smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

An up-to-date database of contacts is essential for those businesses communicating with customers by post, say the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

Maintaining contact details for customers can save companies money in postal costs and ensure they are also environmentally efficient both in the production of the mail and in its delivery.

The body says it makes "good sense" to check all returned mail on receipt.

Ray Jones spokesman for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) says: 'It's also irritating if you get returned mail because you're missing the people you need to contact.'

Recent research has shown that postal mail is customers preferred method of communication when interacting with businesses.

Surprisingly, more than 70 per cent of respondents preferred post compared with 18 per cent for email, perhaps due to the increasing amount of unsolicited messages received by email.

The research also showed recipients were less likely to discard information received in a physical form than by email.

The CIM is a professional marketing body in the UK which defines industry standards. It exists to develop the marketing profession, maintain professional standards and improve the skills of marketing practitioners.

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