If your company relies on any kind of mailing or shipping, you are probably always on the lookout for ways to cut your shipping costs. Many companies that do not even much in the way of merchandise still mail a lot of stuff to prospective clients. Direct marking materials are very useful for a lot of companies. Some estimate that for every dollar spent of direct mail advertising can bring in nearly 13 dollars in profit. A whopping 85% of people go through their regular mail every day. Nearly 40% of the people who receive ads in the mail will check out the companies that sent it. So, picking the right shipping services company and process is very important for your bottom line.

Tips for Saving Money on Shipping Services

• Talk to your shipping services provider. Regardless of the size of your business, you can benefit from talking to them about reducing your shipping costs. All major shipping services companies have small business specialists who are there to make sure you are getting the most from your relationship with them. They want to keep you happy, that is how they keep your business. Some businesses report saving up to 40% on shipping by working directly with their carrier. Remember, they cannot say yes, if you do not ask and that applies here as well.
• Reuse, reduce and recycle. If you do not ship a lot, you can find uses for boxes that have already been used, given they are still in decent shape. If you receive packages and send our fewer than you get, use those boxed. You do not always have to buy new ones each time you mail out something. This is something to consider when you look at your print and copy services and needs as well. You can reuse some paper to cut back on costs in that area.
• Invest in a postage meter. Many companies just add extra to make sure their mailings arrive where they are going. Every little bit adds up. Having your own meter with a scale will help you make sure you put the correct postage on every time and save you money at the post office. Remember that time is money, too.
• Pay attention to how well your carrier does. Different shipping services providers offer different kinds of rates and offer different levels of service. Pay attention to what your customers think of your shipping. If you do ship a lot of goods, offer a coupon for them to complete a survey about the service they got from your carrier. Remember, your customers will hold you responsible for the carrier even when you have no control over their operations. If they are not doing a good job, you need to know. This has a direct impact on your bottom line.
• Ask about bulk mailing discounts and rates for postcards. As we have covered, these can be great ways to get the word out about your business. Talk to local printers and see if they can integrate your mailing lists into the printing of your ads. If they cannot, it is not hard to train your staff on how to use simple software to do smaller mailings in house. When you get to a large number, say thousands, you should go with a service to handle this. It becomes less and less cost effective to take care of these things in house as your list grows. Some printers can also include the postage and get the items to the post office for you.

Maybe your company is not in the business of shipping a lot of product. You still need to mail things. If you are a tax prep services provider, you will still need to mail things to the Internal Revenue Service, for example. No matter what your business is, it always makes sense to save money on things like shipping services.