The bulk mail industry is a large one, and many industries, businesses, corporations, charities and authorities from around the world have the need for bulk mailing services. It allows for companies to reach new customers, or for individuals to be informed of changes that may affect them or important information.

It, of course, has many other uses too, and bulk mail itself involves many functions and processes. To help break this down a little for you, we’ve included a jargon buster below on some of the more common phrases that you’ll find associated with the bulk mail industry.

The jargon buster

Bulk mail

It would be a good idea to start with ‘bulk mail’ itself! Bulk mail is simply numerous pieces of mail that are sent out in one go, typically used for marketing campaigns.

Direct mail

Direct mail is a form of direct marketing. Other types of direct marketing include activities such as email marketing; direct mail simply refers to direct marketing that uses mail.

ISO

ISO is an acronym for the International Organisation of Standardisation, a global organisation which provides certifications to dozens of industries around the world relating to quality, safety and reliability.

These certifications can be attributed to products, services or companies, and are worldwide acknowledged certifications. A good mailing house will have the appropriate ISO standards, which bakergoodchild does, read our Quality Policy here.

These are:

• ISO 9001 – relates to the quality management of the mailing house
• ISO 14001 – relates to the environmental conduct of the mailing house

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Delivery classes

As with standard mail that you post yourself, bulk mail is subject to different delivery times. 1^st class will typically be delivered the next working day, 2^nd class takes two to three days to be delivered, and economy class will be delivered within four days.

Mailing house

A mailing house, such as bakergoodchild, confusingly doesn’t refer to a house! It’s just the term that’s used to describe a business or company that prepares, plans, prints and posts mail for individuals or organisations on a large scale.

Variable data printing

Variable data printing is one of the most useful processes used for fulfilling bulk mail services. It allows variations of print to be completed, all within the same print cycle, saving both time and money for the client. It means you can send out varied bulk mail in one campaign and is proven to increase response rates.

Data management

A bulk mail campaign will typically involve plenty of personalised data, such as names of recipients, and data management refers to the way in which the mailing house handles this data.

Find out more about bulk mail from bakergoodchild

We hope that the above information has helped to break down the bulk mail industry for you and given you a greater insight into the terminology that we use. If you want to know more or discuss bulk mail further with your new found lingo, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. You can find our full contact details listed here. We recommend reading our Direct Mail Glossary and Jargon Buster which you can do by clicking here.

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