Is it K or M when referring to "per thousand"?

 Have you noticed.... that the print / mailing / marketing services world uses "M" in their pricing quotes while the financial world uses "K" and each one means "per thousand? 

In the marketing and data world, "M"  stands for per thousand records of data. In the print world, it would stand for per thousand sheets of paper, or other print functions like inserting, or completed print pieces. Many manufacturers also use "M" in their per unit pricing.

M and MM are Roman numerals where M stands for "one thousand" and MM is intended to denote "one thousand thousands"or "one million". A quote for mailing services would commonly show as $ /M.  For example, a cost quoted as $25/M would equate to $25 for every thousand pieces. It has its roots in the British Imperial System using Roman numerals and can also be referred to as USCS (US Customary System).

CPM - Cost Per Thousand  (M=1,000) - is a marketing advertising term referring to the cost usually referred to for internet pricing. For example - the cost of a Google or Facebook ad might show as $10 CPM, meaning $10 for every thousand times your ad appears. CPC means "cost per click".

The financial world uses "K" when referring to "per thousand dollars". Why is there such a difference in terms when they basically mean the same thing?

K comes from the Greek world "kilo" which means one thousand and is used in metric / decimal systems. The corresponding prefix for one million is M. An amount in the accounting and financial world shown as $14K would equate to $14,000.00. 

It is entirely possible when dealing with a vendor that both terms could be used in the same sentence:  An example would be a marketing quote for 80,000 records of data for a list order or pertaining to a large print order:

                        $45/M x 80 = $3.6k ($3,600.00)

One answer I came across as to why industry uses USCS and not metric is that when the industrial revolution happened, measurements were based on the imperial system and as time went on, it was too cost prohibitive to change. Industries dealing with international business would likely use metric.

Otherwise, I can't really find an answer as to why these two professions use different ways of of expressing "per thousand". Trust me though -- it makes a big difference when talking with various vendors for services. It's good to understand that these differences exist. 

DBS - helping you to mail smarter

When things don't go right.......

I recently took on a very small project of printing and mailing a postcard for a local non-profit group - under 150 pieces.  I donated my time and costs for getting a mailing list for them.   Because it was so small and virtually no budget, and the local printers had minimums, setup fees, etc. that made it not feasible to order from them, I ordered postcards from an online East Coast print company that was offering a great deal - and they provided mailing services as well with a guaranteed two-day turnaround.   Sounds like a great solution, right?  Except it was for a specific event and the postcards never arrived in time for the event even though the postcards were sent 1st class.

The print company dropped the postcards into the mail stream when they said they would (two day turnaround) The Post Office said they did not think we allowed enough time. WHHHHAAAATTTT?   Eight days for delivery not enough time??????? 

So what's the moral of the story???   Not sure if I should focus on the fact that the Post Office now believes eight days is not sufficient time for 1st class mail to get delivered OR to extol the virtues of using local printers who would drop the mail locally.  On the other hand.... the nonprofit didn't have the funds to use the local source, so the alternative was not to do the advertising to start with.

In the end......... the event didn't get the promised advertising, the donor who paid for the mailing is out some money and I look bad for suggesting a service that didn't pan out.  Hmmmm - sometimes ya just can't win :(

“The mailing list is the single most important 

component of any direct mail campaign. 

If you are missing the target, 

it doesn’t matter what you are selling 

or how powerful your message!”

                                                                    ~Author Unknown

Let us help target your next mailing

DBS - Helping you mail better - and smarter!

Is Your Marketing Database Costing You Money?

It IS costing you money if it contains a lot of inconsistencies in how the data has been entered like:  

John Q. Smith | 123 South Main Street | Anytown | Anystate | 12345  
John  Smith     | 123 So Main Street      | Anytn       | Anystate | 12345-4321
John Q. Smith | 123 S Main St               | Anytown  | AS           | 12345
John Q. Smith | 123  Main St So            | Any Town | AS          | 12345
J. Smith           | 123 S Main Str #1         | Anytown  | A S          | 12345
John Q. Smith | 123 S Main St , Apt 1   | Anytown  | AS           | 12345

These are examples  of the kind of inconsistencies that we commonly see when working on databases that can make it difficult to  catch them  as duplicates.

Chances are, YOUR database has a lot of input errors and sloppy data entry that can keep you from using the database effectively for your marketing campaigns.  It's not unusual - most companies have databases that need cleaning up, standardizing the data, removing duplicates etc. 

Even with excellent data input, there are  other factors that can cause your database to be outdated.   People move and zip codes or area codes change.

DBS can work with you to standardize and correct your data

· Eliminate Duplicate Records ( Merge/Purge )

· Field Parsing

· Address Standardization

· Upper / Lower Case - change casing

· NCOA (National Change of Address) update for people who’ve moved

· Remove Deceased names

· Update Area Codes and Zip Codes

· Data Entry

All that effort you put into capturing data about your customers or prospects is only valuable if you can use it.  You will get a much better response AND save money if your data is cleaned up. 

