How to Save Money With Commingling
Commingling providers sort your mail to the destination post office(s) which saves the post office a lot of work. In return, the post office charges a lower postage rate for your mail. Using our commingle services can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your mail.
With response rates averaging over 3%, Direct Mail is one of the most powerful tools marketers use today. When integrated into an omnichannel marketing campaign, direct mail receives response rates ranging from 10-30% greater than digital, according to the American Marketing Association. However, marketers may neglect this responsive channel due to the cost of postage.
We can help. As mail experts, we can help you stretch your marketing budget and save on postage costs by commingling your mail.
What is Commingling?
Commingling is a process by which mailings from more than one company are combined to meet USPS discount minimums for quantity for mailings to targeted neighborhoods.
In general, the process entails:
- Combining multiple mailings with multiple postage types
- Sorting the mail by zip code
- Spraying or reading pre-printed IMb’s
- Bundling mail into trays by zip code group
- Deliver bundled trays to the destination post office(s)
Here’s How
Commingling providers (like Midwest) sort your mail to the destination post office(s) which saves the post office a lot of work. In return, the post office charges a lower postage rate for your mail. Using our commingle services can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on your mail. This opens your budget up to send more mail, or integrate additional channels into your campaigns, such as targeted display ads or Informed Delivery.
1. Save Money with Commingle
We will pick up your mail, review through our quality control process, then run it through sorters, just like the USPS. Midwest will help you optimize your postage by combining with other projects. Volume is an important factor. The larger your commingling group, the better chance you’ll have at finding enough pieces of mail that share the same five-digit ZIP code to meet the minimum threshold of 150 commingled mail pieces which in turn lowers your overall postage costs, and reduces the delivery time to your client. That’s why it’s helpful to have a commingle partner to handle your mail because these providers serve many other clients and therefore can reach the volume needed to qualify for discounts.
2. One Pass Processing
When commingle providers use two-pass processing, during the first pass, barcodes or address blocks on the mail pieces are read by machines to determine where these pieces eventually need to go. Then, the same mail is run through again for a second pass, where the mail is finalized and sorted into the proper bins.
One pass mail is completed with the help of the Midwest Data team. Prior to printing, the data team effectively completes the first pass digitally. Once printed, the mail pieces are then run through the sorters to be finalized and sorted into the proper bins. This helps mail pieces maintain their integrity– as less equipment will touch it.
3. Hybrid
Some of our clients qualify for the best postage rates without our help, but not on everything. They turn to Midwest to help them with the mail that doesn’t qualify for the best postage prices under their rates. With the hybrid approach, clients drop some of their mail directly with the post office and send mail that needs improved rates to us to be commingled.
Review
Commingling your mail can save you on time and postage. It’s consolidated and touched less with the added benefit of less handling to keep the mail piece’s integrity. And it ships deeper into the USPS system from the outset. Your mail will get processed more efficiently saving you both time and money.
With Midwest Direct’s commingle you get:
- All-inclusive rate (includes freight & processing)
- Overall Less postage cost
- Better visibility within your mail
- Midwest as a Liaison Between You And USPS
Contact us today to get started commingling your mail!
