Whistl magazine Autumn 2016
HOWBRITISH BUSINESSES CAN UNLOCK INTERNATIONAL TRADE for UK e-commerce Flying the flag
Interviewwith Paul Smith from Whistl
A DAY IN THE LIFE OFWHISTL DRIVER ALAN BORRELL PEOPLE OF ALL AGES LIKE MAIL DOORDROP LAUNCHES YOURDROP FOR SMES REGULATORY UPDATE
Wells Said
I hope you all had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. We’ve all returned feeling refreshed, re-energised and ready for action! I have to sayweweredisappointedwith Ofcom’s reviewof the regulationof Royal Mail. Whilst theuniversal serviceobligation is undoubtedly inabetter place thanwhenOfcom took over fromPostcomm, the level of actual competition in thepostalmarketplacehas decreased.WebelieveOfcomcouldand should bedoingmore topromotecompetitionandbring thebenefits of this to you, theposting customer! We’re happy that Royal Mail is able tomake a reasonable rate of return on themail it provides, and if given opportunities to do so, we’d like to help themachieveevenmore. However, Ofcom’s review sees Royal Mail remain unpunished, unrepentant and unrestrained for its anti-competitive activities. Greater andmore constructive collaboration with themail market has to be the way forward. We believe Ofcom should encourage better ways of working so that access operators and their customers are able to promotemail and provide honest and open feedback during the change process so that Royal Mail can tackle the inefficiencies that exist in its business. And that’s why we’ve submitted a number of recommendations for Ofcom to consider. You can readmore about it in our regulatory update. The good news is that business is doing well here at Whistl. Our international services are really taking off and we continue to grow the packets and parcels volumes which is an important growth strategy for the company. As always we’ll keep you posted on further developments @WhistlUKNews.
Drivingefficiency with£3million fleet investment In our ongoing drive to increase efficiency and reduce costs, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve agreed a £3 million deal with leasing and fleet management company, Zenith to replace our current fleet of vans with 104 Mercedes Sprinter and Vitos vans. The £3 million investment will enable us to reduce our fleet costs by around 25% thanks to efficiency-boosting technology developed to help reduce fuel costs, improve driving style and increase overall productivity. The new vans have been fitted with the Isotrak tracking system, currently used across our HGV fleet. Not only does this improve the MPG of the fleet, it also improves visibility, which helps us to enhance the quality of our service. Nick Wells, CEO Whistl, said: “We are committed to investing in our business to improve efficiency and the quality of service we provide to customers. I look forward to seeing the new fleet on the roads in the coming weeks.” The roll out of the new fleet across our network is due to be completed by September.
NickWells Chief Executive Whistl
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
A day in the life...
of Whistl driver,
ALANBORRELL
When he gets hismotor running Alan Borrell loves nothing more than being out on the open road. We catch upwith him to find out what it takes to be aWhistl driver andwhy he’s so particular about being prompt.
I get towork… aroundmidday. I clock in, domy daily walk-around check on the vehicle, logging the mileage andmaking sure there are no defects on the van to report, always remembering that the daily runsheet, once signed at the transport office, is a legal document. Then I pick upmy run schedule. This lists all my regular customers, their addresses, any additional collections and the volumes of mail that might be expected. I hit the road… once I’ve loaded the van with all the necessary consumables (trays and mailing sacks), that customers will need to send their mail and parcels the following day. Then I leave the Rugby depot and get going! customers’ mailings from around 10 locations in the Leicestershire area. I have a really good relationship with my regular customers who include companies such as Blaby District Council, Santander and DMGMedia. I take pride in the fact that I always make sure I’mprompt and equipped with all the necessary consumables customers need for organising their mailings. I travel… up to 120miles a day collecting
I enjoy listening to… audiobooks whilst I’mout on the road. At the moment I’m enjoying The Forsyte Saga. There are 34 discs to get through so it should keepme going for a while! The best part of my job is… having the freedom to be out on the road andmeeting customers. Being semi-retired I really enjoy getting out and about and love the variety of the role, particularly having worked in a factory for 34 years! You need to be… fit to be a Whistl driver and obviously have a clean driver’s licence! It’s a physical job loading and offloading boxes, bags and crates all day. Thankfully I’mquite an active person so I don’t find this a problem. impression with customers by always turning up on time, being helpful and ensuring their questions are always passed on. If possible I always try and answer any queries on the spot so that customers feel they can trust me. I guess that’s probably why I have such a good relationship with my regular customers. I never like… being late! I like tomake a good
I endmy day… by heading back down the M1 to the depot in Rugby where I unload the trays of mail, mailing sacks and parcels onto yorks before pushing them into goods inwards for processing. After handing in my paperwork I clock out around 7.30pm thenmake the 50-minute journey home to Northampton where I live. Out of hours… I enjoy walking in the Lake District, cycling and the odd round of golf! I have taken part in many charity fundraising events over the years. One of my greatest achievements was walking across the Andes to raise money for the British Heart Foundation 10 years ago. A little known fact… is that I used to be a policeman many moons ago!
