direct mail services
Secure, sustainable and cost-effective direct mail solutions for every B2B and B2C campaign – from a few hundred pieces to hundreds of thousands.
Data, design, print, fulfilment, postage and returns – all under one roof. End-to-end direct mail for UK businesses for over 30 years.
✓ 30+ years’ experience
✓ ISO 27001 accredited
✓ Carbon neutral certified
get a quick quote
Our friendly team would love to hear from you.
Join 600+ companies using our services
how it works?
Three simple steps from data to doormat.
send us your data
Once your data lands with us, our team reviews it against the service and pricing schedules of our full portfolio of mail partners – using our in-house software to find the most cost-effective route.
review and confirmation
Within minutes, we come back with the best service and postage solution to maximise your savings without impacting delivery. You sign off, we get to work.
mail delivered
Your mail is delivered on time – with the tracking technology to prove it. Every step, every batch, fully auditable.
end-to-end direct mail solutions, under one roof
Direct mail is one of the few marketing channels that lands in someone’s hand, sits on a desk, and gets remembered. Done properly, it drives response rates that most digital channels can only dream of.
At bakergoodchild, we’ve spent over 30 years helping UK businesses get direct mail right. From data cleansing and creative design to print, fulfilment and postage, our direct mail services cover every stage of the campaign – so you get one supplier, one point of contact, and one quote that includes everything.
Whether you’re mailing a targeted campaign of a few hundred or a national rollout of hundreds of thousands, we help you deliver the perfect campaign, on time and on budget.
our complete direct mail services
Pick the elements you need, or hand over the whole campaign. We’re set up to be as involved as you want us to be.
data cleansing & management
Data quality is the single biggest factor in whether a direct mail campaign performs – or wastes money. Our data cleansing and management team optimises your data so more mail reaches the right people, and less ends up in the returns pile. That means:
- Goneaway suppression – records removed where recipients have moved
- Duplication removal – checks to ensure duplicated records don’t get mailed twice
- PAF verification – every address checked against the Post Office Address File
- Data profiling – so you can target the right recipients with the right message
Better data means better ROI, fewer complaints, and less wastage. Simple.
direct mail postage
Postage is often the single largest line on a direct mail invoice – and the easiest place to overspend. We send huge volumes of mail every day, which unlocks postage discounts and incentives most in-house teams can’t access. On top of that, our postage team looks for savings in the details:
- Design tweaks to hit machine-readable discounts
- Content adjustments to qualify for Advertising Mail rates
- Paper stock changes for Environmental discounts
- Alternative dispatch dates to sidestep price hikes
- Format and size changes to land in a cheaper weight bracket
Small changes, real savings. More on our postage services here.
direct mail fulfillment
Fulfilment is where the mechanics happen. We automate wherever it’s possible – envelope enclosing, folding, collation, polythene enclosing – and hand-finish where it isn’t. Every campaign is tracked from preparation through to dispatch, so you know exactly where your mail is at every stage.
For businesses running regular mailings, we integrate directly with your systems via API. Trigger a welcome letter from your CRM. Send an invoice straight from your accounting platform. Query the status of a mail piece and update your database automatically. Read more on automation and integration.
From letters and postcards to brochures, catalogues, magazines and envelopes, our print services cover everything you’re likely to mail – plus a good few things you might not have thought of. We print in-house wherever we can, and use a trusted network of specialist suppliers for the jobs that need it, so you always get the right kit for the job.
There’s no one-size-fits-all print solution here. We tailor every quote to your format, quantity, deadline and budget.
returns management
Mail comes back for all sorts of reasons – movers, goneaways, deceased records. Left unmanaged, returns cost you money and quietly degrade your database. We track and process every returned item so you can:
- Keep your data clean and accurate
- Save money on future print, postage and packaging
- Improve response rates on the next campaign
- Reduce wastage and environmental impact
personalisation
Personalisation turns a mail piece into a conversation. Treat customers as individuals, and they’re far more likely to read, keep and act on what you send – which is why our personalised campaigns consistently lift response rates and ROI.
We’ll build the right approach for your audience and your data, including:
- Variable designs and images – matched to each segment or recipient
- Variable text and offers – the right message and incentive for every reader
- Personalised URLs and QR codes – so every response is trackable
- Contact details – the right phone number, email or local branch for each recipient
Combined with clean data and our ADPS workflow, personalisation happens automatically, at any volume, and every piece is fully auditable.
frankk. a bakergoodchild company
direct mail automation with ADPS
Manual data processing is where campaigns lose money – through delays, errors and rework. Our proprietary Automated Data Processing System (ADPS) fixes that. Built in-house and fully customisable, it turns hours of manual work into seconds, with fewer errors and lower unit costs.