 DBS can help you mail BETTER and SMARTER

Are you getting the best postage rates?

The best postage rates - Automation and Presort - for large volume mailings require certification that your mailing list has been matched against NCOA (National Change of Address) within 95 days of mailing.  If you do not have this certification, the only way you will still get the best postage rates is to have "Or Current Resident" below the person's name.

What is NCOA ?   When people move, they fill out (or should anyway) a Change of Address (COA) form for the Post Office so that their 1st Class mail gets forwarded to the new address. Your mailing list is matched against the Change of Address (COA) records that will indicate COA orders sent to the U.S. Postal Service by individuals, families, and businesses.   Luckily, most  lettershops run mailing lists through a NCOA process prior to mailing, but not all do - this is something you should verify with your lettershop.

Why does the Post Office require NCOA matching?  According to their statistics, 45 million people move every year.  No matter how often a mailing list is updated, there will always be a certain percentage of your mailing that reaches households where people have moved.  Plain and simple - delivering mail to addresses where people have moved costs the Post Office money.  And, ultimately, it costs you a lot of money as well - producing a mail piece, paying for printing and postage for something that might not ever be delivered if the person who is on the address label have moved.  Best case is that if mailed 1st class, the mail will be forwarded.  But, is it best for you to have mail forwarded to someone that may have moved to a whole new area?  Or is it best for your mail piece to get to the people who are currently living at the address. 

If you are mailing something that is subscription or member based, it would be best to have the mail follow the person who moved.  But, the majority of mailings are intended to reach a base of people living within a geographic area and even if the person whose name is on the mail piece moved, it would be better for the mail piece to stay at the address rather than being undelivered or forwarded.

 Should "Or Current Resident" be on your address label?

Won't putting "Or Current Resident" make my mailing look like junk mail?  The only real answer to this is to test it.  In my opinion however, if your offer or message is relevant to a specific geographic area, it will rarely matter unless it is something formal like an invitation.

The question you should be asking yourself is..... is it more important for my mail piece to be delivered to a specific address that is in my geographic area - or is it more important that the mail piece follow the person regardless of where they live.

You can read more about NCOA and Move Update requirements at:  USPS - Guide to Move Update

DBS can help you mail smarter -- call us to see how we can help.

Intelligent Mail Barcode

Will you be ready?

One of the biggest change is that instead of just being an option, the USPS is making IMB (Intelligent Mail Barcode) a requirement in order to qualify for automation discounts.

Intelligent Mail Barcode replaces the barcodes that are currently used for processing high voume mail for automation discounts.  The final ruling was posted on the Federal Register website on May 3rd.

The Intelligent Mail barcode is used to sort and track letters, cards and flats and offers greater versatility by allowing many services to be requested and embedded within one barcode. 

This REQUIRED new change will impact ALL volume mailers that get automation postal discounts including:

      - First-Class Mail - letters and flats
      - Standard Mail (Bulk) - letters and flats
      - Periodicals - letters and flats
      - Bound Printed Matter - flats
      - Business Reply Mail

You should immediately start thinking about.............

-- Who prepares your mail - do you process in-house or is it outsourced to a mail service provider (also known as mail house, or lettershop).

-- Does your mail service provider plan to have the software installed and be fully compliant before January 28, 2013 to print IMB and will their capabilities include basic or full-service.

-- If your mail is processed in-house, steps should be taken now to get your mailer ID code and make sure software is installed and compliant prior to January 28, 2013.

-- Do you need to change providers based on capabilities?

-- Compliance with IMB could result in needing to make design changes that could include more white space for addressing and the barcode on business reply mail.

-- Has your database been cleansed and updated?  NCOA (National Change of Address) is required now for all automation discounts and is currently enforced (or in the alternative, add "or current resident" to the addressing).

Failure to comply with IMB will result in loss of automation discounts on your mail - result:  higher postage.

Diversified Business Services (DBS) is already working with our mail service providers to make sure your mail will be fully compliant before January 28, 2013.  Make sure your outsourced providers are aware of this new requirement and fully on board -- this includes printers, graphic designers, mail houses and letteershops, and database managers.

Go to the USPS site for more information on Intelligent Mail Barcoding:

Overview to Intelligent Mail Service: 
https://ribbs.usps.gov/intelligentmail_guides/documents/tech_guides/OverviewIntelligentMailBasicService.pdf

Intelligent Mail Guides and Technical Specifications
https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=intellmailguides

1st Class Mailings and Returned Mail

Mailing at 1st-Class rates can result in mail being returned and not being deliverable as addressed.   There can be a lot of reasons why mail could be returned as not deliverable.  Some of the biggest reasons could include:

• The person addressed moved and did not file a change of address with the post office
• An apartment number or suite number was not included as part of the address.
• An internal mailstop number wasn't included - some large companies require this before their internal mailroom will deliver it.

Most reputable list compilers keep their lists updated on a regular basis - but