Reducing Business Junk Mail
Dealing with unwanted mail wastes time and money for businesses. Consider how much it costs your business to sort through the unwanted mail, and then recycle and dispose of it. And how much time each individual employee wastes handling this mail.
Reduce your business junk mail in three easy steps:
- Get off two major business mailing lists.
- Contact problem mailers individually.
- Prevent the unwanted mail in the first place.
1.Get off two major business mailing lists:
Dun and Bradstreet collects information on more than 48 million business establishments from 217 countries. Up to 1,500 data items are collected on each business.
The Dun & Bradstreet website states: A business may have its information removed from business marketing lists published by Dun & Bradstreet. The "delisting" can be requested orally or in writing by an authorized representative of the business, resulting in its removal from marketing directories, publications and/or mailing lists.
To make this request, call the Dun & Bradstreet Customer Service Center at 800-333-0505 or send an e-mail to: goods@dnb.com
For more information, see Dun & Bradstreet's Privacy Policy website
InfoUSA has information on 11 million businesses in the U.S. To have your business removed from their lists, fax a letter to 402-331-0176. The letter should say on the top: "Attention - Business Update Department." The letter should include the complete business name, address and phone number; the name and title of the person requesting the deletion; and that person's signature. You can also send this letter by regular mail to: Info USA; P.O. Box 27347, Omaha NE, 68127.
2. Contact problem mailers individually.
Two approaches to reducing junk mail by contacting the problem mailers directly:
- A Centralized Approach -
Employees are asked to save their unwanted mail individually,
then give it to someone who has been put in charge of contacting the mailers
to get the employees off the lists. This person might be a mailroom staffer,
an intern, a clerical person or even a volunteer.
One advantage to this method is that in a large office, there are usually many employees who have the same problem mailer. The central person can sort through the junk mail by mailer, make a list, then call the problem mailers and say, for example, "I have 12 employees at the Zootch Corporation who need to be taken off your mailing list." Mail sent to employees who are no longer there - a common problem - should automatically be given to the central person so the mailers can be notified. This method is probably the most efficient for most businesses, If you have someone available to be the central junk mail person. - An Individualized Approach -
With this method, individual employees are encouraged to get off mailing
lists on their own. The company usually makes available a postcard that
employees can send to mailers, requesting to get off lists.
The Individualized Approach does not require as much of a single employee's time as the centralized approach, but it does still require some organizing: Having the postcards printed, informing employees about the postcards, etc.
3. Prevent the unwanted mail in the first place.
If you can prevent direct mailers from putting you or your business on their mailing list, you can reduce the amount of unwanted mail your business receives. Here are a few suggestions:
Place some standard language on purchase orders, such as, "In the interests of reducing waste, please do not share this name or address with other mailers, through mail list sales or trades."
Create a standard form for registrations for subscriptions, conferences, events, trainings, etc. Include a message such as, "Please do not share this name or address with other mailers."
Make it a standard practice for employees at your company to ask businesses who they deal with not to share their names. Keep the power to choose which vendors you WANT to hear from.
Ask your receptionist to screen callers who ask for your company's address, zip code, name of the senior buyer, etc. Some callers may have a good reason for seeking such information, but many just want to add your business to a mailing list. Tell them no thanks!