For clients who want to go further, we integrate ADPS with your CRM, ERP or e-commerce platform. Trigger a welcome pack when a customer signs up. Send an invoice the moment it’s raised. Update a mail-status field in your CRM the second the letter’s despatched. It’s direct mail automation that behaves like software, not stationery.
- Data collection – via SFTP or API
- Validation – automated checks before anything goes to print
- Streaming – optimising your data for production efficiency and postage
- Mailsort – sorting for maximum postage discounts
- Composition – production controls for accurate enclosing
- Batch and item tracking – every item tracked through production
- Reporting – full reports at completion
- Fully auditable – a complete audit trail for every job
your data, safe with us
Direct mail campaigns rely on customer data – and how you handle that data matters as much as the mail piece itself.
Our mailing house runs on industry-compliant SFTP servers, so data can be uploaded over an encrypted connection with confidentiality maintained end-to-end. Access is strictly permissions-based, all staff are extensively trained, and every process is documented and auditable.
- ISO 27001 accredited
- Cyber Essentials Plus certified
- Full GDPR compliance
- ICO registered
- Encrypted data transfer
- Strict permissions-based access
For sensitive campaigns – debt recovery, financial services, public sector – this level of rigour is non-negotiable. For everyone else, it’s just how we work.
sectors we work with
why direct mail still works
In an inbox-fatigued world, physical mail cuts through where digital struggles. It’s tangible, it gets held, and it stays around – often days or weeks after it lands.
Research consistently finds that mail is opened, shared and acted on at rates most digital channels can’t match – with more than half of consumers taking a commercial action after receiving advertising mail. Add to that the ability to personalise every piece with variable data, track response through PURLs and QR codes, and integrate with your existing digital marketing, and direct mail becomes a serious performance channel – not a nostalgic one.
The best campaigns we run don’t replace digital marketing. They work alongside it – with the mail piece driving the recipient online, and the digital campaign reinforcing the message that arrived on the doormat.
large volume direct mail services
Whether you’re sending 500 pieces or several hundred thousand, our infrastructure is built to scale without dropping quality. Our production floor combines high-speed enclosing lines, digital and litho printing partnerships, and dedicated hand-fulfilment for the jobs that need it.
For large-volume direct mail campaigns, three things matter: postage rates, throughput, and reliability. We work with the UK’s biggest postal partners – Royal Mail, Whistl, Landmark Global, Asendia, Jersey Post Global Logistics, Mail Africa, Mail Americas, Direct Link – to keep unit costs down on every scale of campaign. And our ADPS-driven workflow means high-volume mailings don’t need proportionally more time or people to run.
Regular large-volume mailings, contract mail, one-off national rollouts, complex multi-content mail packs – we’ve been doing this for over three decades.
environmentally friendly direct mail
Direct mail doesn’t have to cost the earth. We’ve spent years making our production greener without compromising on quality – because our clients (and their customers) increasingly expect both.
If sustainability is part of your brand story, we’ll help you tell it through the mail piece itself – including access to Royal Mail’s Environmental discount where campaigns qualify. Read more about our sustainability approach →
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Carbon neutral certified. We’ve audited our emissions across energy, transport and supply chain, reduced them wherever possible, and offset the rest through verified carbon offset projects.
- FSC accredited. The paper we use comes from responsibly managed forests – good for biodiversity, good for the communities that rely on them.
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Sustainable finishing options. Where clients want an alternative to polywrap, we offer biodegradable potato-starch packaging as standard.
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Carbon capture through our supply chain. We work with paper partners investing in carbon capture, so the paper on your mail piece is doing its bit.
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LED-lit facility, closed-loop recycling. All unused paper is securely recycled across our site, and our facility runs on LED lighting – up to 80% less energy than traditional bulbs.
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Two Sides member. Because responsible print and mail deserves an advocate.
we’re helping hundreds of global companies
our postal partners
why bakergoodchild?
Direct mail is one of the few marketing channels that lands in someone’s hand, sits on a desk, and gets remembered. Done properly, it drives response rates that most digital channels can only dream of.
Whether you’re mailing a targeted campaign of a few hundred, or a national rollout of hundreds of thousands, we help you deliver the perfect campaign, on time and on budget.
experience
Over 30 years helping UK businesses get direct mail right. Our ADPS automation was built in-house, so it adapts to your data and workflows.
service
Data, design, print, mail fulfilment, postage and returns – all handled in-house. One supplier, one point of contact, one quote. No juggling three suppliers, no version-control headaches, no finger-pointing when a deadline slips.
security
ISO 27001 accredited, Cyber Essentials Plus certified, fully GDPR compliant and ICO registered – the credentials sectors like financial services, debt recovery and the public sector need in a mailing house.
scale & savings
Postage is usually the biggest cost in any direct mail campaign. We work with Royal Mail, Whistl, Asendia, Landmark Global, Jersey Post and more, using in-house software to find the cheapest route for every mailing without compromising delivery.
direct mail in action
a nationwide climate action pack for Islamic Relief UK, delivered in 10 working days
Islamic Relief UK wanted to mark Muslim Climate Action Week with something more memorable than a letter: a tactile, interactive pack that would get schools and community groups across the UK taking climate action the moment it landed. Every component had to be sustainably sourced, on brand and budget-conscious – and the whole job had a 10-working-day window.
