10 reasons why you should outsource your communications in 2024

Effective business communication is essential for the success and growth of every organisation. Whether you're running a small business or managing a global company, the way you communicate with your customers can significantly impact your outcomes.

As we enter 2024, the importance of cost-effective communication becomes even more critical, as businesses experience rising pressures due to budget reductions amid ever-evolving technology and economic challenges.

In this blog, we’re going to explore 10 ways to take your communications to the next level and save money, help you streamline your communication processes, enhance productivity, and ultimately boost your organisation's profitability.

10 REASONS TO OUTSOURCE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS THIS YEAR

1. Save money – Reduce your resource expenses by outsourcing your communications, eliminating the need for you to maintain in-house inventory of paper, envelopes, ink, and stamps. Communication suppliers provide a digital mail room, where they handle the production, enclosure and mailing of your letters, often at a price cheaper than a second-class stamp.
   
   
2. Save time and reduce cost– Outsourcing your communications can free up valuable time that would have otherwise been consumed by staff members printing, enclosing, and mailing your letters. Enhancing overall productivity, it enables your team to dedicate their efforts to more critical business activities. As a result, more can be accomplished in a shorter timeframe, leading to cost savings for your business.
   
   
3. Benefit from consolidated postal rates - Partner with a supplier who can offer downstream access postage rates or reduced postage costs. This is an enhanced benefit from suppliers’ partnership with postal delivery organisations including the Royal Mail and Whistl, who offer consolidated postage prices due to the volumes being mailed. This means that you can post your communications at a reduced rate in comparison to purchasing stamps or utilising a franking machine in-house.
   
   
4. Offer channel choice – Providing a choice of communication channel empowers your customers to receive communications in their preferred manner, be it through a letter, SMS or email. This increases engagement rates and prevents unnecessary expenditure on methods that may not align with their preferences. It's worth noting that sending all communications digitally reduces costs but there is a trade-off with engagement. A blended approach, geared to recipients' preferences', is often best.
   
   
5. Partner with accredited suppliers to comply with regulations – It’s important to partner with an experienced supplier who has supporting accreditations and certifications. Businesses can leverage IT solutions and cybersecurity measures suppliers have in place, helping to comply with industry and data security regulations, while ensuring that your data is secure. This proactive approach also helps businesses mitigate the risk of data breaches, ultimately avoiding potentially costly fines and penalties.
   
   
6. Benefit from a returns management service – A reputable communications supplier will have a returns management service built into their solutions. This ensures that any letters returned are registered as ‘returned to sender’ with the reason stated. Businesses can then monitor who is no longer at an address and refrain from sending any future communications, resulting in significant cost savings. Although there is often a small fee (sometimes as little as 2p an address), the long-term financial benefits make it a worthwhile investment.
   
   
7. Increase open rates with personalised envelopes – A good supplier will offer the ability to print on the envelope. By simply adding the word ‘IMPORTANT’ to an outer envelope, your letters have a 90% chance of being opened, compared to a plain white envelope (TEU, 2022). Other personalisation options include adding your logo to the envelope or an alternative strapline.  NHS appointment letters with an NHS logo on the envelope have a 100% open rate (Royal Mail marketreach).
   
   
8. Add more pages in an envelope for lower postage costs – Certain suppliers provide the flexibility to enclose as many as 14 pages within a single envelope, a significant increase compared to the typical average of just 5 sheets per envelope*. This allows you to send a greater volume of content without incurring additional costs.
   
   *Royal Mail specify you can have a thickness of 5mm, which is roughly 5 sheets and the envelope
   
   
9. Utilise Inbound Document Processing – Suppliers can scan inbound mail to digitalise the documents customers send to you. This provides the opportunity to analyse and understand customer responses. From this insight, you can improve further responses to customers.
   
   
10. Adopt digital document delivery - Avoid issues with emails and SMS, such as security and spam filters, by sending documents into a secure inbox. Overcoming issues of trust around a communication being secure, this alternative method is reliable, instant and most importantly, secure.

WHERE CAN I FIND A SUPPLIER THAT OFFERS ALL OF THESE THINGS?

Here at CFH, our products and solutions are designed to save you money, while streamlining processes and improving efficiencies. Across print & post, hybrid mail and digital delivery, we have a range of solutions that encapsulate all the elements mentioned in this blog, so that you can benefit from reduced costs this year, and beyond.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you cut costs this year, while enhancing your communications, get in touch.