Imagine meeting with a prospective client and being able to offer them hundreds or thousands of dollars in postage cost savings. It’s an effective ‘foot in the door’ tactic that can attract and close new clients. It’s also an ideal way to increase revenue from existing clients.
I’m going to show you what WTP does that saves our clients thousands in direct mail postage costs year after year. Even better, we will demonstrate this—at no cost to you— on your list or your clients list.
Below I lay out the exact steps to get and offer significant postage savings that all too often go unused.
The Problem with Bulk Mail Discounts
In our experience working with hundreds of printers for many years, I can safely say that nearly everyone knows about bulk mail discounts. Whether they mail themselves or through a mail service provider, they understand that a mailing permit and pre-sorting will get them discount postage.
The problem is they accept that number as the lowest possible cost. As I like to say, they believe “it is what it is.” The belief is ingrained through our industry.
So, they run their list and drop the job at the local post office because well, that’s how it’s done. And it’s fairly easy.
The fact is, it’s not necessarily the lowest cost possible. In some cases, it’s far from the lowest possible postage cost.
I’ve found that we save our clients an average of 20% more on regular bulk mail postage costs by taking a few extra steps to look for deeper savings.
So why don’t mailers look for these discounts?
What it Takes to Find These ‘Hidden’ Postage Discounts
There are two ways to get further mailing discounts, and one simple reason people don’t go form them. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Here are the two little-used postage discounts.
1 - Sectional Center Facility (SCF) Entry Discount
In this scenario, we drop the mailing at a an SCF that serves as the processing and distribution center for designated geographic areas. These centers usually serve one or more zip codes.
SCF Entry discounts save our clients an average of about 3 cents per unit. On a 25,000 mailing that comes out to $750.00 saved.
2 – List Enhancements and Walk Sequence
Here we use tools to inspect and improve the accuracy and deliverability of the mailing list. These list enhancements can save up to about 8 cents per unit. On the same 25,000 unit mailing that comes out to $2,000.00
Total savings for using Entry Discounts and List Enhancements on this 25,000 unit mailing could be up to $2,750.00.
So what’s the catch?
What does it cost to save that much on postage?
On average, it only costs about $350.00 to save well over $2,000.
Most of that cost is transportation to the Sectional Center Facility. The remainder of the cost is putting in the legwork to do the list enhancements and find the Entry Discounts.
In any event, it’s an excellent and instant return on investment.
The simple reason that so many mailers don’t use these discounts is that it requires a few extra steps. It’s more work.
So they keep their clients in the dark. And since the clients happy to pay “regular” bulk mail discounts, the cycle continues.
How to Get These Extra Postal Discounts
There are three ways to get involved with these postage discounts.
1 - The DIY Mailing Option
If you’re already processing your own mailing, talk to your local postmaster about how to take advantage of these additional discounts.
2 – Mail Service Providers
Check your local area for mailing service providers. They can help you secure these discounts.
3 – Let Western Trade Printing Handle It
Here’s what we do when we get your mailing list.
✅ First, we run the list and calculate the postage “as ordered” on the job, meaning we simply run the list and price it for a drop at our local Fresno SCF. This is where most mailers would stop, and it what most mailers and printers currently do.
We do so much more.
✅ Second, we run the list and look for any low-hanging discounts available from the USPS.
One of the most common is the Walk Sequence List eligibility. We run a series of commands that tell us:
a) Does this list qualify for a Walk Sequence discount and if so,
b) What are the potential savings?
✅ Third, we determine the entry discount savings and compare it to the cost to ship to a different SCF.
At this point we provide you with all the options and pricing.
Here’s what that looks like.
Examples of Postal Discounts with SCF Entry and List Enhancements
Discount Example 1 - 21,000 Piece Mailing
Option 1 - "As ordered" – drop at Fresno SCF (our local SCF)
Postage = $4805.70
Option 2 – Drop ship to Sacramento SCF at a cost of $325.00
Postage = $4157.51
Total savings with Option 2 = $323.19
Discount Example 2 - 25,000 Piece Mailing
Option 1 – "As ordered" – drop at Fresno SCF
Postage = $7319.61
Option 2 – Add Walk Sequence and drop at Fresno SCF at a cost of $89.90
Postage = $5472.39
Total savings with Option 2 = $1757.32
Option 3 – Add Walk Sequence and drop at Oakland SCF at a cost of $416.15
(The list is saturated at the Oakland SCF.)
Postage = $4722.37
Total Savings Option 3 = $2181.09
How to Use These Postage Discounts Strategically
What if you could demonstrate instant savings to your clients as we did in the examples above?
This is what I call a “differentiator.” Get this kind of information to the right person and you are a hero!
Remember, postage is based on the unit. If you double our 25,000 mailing to 50,000, now we are looking at over $5000.00 in Postage savings with an additional investment of only about $600.00 give or take a few dollars.
How can you implement this?
A Special Offer - We'll Demonstrate Discounts on Your List
We don’t normally evaluate a mail list until a job is ordered.
Today, however, if you want to prove your value, we will gladly take your historical list or mailing and we will run it through our process to provide you with OUR results.
You can apply this to a new customer or to a long-standing customer.
Mailing knowledge is a powerful point of leverage. It can get you in the door to prove your value to prospective clients. It makes you a welcome guest.
And it can make you look like a hero to existing clients and generate significant additional lifetime value.
Let us show you, at no cost, what WTP can do that can save your clients thousands in postage over the course of a year and further solidify your position with them.
Just reach out to me, Bob Gardner and I’ll work with you directly to see how we can bring more value to your print and mail services or offerings.
Call me at 559-251-8595 ext. 411 and we’ll talk.