We worked with Islamic Relief’s team to choose formats and materials that delivered the interactivity they wanted without overstretching a charity budget. The final pack combined branded sunflower seeds in compostable packaging, colour-matched pencils, custom colour-by-numbers sheets and variable letters and posters, all on FSC-certified paper. Sourcing, branding, enclosing and dispatch were handled in-house, and the packs landed on schedule to a great response from schools and organisations nationwide.
“Working with the bakergoodchild team was fantastic from conception to delivery… working to tight deadlines with great communication, and even accommodating last-minute requests.” – Islamic Relief UK
what you can mail through our postage services
- Letters
- MailMark®
- Advertising Mail
- Door Drops
- International Mail
- Large Letters
- 1st, 2nd and Economy Class Mail
- Magazine Mail
- Signed for Mail
- International Tracked & Signed
- Parcels and Packets
- Business Mail
- Partially Addressed Mail
- Tracked Mail
- International Courier
cost efficiency
Partnerships with major postal carriers secure the best rates on every mailing, without compromising quality.
speed & reliability
Streamlined processes and robust technology mean fast, dependable delivery – every time.
security
Advanced tracking and encryption protect sensitive data at every stage of the postal process.
compliance
Every direct mail campaign meets the relevant industry regulations, whatever the sector or content.
secure, reliable & professional mailing solutions
get a quick quote
Our friendly team would love to hear from you.
frequently asked questions
what is direct mail?
Direct mail is a marketing strategy where businesses send physical materials – letters, postcards, brochures, catalogues – directly to a targeted audience. Combined with customer data and personalisation, direct mail engages potential and existing customers, drives sales, and builds brand awareness in a way that digital channels alone can’t.
what is an example of direct mail?
Anything from a personalised postcard offering a discount, to a full catalogue send, to a fundraising appeal from a charity. A common example: a postcard from a local business offering 20% off, redeemable by scanning a QR code – combining direct mail with digital tracking in one campaign.
what metrics should I track for my direct mail campaigns?
The four we most often recommend:
- Response rates – the percentage of recipients who engage (visited a URL, scanned a QR code, called a number)
- Conversion rates – the percentage who took the desired action (purchase, sign-up, booking)
- Cost per acquisition (CPA) – the total campaign cost divided by new customers acquired
- Delivery & bounce rates – how well your mailing list is holding up
Not sure how to set these up? Talk to us – we build tracking into every campaign we run.
can bakergoodchild handle high-volume direct mail campaigns?
Yes. We handle campaigns from a few hundred pieces to several hundred thousand, with in-house automation and multiple postal partnerships that keep unit costs down at scale. Talk to us about your volume and timeline.
how does bakergoodchild manage the security of my data?
As one of the UK’s leading direct mail marketing companies, security is our top priority. We employ advanced encryption, secure direct mail printing services, and strict chain-of-custody procedures to protect your documents throughout the mailing process. Our facilities and processes are designed to meet ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus standards for confidentiality and data protection.
how do you keep postage costs down?
We work with multiple postal partners (not just Royal Mail), and use in-house software to find the cheapest compliant route for every mailing. Small changes – format, weight, dispatch date, content adjustments – can qualify campaigns for discounts like MailMark®, Advertising Mail rates or Environmental discounts. Our postage team knows every lever to pull.
is direct mail environmentally friendly?
It can be. bakergoodchild is a carbon-neutral certified, FSC-accredited mailing house, and we offer biodegradable packaging options, recycled paper stocks and Environmental postage discounts where campaigns qualify. More detail on our sustainability page.
ensuring timely delivery of your communications domestically and internationally.
what types of documents and campaigns do you specialise in?
Everything from highly creative direct mail campaigns to business-critical transactional documents. We tailor the service – quality, confidentiality, compliance – to the sector and the campaign.
how does bakergoodchild manage the security of my data?
Advanced encryption, secure printing, strict chain-of-custody procedures, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certification, and full GDPR compliance. Every campaign – every letter – is auditable.
which industries do you serve?
We work across finance, legal, healthcare, local government, retail, charities, travel, education, telecoms, utilities, property, automotive, membership organisations, leisure and more. Full list of sectors here.
how quickly can you process and dispatch my mail?
Our automated print-and-post service is built for speed. We agree the deadline upfront, work back from it, and deliver – domestically and internationally. Turnarounds vary by volume and complexity, but tight deadlines are our bread and butter.
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