“Hey Mom, I was wondering, was Humpty Dumpty pushed?”

It had never occurred to me to wonder why Humpty Dumpty actually fell off of that wall, so this question from my nine year old son William led to a fun brainstorming session on what could have happened. Had Humpty Dumpty really been pushed? Or had he sat on this wall many times before and this one time he lost his balance? William proffered that Humpty Dumpty could have been climbing the wall in a desperate attempt to escape the kingdom. But, I countered with “maybe instead he was trying to break in.”

While it is interesting to think about Humpty Dumpty’s fall, Bo Peep’s missing sheep, or a myriad of other nursery rhyme topics; the exercise made me wonder how many real things or processes I encounter every single day without question. How many processes are there that I don’t look at what came before, but instead only focus on the task at hand … in this case all the King’s horses and men working on Humpty Dumpty?

As you look around your own organization, what questions could you be asking about your print and mail processes? If you need some ideas, here are a few questions that could help you get started.

Candice’s Top 4 questions print and mail organizations could ask themselves about their current customer communications strategy:

1. Is it really true that we cannot afford color for our transactional documents?

I included this question because there are many parts to the answer. Not only is the cost of high speed digital color getting lower, but there are many new technologies that can help you leverage color print to lower your overall costs. With color you can eliminate preprinted forms, but have you thought about commingling jobs by also obtaining the capability to print variable color on your envelopes, gaining postage discounts and also creating larger jobs with fewer changeovers?

2. Why are we using windowed envelopes?

Many organizations use windowed envelopes because they feel this provides the highest level of integrity. What if you could provide the same (or better) integrity while at the same time eliminating the higher cost of glacine envelopes? Would your customers prefer closed face envelopes since they provide a higher degree of privacy?

3. Is our current postage strategy still valid?

Postage rules have changed. The footprint for sorting technology has gotten smaller, and Pitney Bowes sorters have gotten easier to maintain—did you know our sorters will “phone home” if they detect a system issue that could require attention? With so many changes, 2012 is the year to take a fresh look at your mailstream and evaluate what postage strategy makes sense for your organization.

4. Are we truly leveraging our “personal monthly appointment” with each customer?

The ability to personalize transactional documents is greater than ever. There are new data tools and technical capabilities that make it possible to cost effectively add marketing messages that can help you upsell, cross sell, or even sell your extra whitespace to someone else. Many of the same capabilities that can help you obtain operational efficiencies can also be used to add personalization to each and every statement.

Need more ideas? One of the best ways to take a fresh look at your daily activities is to remove yourself from your day-to-day environment and spend that time talking to people with a different perspective. At Pitney Bowes DMT we have four great upcoming events where you can spend time with Pitney Bowes, and in the case of our upcoming Pre-drupa Technology Showcase, where you can also spend time with your peers.

• Xplor 2012 Conference and Vendor Forum in Tampa Bay, FL, March 27-29
• National Postal Forum in Orlando, FL, April 104
• Pre-drupa Technology Showcase in Danbury, CT, April 10-12
• drupa 2012 in Düsseldorf, Germany, May 3-16