The Benefits of Using a Corporate Mail Solution for Your Business

Improved Back-Office Productivity and Efficiency

Back-office tasks include all of the administrative work which is required to run the business, rather than the activities that provide direct services to customers. Back-office work includes accounting, accounts payable, maintaining files, regulatory compliance, sorting mail, scanning records, archiving mail, and depositing checks—and that is just the beginning.

Although the market has shifted away from traditional mail and toward immediate communication through e-mail and messenger services, many businesses still receive and send daily physical mail, which must be opened and processed. For large businesses or individuals who travel frequently, handling the mail is a major hassle. Small businesses often do not have the manpower to spend so many hours processing the mail and completing all the other tasks necessary for running the business. Larger businesses are often swamped with mail and shipments.

One way to help a business grow is to use corporate mail services to streamline some back-office processes, including automating business mail. This frees up employees so they can direct their efforts toward the company's business functions.

By outsourcing the mail, these time-consuming tasks are handled by your designated corporate mail service. Many third-party services will give the business a physical address where all mail will be sent. This outsources the back-office process and introduces automation by eliminating manual processing.

How much time and effort can you save? According to statistics, businesses in the banking sector which have converted their traditional back offices into automated systems, have generated an improvement of over 50% in customer service and productivity.

Lower Overheads through Virtual Office Services

Another benefit of using a corporate mail service is the potential to reduce or even eliminate most of the overheads of running a small business or freelance enterprise. Some corporate mail services also offer virtual office services. Rather than paying for a physical office, which entails rent, insurance, utilities, and other monthly costs, many businesses are forgoing an office in favor of a virtual office space. Virtual offices provide a physical location for a business whose employees actually work from home or off-site. Mail will be sent to the virtual office location, where it will be handled in accordance with your wishes.

There are many different virtual services available at a reasonable cost. The mail service that is right for your situation depends on your company's needs.

For example, the UPS Store provides businesses with an actual street address that is not a P.O. Box. It also accepts shipments from any mail carrier, sends text notifications when mail arrives, and will let you know when you don't have mail and don't need to make the trip. This type of service is good for freelancers who travel frequently, or for small businesses that do not have a permanent office address.

There is a difference, however, between corporate mail services that provide a virtual office address and the concept of a registered agent. In most U.S. states, a business must designate a person or entity to receive service of process when there is legal action involving the company. Having a registered agent, therefore, is a requirement under the law. The registered agent must have a physical mailing address in the state in which the business is registered. In most states, a P.O. Box cannot serve as a legitimate address for a registered agent because there is no one at the P.O. Box to accept legal notices.

The confusion between corporate mail services and registered agent services stems from the fact that for both services, you may be paying for a physical address. A corporate mail service can provide you with an address—often called a "virtual office"—but this does not necessarily mean the address is to be used for the registered agent. There are third-party registered agents who will give you an address for service of process, and also provide the other mail management services for a fee. However, most registered agent services are not there to sort and process your mail, or give you notifications about packages and deliveries.

Scanning, Processing, and Archiving the Physical Mail

If you are a business that needs a little more help than just having a physical address or virtual office, then it is advisable to take the next step up by hiring a corporate mail service to actually manage your physical mail. Companies like Earth Class Mail streamline back-office processes and create more efficient systems by scanning your mail, archiving it, and discarding junk mail, all at your direction. Unlike the mail box stores, these corporate mail services directly handle your mail for you; they open, review, scan, forward, discard, shred, and upload your mail, all for a monthly fee.

Faster, Cheaper, Timely, and Secure Shipping

If your business handles a significant amount of traditional mail or does direct mailings, then you probably know that automated processes save considerable time. Automation saves the U.S. Postal Service several handling steps. According to USPS, mail that is presorted and bar-coded is delivered about 24 hours earlier than mail that is not prepared automatically.

• Faster Shipping – Electronic postage meters will fold, staple, print, insert paper into envelopes, seal envelopes, print labels, weigh, and stamp the mail. The most popular mailing equipment combines meters with electronic scales; other options include letter-opening and letter-folding, which can vary in speed from 25 to 200 envelopes a minute. The latest postage meters also coordinate with a computer program to track the mail once it is shipped. In a perfect world, every business would have these machines in-house. However, automated mailing equipment and computer programs are expensive even to lease. Businesses which have a significant amount of mail can save money and time by using a third-party mail service which can do all of these actions off-site. This also saves you the headache of having to maintain and service the machines.
• Cheaper Shipping – One of the mistakes many businesses make is using multiple carriers to send the mail. Using one service to handle all mail saves you money. If most of your mail is within the requirements for First Class Mail with the USPS, then a service provider can reduce costs and still provide timely delivery on all mail that is under one pound. When you have a mix of mail that is under one pound and over one pound, search for a mail provider that will handle the mixed volumes and provide you with lower costs.
• Timely Shipping – Another way you can improve your shipping responsiveness is by using a mail solution that will tailor their mailing services to your operating schedule. This gives your business the time it needs to meet critical deadlines, and you will no longer be bound by the random pick-up and delivery times of the mail carrier.
• Secure Shipping – Corporate mail solutions also provide good security, including safe locations, real-time updates on mail that is in transit, and tracking visibility for customers.

Services like Earth Class Mail can handle all of these actions for you, at a fraction of the cost of leasing or buying the machines.

It Helps a Business Grow

Businesses are always looking to grow, but in order to truly thrive, it is crucial to closely monitor expenses and focus on core competencies. Often, gaining a competitive advantage is just a matter of improving an internal process. Working with a third party to coordinate mail services leverages the power of a distribution network, lowering your costs and improving your overall efficiency. A corporate mail solution can help your business grow by:

• improving the customer experience;
• using shipping technology to save money and time; and
• utilizing online tracking and searchability.

To reap all the benefits of a corporate mail solution, you should consider the following characteristics when you assess your mail needs:

First of all, you should always select a service that provides hi-res, OCR-enabled search. This means that your mail will be converted to a PDF file that is fully searchable. The power of searchable mail means you will be able to quickly locate what you need, even when dealing with snail mail.

Second, forwarding mail and packages can be a great option for people who are on the go. With corporate mail services, look for those who let you see your mail electronically online and then forward the mail anywhere in the world with a variety of mail carriers.

Third, go paperless by connecting your physical mail to your other cloud storage. This is how you will be able to use your physical mail just like e-mail, making it searchable in seconds, with no hands-on research necessary.

Fourth, consider whether you receive enough sensitive mail to require secure paper shredding off-site. Many corporate mail services can do this for you confidentially and safely, eliminating that pile of mail in your office that sits unattended for months, all the while containing sensitive private information.

Fifth, decide whether you need to get serious about archiving. Although you can scan and archive your own mail and store it on your own servers, this can eat up your storage space. A corporate mail service will store the mail on their servers and will provide greater security than most businesses can afford to set up on their own.

Sixth, determine how deadline-driven your deliveries are and whether you need real-time updates. Tracking services are good for the business and the customer. If your customer can locate a delivery by using an online tracking system, then it will reduce customer service calls.

Seventh, evaluate how often you need to pick-up and deliver mail. Once you know the frequency of your mailings, you can figure out how much time you spend on mail processing and how much time could be spent doing other important tasks.

Conclusion

Some companies may have different needs than those outlined in this article. Set up a meeting with the corporate mail provider and talk to them about what kind of business you do and how you handle the mail. They will help you identify what additional services are right for your situation.

For many businesses, it makes sense to outsource some operations. Don't overlook the importance of handling the mail effectively. By using a third party to handle the mail, you can pay more attention to the core purpose of your business.