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
Packets & Parcels
Flying the flag
for UK e-commerce He’s worked for some of the biggest names in the industry including DHL and Geopost where he promoted the DPD and Interlink brands. Here, our International Director Paul Smith takes editor NatalieWalker on a journey around theworld of international e-commerce.
Paul Smith International Director, Whistl
“ We can help you shape your International offering and uncover markets you thought were out of reach ”
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Q What are your top tips for selling overseas? Make sure you capture the right email, phone and contact details, without overwhelming your customers with lengthy forms! Keep it simple so that when you need to notify them you’ll have all the right information to hand. Make sure you include the correct harmonised code – this is an internationally recognised code that classifies goods into commodity groups. If you use the right code, your customer will pay the right duty price – nomore, no less! Make it easy for your customers to track their shipments online and be clear about the possible customs duties they may have to pay so there are no nasty surprises! Assess the competition – research what products and services are being offered in the destination country and identify gaps in themarket. Give your customers choice – when it comes to delivery, customers like to choose which delivery option suits them, whether it’s economy, standard or premium. Q Is Australia out of reach and do they have an appetite for British brands? Australia presents a huge opportunity for UK brands and retailers as they like to buy British! The duty threshold is higher at $1000 (Australian dollars) so buyers will pay less for their goods and international shipping costs are in line with their delivery costs at home. Together with counter seasonality, it’s an all round win-win!
Q What are themost
Q Which countries are
attractive ecommerce markets?
Britain’s biggest online buyers?
Delivery costs in Spain, France and Germany have been driven down over the past 4 years and there’s no customs process so the transaction is very simple. The USA, a big market for the UK, is also very attractive – especially now it has raised its duty threshold to $800. That means customers in the US can purchase more from the UK without having to pay local duty and tax premiums. Q How canWhistl help my business reach customers overseas? We have a lot of experience in international e-commerce. With our global insight, we can help you shape your international offering and uncover markets you thought were out of reach. We have an excellent knowledge of local business customs, consumer preferences and cultural differences, so we can give you invaluable advice to help your business grow globally. Plus we’ll manage the entire distribution process without you having to get involved. We provide all the relevant tracking information and deal direct with the customer regarding any delivery queries, meaning there’s one less headache for you tomanage!
Some of the biggest shoppers on UK ecommerce sites are fromthe USA, Australia, France, Germany and Southern Irelandwho benefit from lower shipping costs (on a par with the UK) thanks to high demand and high volume.
Q Andwhat emerging markets shouldwe be looking out for? Russia, Brazil, China and Japan are growthmarkets that offer massive sales opportunities for UK retailers, however they aremore complex to deal with. That’s whereWhistl can help as we have a lot of expertise dealing with emerging markets!
Q What’s the secret to
successful cross-border trade?
Firstly, you need to understand the shopping culture of overseas buyers if you want to be competitive. Legal obligations differ fromcountry to country so it’s important to always meet expectations if you want to stay ahead of the game. Secondly, never over, or under- promise. Don’t deliver in 4 days when you said it would be 10. Although youmay think you’re exceeding expectations youmay be inconveniencing your customers if they’re not home or on holiday. And finally, know the duty threshold of each country as they do vary. It’s $800 in the USAmaking us more attractive to the Americanmarket because they don’t have to pay US duty premiums.
For further information about Whistl’s range of international
delivery services visit www.whistl.co.uk/ worldwithinreach
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
Industry Research
Fledgling
Couples
People of all
ages likemail
As customers move through different stages in life, their mail preferences change – that’s according to the latest research by Royal Mail’s MarketReach division.
