Blog Archives | Forth Communication

3 Considerations When Planning Your Pension Communications.

The key element of any pension communication is to ensure your members have a clear understanding of how their pensions work, how to engage/interact with their provider and for them to get an idea of what potential position they will be in once they retire. In order to do so effectively, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that you as a pensions provider understand to whom you are communicating with and in which way conveying this information is the most efficient. When it comes to strategically planning your pension communications there are some factors that we believe should […]

Responsible Response Rates

In many cases, driven by the growing concerns for the environmental impact that using paper has as part of customer communications, many organisations feel that they need to influence their customers to choose email or digital marketing channels over direct mail but, as the ANA/DMA report shows, they could be missing out on the results and high return of direct marketing activities by doing so. Bank statements, brochures, catalogues, newsletters, sales letters and so Forth (pun intended) are all part of what we know as Direct Mail. One of the main reasons to use Direct Mail, and the benefit to […]

What is a Part VII Transfer?

What is a Part VII? A Part VII transfer, also known as insurance business transfer scheme, is a court-sanctioned legal transfer of some or all of the policies of one company to another, governed by Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). Some of the reasons companies may undertake a Part VII transfer combining similar business from two or more subsidiaries transferring business between third parties Separating different books of business and putting them into separate companies. With this in mind, you can be assured that there is A LOT of data that will need to be processed. Ensuring that the process of that transfer goes […]

Hybrid Mail: Reasons It Can Help Your Business

Wondering if Hybrid Mail is right for your business? Here’s just a few of the benefits businesses have enjoyed since starting to use For-Mail, the Hybrid Mail solution from Forth Communication: Simplicity – Upheaval or change to current and established processes can sometimes be a worry. With For-Mail, you should see no disruption to your current operations, just prepare your letters as normal and they can be posted immediately – all you need to do is hit print! Cost-effective – It’s estimated that a Hybrid Mail system can save businesses up to 60% on their current mailing costs! The […]

ABC’s of Common Direct Marketing Terms – B

With our A to Z glossary, we define some of the most commonly direct mail and direct marketing terms used in direct response marketing throughout the industry. This weeks letter is – B Back Test: A test mailing designed to reproduce, and therefore confirm, the results of a recent direct mail test. Also called a retest or confirming test. Usually, run when the results of a test fall within an acceptable range but do not give the mailer enough confidence to roll-out to the entire list. Bar code: A coding structure printed/lasered on a mailing piece which is used for sortation […]

ABC’s of Common Direct Marketing Terms – A

We understand that at times, a term or two may escape you. That is why it’s always handy to have a good glossary close at hand. With our A to Z glossary, we define some of the most commonly direct mail and direct marketing terms used in direct response marketing throughout the industry. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be releasing our A to Z glossary so that you, as a business and personally can become savvier and stay on top of the lingo. AA: Authors alterations, i.e., changes other than corrections made by a client after the […]

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

BREAKING NEWS; John Lewis has just released their Christmas advert! Have you seen it? If not, click here. We have seen and much like every year, it is a tear-jerker. #ExciteableEdgar On that note, Christmas has officially begun! Time to dust of those Christmas decorations, put some Mariah Carey on whilst you’re writing your Christmas card and get yourself into that Christmas spirit! Now we mentioned writing Christmas cards and there is a reason behind it. Let me explain; In today’s crowded marketplace, your average consumer will supposedly be exposed to around 10000 brand messages only a daily basis, so […]

The Man, The Myth, The Mail

Scotland – the home of the Loch Ness monster, the Haggis and the Kelpie. These are all urban legends that we have been told at some point in our lives. But what do they all have in common? Yes, they are urban legends. Much like the urban legend that Direct mail is dead and that it was killed by the internet. However, in comparison to Scotland’s mythical creatures, direct mail does exist and is very much alive! Not only is there proof to back said statement, but it is also more credible than a shaky video recorded with a […]

5 Ways you can use transactional direct mail in your business

Almost every business will make use of transactional direct mail. While direct mail is a broad term that covers a wide range of actions, transactional direct mail is one to one generated communication with an individual. At the heart of transactional direct mail is data, it is your data on your customers that allows you to create powerful transactional mailings. At Forth we are experts in taking your data and using it to drive your communications. Here are just a few ways in which transactional mailing can help your business. 1 Invoices It goes without saying that direct mail invoicing […]

Event Response Management – Best Practice for Business

Disaster response, not the two words any business wants to hear but as the saying goes, especially if you happen to be a scout, Be Prepared! This article is more about event response, your action as a business to engage with your customers should anything effect your service to them. Responding to something is the second phase of managing your event and given that your customers are your number one priority, how you communicate with them is telling about you as a business and will impact your customer’s opinion of you. Firstly they need to know that a problem has […]