Suppression is a process vital to reducing the volume of unwanted direct mail.
Recent statistics, provided by Australia Post, indicate that around 567 million items of promotional addressed advertising mail are sent to consumers in Australia every year. Of those an estimated 62 million items are sent to the wrong addresses, or worst still to people who have died.
This letterbox lament is not only annoying consumers, but is costing Australian businesses upwards of $93 million dollars annually, which is bad news all round for brands, budgets and the environment.
So if you’d like to avoid seeing your marketing materials becoming landfill, and dodge the brand damage associated with mailing gone-aways and the deceased then we have one word of advice for you ~ Suppression.
What is Suppression?
Suppression Files contain name and address data compiled from a wide variety of verified sources. Popular Suppression Files include The Australian Bereavement Register (TABR) ~ the most trusted and up-to-date reference of deceased data. The Gone-away Left Address (GLA) file identifies people who have moved address and the New Address Enhancement (NAE) ~ a file with a capability to reconnect you with gone-away customers or donors by supplying their new address
How does Suppression work?
Suppression files can be accessed via a data processing bureau or licensed directly from file owners.
The suppression files are then applied to mailing lists and databases, so that the name and address records common to both your list and the suppression file can be identified. Records common to both are known as matches ~ be they people who have died, moved house or simply don’t want to receive direct mail. Matches produced by suppression files allow you to make informed choices about whether to market to matches or not.
How much does Suppression cost?
Suppression costs are calculated on per match basis. Some bureaus may add a processing fee. But there are two most important things to remember:
- The cleaner and more up-to-date you keep your lists the less your suppression costs would be.
- The cost to suppress obsolete records will always be less than the price of printing & lodging your mail.
The bottom line ~ suppress and you’ll save money. It really is as simple as that, in addition to saving money you will:
- Improve your data mining and targeting capabilities
- See a substantial uplift in response rates and ROI
- Help by decreasing the 62m tones of discarded direct mail items currently being dumped into landfill each year
- Remain compliant with the governments privacy legislation
Suppression is, we believe essential to changing Australia’s data culture. As an industry we need to demonstrate a more respectful relationship with consumers.
By using suppression files not only will marketers continue to prove their worth in tough times, but we will create a sector that benefits Australian businesses, consumers and the environment alike. That surely is a win-win scenario for everyone.
Click here to Download our Conexum Data Management Services Data Hygiene PDF
