Debt collection letters rarely incite positive emotions. They stress out recipients by suggesting financial expenses and upcoming problems. Nevertheless, some businesses, financial organizations, and other enterprises wouldn’t be able to operate without transactional mail. It’s an indispensable part of their customer relationships.

If you are one of those companies that cannot avoid debt collection letters and transactional print, we’ve got great news! Professional statement printing and mailing services can cushion the negative perception of transactional documents. These service providers know the right approaches to convey critical information to customers without putting pressure on them. Moreover, the right statement design and additional promotional materials can even unlock the marketing potential of your mail.

No more secrets and hints. Inkit readily shares our expertise to tell you about:

• Common uses of transactional mail that may require statement printing and mailing services
• Debt collection letters: perspectives, peculiarities, and legal limitations
• Is it possible to use transactional mail for marketing? How can statement printing and mailing services help with that?
• Transactional printing companies: Why businesses choose mail automation by Inkit

Common Uses of Transactional Mail that May Require Third-Party Statement Printing and Mailing Services

Inkit’s team has recently published an article that describes what transactional mail is and shares some general print mail examples. This time, we want to focus on transactional mail use cases when third-party mailing services may be particularly helpful.

Transactional Mail Use Case #1: Credit Card Bills

Around 71% of seniors receive bills by mail. Although the numbers decrease among the millennials, with 54% of print bills recipients, that’s still a lot. When it comes to finances, the mail is perceived as more reliable than digital channels and this belief isn’t likely to decay soon. Thus, to organize the billing process, a financial organization may need to outsource mailing to transactional printing companies. This step will save it from the need to hire a team of transactional print specialists and invest in pricey printing equipment for high volume production.

Transactional Mail Use Case #2: Bank Statements

This type of transactional mail also belongs to the category of financial documents. It’s all about accuracy and privacy that an average company cannot always provide. Statement printing and mailing services know how to protect mailing from identity theft and ensure top-notch data security.

Transactional Mail Use Case #3: Order Receipts

In 2021, the number of digital buyers is expected to reach 2.14 billion. Despite the high volume of online purchases, the need for physical proof of transactions hasn’t disappeared. To return products or use a warranty, consumers may be asked to provide an order receipt. That’s why any digital or physical store with delivery cannot exist without transactional mail. Again, since the mailing process is quite tricky and large-scale, the professional backup is priceless. Some advanced statement printing and mailing services, including Inkit, can even fully automate transactional mail and provide mail tracking software to analyze the effectiveness of mail campaigns.

In other words, transactional printing companies can considerably benefit entities that deal with large mail volumes. Also, transactional mail is a must when the business communication requires an official physical proof and a timestamp that can be further used in disputes. Such transactional mail categories require ultimate accuracy and the help of experts who can ensure timely delivery and customer data security.

Debt Collection Letters: Peculiarities, Perspectives, and Legal Limitations

Frankly speaking, debt collection letters usually bring bad news. They are sent to people who owe the debt to inform them about the past due payment and the related legal consequences. It’s one of the most sensitive kinds of transactional mail. You’d better not trifle with them.

Whoever you are, a creditor, credit bureau, lender, or a debt collection agency, make sure you send debt collection letters right. A mistake in name, address, amount, or payment details may result in a lot of unnecessary hassle and complications. Remember that the US legislation provides US citizens with a range of mechanisms that allow them to dispute debt collection letters. If an individual doesn’t agree with your request or finds it invalid, they can voice their dissent with:

• A Dispute Letter. If a customer finds a credit report error, they can send a dispute to the related debt collection agency and request a review. The debt collector must investigate the claim, verify the accuracy of the information, and provide the results within 30-45 business days.
• A Desist Letter. This mail piece informs the debt collection agency that a customer doesn’t want any further communications. It may be helpful if a person continues to receive irrelevant collection calls or messages about an unexisting debt.
• A Debt Validation Letter. Customers have the right to dispute the validity of a debt collection letter within 30 days. After a debt collection agency receives a validation request, all collection efforts are prohibited until the debt is officially proven. (For sample letters, check the templates provided by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

Apart from the listed procedures, there are also specific laws that define the rights of debt collectors, transactional printing companies, and customers. In particular, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prevents debt collectors from using deceptive or abusive collection practices. Remember to research the related legislation if you want to organize transactional mail processing on your own. If it seems too complex, delegate this to statement printing and mailing services that have the necessary expertise.

Is It Possible to Use Transactional Mail for Marketing? How Can Statement Printing and Mailing Services Help with That?

The short answer is yes, transactional mail has a marketing potential and transactional printing companies can help to leverage it.

Although debt collection letters and other transactional mail aren’t meant for promotions, they can contribute to your brand image. First of all, don’t forget to include your branding elements on every mail piece. Use a clear format, be precise and polite. Such simple details make official mail look more reliable and help to build trust. Respect for your customers is the basics of successful marketing efforts.

You can also combine your transactional documents with some marketing mail pieces. Enclose a postcard with a relevant offer or recommendations related to the debt collection mail. Just remember that marketing materials must play a secondary role and shouldn’t distract attention from the transactional print.

When you decide to power your transactional communication with marketing efforts, you may easily get confused. Whereas official correspondence is strictly regulated, promotional materials require creative design and content. There’s a strong chance that your company doesn’t have a team of designers, printing equipment, and other necessary resources. Then you should know that many transactional printing companies cover all the statement printing and mailing services – from mail design to delivery. Some of them, like Inkit, can even automate your transactional and marketing mail.

Transactional Printing Companies: Why Businesses Choose Mail Automation by Inkit

Transactional mail is a big deal. It’s a continuous and essential process that cannot be paused if you decide to change statement printing and mailing services. Thus, you need to think carefully before starting a partnership with anyone. We believe Inkit is your perfect long-term partner for several reasons:

• The tool fully automates every stage of transactional mail production, printing, and delivery
• A/B mail testing
• Inkit is regularly updated with new functionality and capabilities
• Inkit’s webhook easily integrates with the leading marketing platforms, CRMs, and other third-party tools for mail analytics and tracking
• No minimum batch sizes — a benefit that isn’t offered by most transactional printing companies
• Customer postcard builder with numerous professional templates

Want to check these benefits in practice? Start testing Inkit right now to see everything with your own eyes. Thanks to mail automation, even debt collection is easy.