Director Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
You now have yet another reason to relax in the knowledge that no matter what the campaign, at mailmarketing you are always in the safe hands of experienced industry professionals.
At the Scottish Advertising Awards on Friday 9th October, Jan was awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’. Alex Ricketts from Royal Mail, who sponsored the event, presented Jan with the award to acknowledge her outstanding contribution to the direct marketing industry.
Jan has extensive experience within the Direct Marketing Industry, having worked in the client, agency and service sectors over the past 25 years. She has been a member of the DMA since 1995 and was also a member of a cross trade association team, responsible for the development and implementation of the Accredited Response Management (ARM) scheme. ARM ensures that companies working in response management meet a series of standards in terms of corporate and financial stability, training, staffing and facilities, security, brand and customer protection.
Jo Scobie, regional manager, DMA Scotland, comments: “Jan has earned an exceptional reputation in our industry. Through her dedication, energy and knowledge, she has made a massive contribution to the development and profile of direct marketing in Scotland. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of such recognition.”
Reacting to the award, Jan said: “It is an honour to have received this award and to be recognised by my peers within the marketing industry. I look forward to many more years of advising and servicing clients’ future campaigns.”
mailmarketing is able to offer clients a full range of marketing support and fulfilment services, from initial conception through to successful completion of campaigns. With an award winning MD and numerous accreditations to their name, you can be assured that mailmarketing will be there to help every step of the way.
Postal Strike Update
The postal strikes have been called off until at least the New Year to allow for fresh talks between Royal Mail and the CWA.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision had been made to provide "a period of calm" in which the two sides could reach a long-term deal. He said that meant Royal Mail deliveries would be "free of any disruption" over Christmas.
However Mr Barber said that securing a final deal remained a long way away. The industrial dispute has been over the level of job losses the RM says are necessary as part of its modernisation plans. While the CWU accepts that some redundancies are required, the two sides disagree over their extent to changes to pay and working conditions for RM staff.
Poor Response Management
When considering sales opportunities in the current economic climate more and more organisations are overlooking the significant importance of response management.
Recent research carried out by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) unveiled that a quarter of companies failed to respond to a customer enquiry that was placed through their website. Such findings are alarming when we take into consideration the increasingly digital age that companies operate in. In addition to this, even after prompting 14 per cent of these companies still did not respond.
John Dyson from the DMA Response Management Council stated:
“It is a proven fact that a fast personalised reply results in an increase in response and conversion rates, greater customer loyalty and, as a result, a rise in sales. With budgets under more scrutiny than ever, marketers really need to extol these benefits to prove their worth. Judging from our research findings, it would seem that some companies need to go back to the drawing board and reassess their response handling.”
mailmarketing is here to help! We are proud to have recently been awarded with the industry scheme for Accredited Response Management (ARM). Led by a customer services department, and driven by rigorous quality processes, mailmarketing can offer personalised contact and an understanding of your customer needs. Among the response management products offered are contact centre services, online catalogue management, order and payment processing, data capturing and subscription management. We can bring everything under one roof, on your behalf. We know how important your customers are, so let us look after them.
Don’t lose out because of poor response management!
Mail Marketing Takes on ½ Marathon task for Breast Cancer Care!
Imagine what it feels like to run 13 miles! This is exactly what Vicky Perrie from Mail Marketing Scotland did when she ran the Great North Run on 20th September 2009 for Breast Cancer Care.
Vicky took on this mammoth task to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care, the leading national organisation offering free information and support to those affected by breast cancer and called on her Mail Marketing colleagues to help raise money for this worthy cause.
On 11th September, Mail Marketing had a spectacular Fundraising Day. This included a raffle with fab prizes, a scrumptious cake sale, a Marshmallow Challenge, with Mo the triumphant winner and guessing the number of jelly babies in the jar!!! Vicky Perrie: “Breast Cancer Care is a charity that is close to my heart and I know that they are committed to campaigning for better treatment and support for people with breast cancer and their families. In total we managed to raise an amazing £236, the money is going to such a good cause and I would just like to thank everyone who took part.”
Claire Pulford, Sporting Events Manager, Breast Cancer Care: “We are delighted that Vicky has joined our team to help support Breast Cancer Care. Every contribution makes a difference and all funds raised will go towards ensuring that Breast Cancer Care can continue to offer vital support to women and men with breast cancer, as well as their parents, families and friends.”
*Anyone with breast cancer or breast health concerns can get free, confidential support and information from the Breast Cancer Care helpline on 0808 800 6000 or by visiting www.breastcancercare.org.uk Registered charity number 1017658. Registered charity in Scotland number SCO38104.
mailmarketing launch new website
June 2009 sees the launch of the new mailmarketing website which has been redesigned and re-branded.
We have been hard at work over the last few months trying to create a shiny new website which is easy to navigate, informative and useful to you our customer.
The website has been re-launched with a new look, significant layout alterations and new content, which we hope will enhance the user experience. In addition to the newly designed website you may have also noticed that our logo has taken on a new identity. We felt it was time to refresh the mailmarketing logo to encompass the company as a whole, incorporating the range of services that we offer our clients at mailmarketing.
We hope you enjoy using the new website and if you have any feedback please do not hesitate to get in touch.
mailmarketing achieves ARM accreditation
mailmarketing is happy to announce that we have recently gained ARM accreditation.
Accredited Response Management (ARM) is a new initiative designed to raise standards and confidence in the UK Fulfilment & Response Handling Service Industry.
ARM is a joint initiative between three trade organisations - DMA, ISP (Institute of Sales Promotion) & ISBA (Incorporated Society of British Advertisers). It is recognised that Response Management companies work across the whole spectrum of marcoms activity therefore no single trade body accurately reflects the full range of interests & skills.
The accreditation scheme is designed to allow buyers (promoters/agencies) to gain access to proven, high quality response management companies. mailmarketing gained the prestigious accreditation by undergoing a comprehensive auditing process and meeting a series of standards in terms of corporate and financial stability, training, staffing and facilities, security, brand & customer protection.
We would like to say a big thank you to our clients who kindly participated in the auditing process and in turn helped us gain such an important industry recognised accreditation!
NHS Loses Thousands of Records
The Department of Health has confirmed that the NHS has lost the personal medical records of tens of thousands of people.
In 2009 alone, it has been revealed that a total of 140 security breaches have been reported between January and April.
The Independent stated that amongst these breaches were computers containing sensitive information being stolen and left beside skips. Due to such incidents the Information Commissioner has had to take action against 14 NHS bodies for the violation of data regulations.
The increasing number of cases of data mismanagement, that are coming to light, emphasises the undeniable need for organisations to ensure that their data is being handled properly. An update to the Data Protection Act in May 2008 has resulted in more severe punishment for companies that do not take adequate steps to secure their data.