pounds per year. Moreover, the accurate weighing of the mail with the electronic weighing scales of the franking machines reduces any extra payments.
- Take advantage of discounts from Royal Mail for franking machine users
- Greater marketing/branding opportunity, with the ability to frank company name /logo on all outgoing mails
- Ability to do bulk/large mailings with a franking machine.
See the full article by Isla here.
According to a news report on the the HellMail website, the Signed For post now includes postcode verification. However, it seems that there is a view that using a franking machine might be a better alternative, in terms of significant savings in time, for somebody who does this regularly. At least that is the impression given by a trader quoted in the news item, who reportedly franks his letters instead of queuing up in the post office.
Meanwhile separate news report on the same website mentions the growth in the online business of Spanish postal service operator, Correos. What is interesting is that its postal franking grew an impressive 21.7% in 200.
Looks like there is still quite a demand for franking... and consequently, franking machines!
Meanwhile separate news report on the same website mentions the growth in the online business of Spanish postal service operator, Correos. What is interesting is that its postal franking grew an impressive 21.7% in 200.
Looks like there is still quite a demand for franking... and consequently, franking machines!
A leading postal advisory service in East Sussex, Courir says that using a franking machine can bring considerable cost saving to businesses, which gets larger as the number/ weight of items sent by mail increases.
According to an article in the Hellmail.co.uk, which was based on an interview with the head of Courir, while the use of a franking machine can mean reduced costs, one must remember that there is some upfront expenditure as well as some recurring costs. For example, the cost of a franking machine can be high and therefore one must consider whether to buy a machine or lease it. Likewise, we should consider the consumables the franking machine will require as well as the fact that updates to pricing information will be required that necessitates an expensive replacement chip.
The collection and delivery of mail in the UK is a £7bn market, which caters to about 22 billion postal items posted annually to approximately 27 million addresses in the UK. Courir Ltd helps companies optimize their spend on mailing requirements. More details on how Courir can help in this regard can be found in this article.
According to an article in the Hellmail.co.uk, which was based on an interview with the head of Courir, while the use of a franking machine can mean reduced costs, one must remember that there is some upfront expenditure as well as some recurring costs. For example, the cost of a franking machine can be high and therefore one must consider whether to buy a machine or lease it. Likewise, we should consider the consumables the franking machine will require as well as the fact that updates to pricing information will be required that necessitates an expensive replacement chip.
The collection and delivery of mail in the UK is a £7bn market, which caters to about 22 billion postal items posted annually to approximately 27 million addresses in the UK. Courir Ltd helps companies optimize their spend on mailing requirements. More details on how Courir can help in this regard can be found in this article.