Checklist

Checklist before you choose a B2B direct mail provider

Questions to ask any provider (sending platform, print-and-mail vendor or swag marketplace) before you sign. Print it and take it to the demo; ask for answers in writing where they matter.

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Fulfillment

Who handles your send, from where, and who fixes it when it goes wrong.

  • Do you run your own warehouses, or do partners fulfill the sends? Which ones?
  • Where are your warehouses, and which countries do you ship to from local stock?
  • How long from send to delivery, domestically and internationally?
  • What happens when an item is lost, damaged or returned, and who pays to replace it?
  • Can we store our own branded items with you, and what does storage cost?
  • How are customs and duties handled for international sends?

Addresses and privacy

Whether the send reaches the person, and how their details are protected.

  • How do you confirm an address before an item ships?
  • Can the recipient choose or change where it goes without our team seeing their home address?
  • Who stores home addresses, for how long, and who can see them?
  • What happens to a send when an address can't be confirmed?
  • Which privacy and security certifications do you hold? Can we see them?

Personalization

How far a send can be shaped to one person.

  • Which send types do you offer: gifts, handwritten notes, eGifts, branded merch, experiences, letters, postcards?
  • Can one campaign mix send types?
  • Are notes handwritten, printed to look handwritten, or printed? Who writes them?
  • Can the recipient choose or swap the item?

Integrations

Whether reps can send from, and log to, the tools they already use.

  • Which CRM, marketing automation, sales engagement and ABM tools do you integrate with natively?
  • For each: can it trigger a send, log a send, or both?
  • Can reps send from inside the CRM or sales engagement tool?
  • Can you show a send recorded on a contact, account and campaign in our CRM during the demo?
  • Is there an API for what the integrations don't cover?

Reporting

Whether you can tie a send to meetings, pipeline and revenue.

  • Which events do you record (sent, delivered, accepted, redeemed), and where do they go?
  • Does delivery data reach our CRM, with the delivery date?
  • How do your customers report on meetings and pipeline after a send? Can we see one?
  • Can we export send-level data for our own analysis?

Pricing and contract

What you will pay, at your volume, with nothing left out.

  • Please list every fee in writing: platform, per send, items, postage, storage, kitting, international.
  • Is there a minimum commitment or minimum order? What is the contract term?
  • What does our real monthly volume cost, not an example volume?
  • How do budgets, approvals and spending limits work when many people send?
  • What happens to unused budget or stored stock if we leave?

Scoring the answers

Rate each provider on each section the way we rate options on how we rank: Strong, Good, Mixed or Weak. Weight the sections that matter for your plays: for ABM and sales sends, addresses and integrations; for large flat mailings, pricing and reporting. Then compare with the ranking.

Get the ranking when it changes

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