With all the talk about how much of our money is wasted by the federal government, it’s good to see them saving money for a change. The US Government recently announced that it’s getting rid of issuing paper checks, in favor of Direct Deposit or a prepaid debit card that will be funded electronically. Finally. I’ve been getting checks direct deposited since the last century, but better late than never.
Estimates are that this move will save $1 Billion over the next decade, and save about 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years. I know that some of our other clients are eliminating paper checks and statements as well. Way to go.
This got me thinking, “What other manual or paper-based processes could our clients get rid of to save costs?”
Still offering your dealers a manual, agency style method to create ads? Why not automate the marketing process with an Adbuilder? You can control the variable areas, track usage, deliver faster and save costs versus manual methods.
How about making your co-op reimbursement process paperless? Lock the rules down on your Adbuilder to make certain ads “pre-approved”, or at least provide a place to submit all ads electronically for review.
Why not offer your channel partners digital methods to reach their customers? Websites, Facebook content, mobile content, banner ads, local search and landing pages all reach interested consumers without a big invoice to publish promotions using a newspaper, direct mail or other print-based service.
Get rid of that big, expensive monthly mailing to your dealers and replace it with a targeted email with content and links to relevant PDF’s or your Adbuilder for customizable materials. This email approach will save money and allow you to target specific materials and offers to dealers based upon their unique characteristics.
Okay, you may not be able to save a billion dollars, but you will be moving your business into the 21st century and making the best use of your marketing dollars — and who doesn’t want to do that?