Part
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Part
01
Direct Mail Personalization and Automation: Part 2 of 2, The Companies, Competitive Landscape
Over half of the mail pieces delivered by the USPS in 2017 were direct mailings, and $9.4 million was spent by direct mail companies throughout the year.
According to a Bell Howell Listing in 2017, the top three direct mail companies by revenue were IWCO Direct with $442.5 million, Quad\Graphics with $374.2 million, and SG360 with $281.8 million.
SELECTION OF INCLUDED COMPANIES
In order to select the top three companies included in our findings, the top three companies were obtained from sourcing provided by our client. Qualification for selection was also determined by total sales. Quad|Graphics only derived 9% of its sales from direct mail, however, they boast large clients, such as National Geographic, therefore they are included in the findings.
Automation/versioning/purl's
All three companies provide automation services for digital printing and direct mailings. IWCO utilizes separate platforms, such as Direct 1:1 and Messagepoint for these services. Quad|Graphics utilizes trademarked American and an Annual Customer Focus Survey for personalization and versioning, although all utilize all three aspects including pURL's. SG360 also utilizes abandoned carts and website visits in its direct marketing campaign.
self-serve
All three companies utilize account managers for direct marketing campaigns along with in-house teams. All have some type of automated client portal for digital printing and quality control. SG360 has adjustable mailing frequencies.
LOGISTICS
All three companies utilize logistics for their mailings. LWCO uses MailGuard, which guards against disasters and catastrophes. Quad|Graphics utilizes co-mingling, co-mailing, and co-palletization for reducing their mailing costs. They also have their own transport service. SG360 offers same campus and end-to-end service in addition to E-induction with the USPS to minimize paperwork and streamline delivery times.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the three companies analyzed are very similar with regard to overview, automation, versioning, self-service options, and logistics. There are, however, competitive differences within each company for the various areas provided. Examples include the trade-marked platforms offered by IWCO direct for versioning and automation in their Direct 1:1 platform and through their content management service provided by Messagepoint. Quad|Graphics utilizes American and their annual CustomerFocus Survey for personalization and target market analysis. SG360 utilizes abandoned carts and website visits as pURL strategies for direct marketing. Quad|Graphics utilizes its own transportation company while SG360 utilizes E-Induction with USPS to streamline delivery services.