Many of our customers know us as “Mail House” or “Letter Shop” that provides printing, folding, inserting, presorting, and mailing services. What many may not understand is how much technology and know-how happens behind the scenes from the time prior to data being transmitted to us and the final product is being delivered to the customer. One of many services that we provide, of which you may not be aware, is electronic document delivery or e-statements.
Including an electronic delivery strategy for your postal mailed documents benefits your organization, your customers, and the environment. Benefits include savings in postage, faster delivery, improved security, and increased customer satisfaction. For financial documents such as statements and invoices, e-statements can improve cash flow by reducing the duration of the payment cycle. QuestMark can seamlessly intercept statements, invoices, letters, and other notices and direct them out of the snail-mail stream and deliver these electronically.
Advantages
- Cost: Documents can be delivered electronically at a fraction of the cost of printing and mailing.
- Time: Electronic documents are delivered in a fraction of the time that it takes to physically print, fold, insert, mail, and transport.
- Security: Electronic documents are stored and transmitted using encryption, whereas physical documents can be subject to theft and snooping.
- Environment: With electronic document delivery there is ZERO CO2 output relating to physically producing, folding, inserting, mailing, and transporting documents.
- Tracking: With electronic delivery you can track and log retrievals of documents. Even with USPS IMb Tracing™, at best you know where and when the letter was last sorted. However, did the envelope make it to the recipient? Was the envelope opened?
Overcoming Obstacles
| Obstacle | Solution |
| Limited functionality in Back Office software. | Intercept computer output and host solution independently. |
| Lack of customer email addresses. | Provide messaging on existing documents that directs the customers to opt-in. Communication details and preferences are captured during sign-up. |
| Customers reluctant to opt-in. | Provide incentives for your customers to opt-in. For example, charge fees for printed documents, or discounts to customers that opt-in. Educate and incentivize your customer service team and/or call center to promote opt-in. |
| Concerns about email bounces, SPAM, undeliverable email. | Plan for a trigger to handle these events. For example, trigger a paper document delivery if the customer does not retrieve the document within 3 days. |
| It is difficult or cumbersome for our customers to sign up. | Embed a dynamic QR code on your document that your customer can use to quickly sign up using a smartphone. |
| Current document output is not in a format conducive for electronic delivery. | Intercept computer output and convert to a web/mobile friendly format such as PDF or HTML. |
Strategies
QuestMark can assist with strategies and solutions to help you reach your electronic delivery goals. We will work closely with your group to customize, build, and integrate a solution that is tailored to your needs. For success, it is crucial that you consider the following points when planning:
- Will this solution be integrated with your back-office system, or work stand-alone?
- Do you require, or want to use, a single sign on (SSO) for authentication?
- What incentives, if any, will you provide your customers for opting in?
- Will you want to include inserts or other marketing materials along with your mailed documents in order to encourage opt ins?
- How will you prepare and train your customer service team / call center?
- How will you want to handle undeliverable or unopened documents?
- Are there any reporting requirements that will be necessary?
- What is your data retention policy?
- Will paid invoices fall off (purge) the system?
Case Study
One of our customers sends out approximately 1.8 million statements each month. Two years after implementation of the electronic statement system, over 450,000 customers have opted-in to receiving their documents electronically. The postage, printing, labor, and transportation savings amount to over $225,000!
Conclusion
If you are still mailing statements, invoices, and letters then you could be missing out on an opportunity. QuestMark can help! Tune in next time for more ideas.