The research looked into the differing preferences of customers across seven different life stages, including everyone from young people still living at home, to parents and retirees. It found that segmenting customers by life stage provides amuch better prediction of attitudes and responses, than age alone. For marketers this insight presents a great opportunity to help improve the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. By considering the details of each life stage and fine-tuning their targeting, creative design and calls to action, marketers can give a real boost to their response rates. There’s one feature that resonates across all life stages however; people respond tomail. It’s personal and it reaches people. Mail is powerful. To find out more about The Life Stages of Mail visit www.whistl.co.uk/lifestagesofmail
32%
OF FLEDGLINGS ARE MORE LIKELY TO TRUST INFORMATION IN PRINT VERSUS DIGITAL*
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FLEDGLINGS Adults living at homewith their parents Top Targeting Tips
4 Cut through the digital competition by targeting younger audiences usingmail as it is relatively new to them SHARERS Adults living in shared accommodation 4 Use doordrops which demonstrate intelligence and authenticity as this group are open to building relationships with brands COUPLES Adults living together, no children 4 They respond tomessages which involve their home, community and social life YOUNGFAMILIES Parents with children, primary age or younger 4 Theyarepracticalandfocusedontheirparentalroles, socontentislikelytobemoreimportantthandesign OLDERFAMILIES Couples with at least one child in secondary school 4 Provide value-driven content, such as vouchers and loyalty schememessages EMPTYNESTERS No longer have children at home, may live on their own or as a couple 4 Longer formcopy is valued, and if relevant it is often readmore than once OLDERRETIREES Living on income frompensions/investments 4 Provide content withmulti-person appeal asmail, if relevant is sharedwith friends and younger audiences
75% OF SHARERS ARE MORE LIKELY TOBUY/ORDER AFTER RECEIVINGA DOORDROP*
52% OF OLDER FAMILIES HAVE USED A VOUCHER RECEIVED IN THE MAIL IN THE LAST YEAR
26% OF COUPLES BOUGHT OR ORDERED
32% OF EMPTY NESTERS RENEWED A SUBSCRIPTION AFTER RECEIVINGMAIL
SOMETHINGAS A RESULT OF RECEIVINGADDRESSEDMAIL
37% OF YOUNG FAMILIES AGREE RELEVANTMAIL CAN CHANGE THEIR OPINIONOF A BRAND*
72% OF OLDER RETIREES LIKE RECEIVINGMAIL IF THE CONTENT IS RELEVANT
*TGI/Touchpoints 2015. Findings courtesy of MarketReach’s Life Stages of Mail report
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
Doordrop Media
Doordrop launches Yourdrop for SMEs
There’s good news for small businesses. Whistl Doordrop Media has launched a fantastic all-in-one online tool that enables you to create your own leaflet campaigns. In just five easy steps Yourdrop.co.uk, Whistl’s self-service tool, allows you to organise your own low-cost, high-impact leaflet advertising campaign from the convenience of your computer. Fromdesign right through to targeted distribution, Yourdrop.co.uk is a complete desktop-to-letterbox service that eliminates the need to deal with separate design agencies, printers and distributors. You can choose from a range of free professionally designed templates in a variety of formats or upload your own design artwork. The tool’s completely free to use, you just pay for what we print and distribute, and with clear all-in pricing you can be assured there are no hidden surprises! The tool gives you access to over 27 million households in the UK and enables you to target postcodes around your business based either on locality or by household income and age. Kathleen Home, Whistl Client Services Director said: “We recognise that many small businesses want to take advantage of the impressive results leaflet advertising can bring but simply don’t have the time, resources or budget to implement it. That’s why we developed our online tool, Yourdrop.co.uk. “It gives SMEs a cost-effective way of organising a campaign themselves. We’ve made the whole process as easy as possible with design templates in all sorts of formats, and a highly accurate targeting tool that ensures only the most receptive consumers are targeted. It’s a great way of driving people online or in-store to purchase, particularly when combined with a coupon or discount promotion.” If you’re looking for a highly effective way of increasing sales and generating newbusiness visit www.yourdrop.co.uk to launch your own campaign today, or alternatively call 01628 816 872 to request a demo.
Five easy steps
1. Design
2. Target
3. Schedule
4. Review
5. Pay
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
How do consumers respond to leaflet advertising?
either visited a shop, sent for information or bought a product having received a leaflet through their letterbox 48%
47%
find new product leaflets useful
79%
keep, pass on or look at leaflets they receive
38%
of leaflets are kept for at least a few days, with 13% kept for a week or more
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Whistl Magazine • Autumn 2016
Industry in brief DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & POSTAL AFFAIRS, CHARLES NEILSON PROVIDES HIS REGULAR ROUND-UP OF INDUSTRY NEWS.
Recommendations submitted to Ofcom
In its annual Communications Report and review of the postal sector Ofcom, the UKmarket regulator, outlined just how important direct mail and other business-related products are to Royal Mail and post generally. ‘Three-quarters of letter revenue comes from business andmarketing mail, and less than a tenth frompersonal letters,’ said the Ofcom report. ‘The proportions of letter revenue by application have remained fairly stable for a number of years. Business mail, which is primarily made up of transactional mail such as bills or statements, accounts for nearly half (49%) of all letter revenue. Marketing mail, which includes addressed advertising, accounts for 26% of all letter revenue.’ Six in ten adults (59%) say they are very or fairly reliant on lettersandcardsasawayof communicating but the use of digital substitutes remains high. As a consequence, mail volumes fell by 3.7% to 12.2bn items overall. In its review of the parcel sector Ofcom identified the growth in online shopping as the key driver. With almost a quarter of adults (23%) saying they prefer to shop online, Royal Mail estimates that parcel volumes in the UK will grow at 4% per year over the medium term. In 2015 UK adults sent on average 6.6 postal items per month – of which an average of 1.2 items were parcels. Whistl’s letter volumes posted by our customers have remained largely stable over the last few years and our share of the daily postbag continues to climb and now exceeds 30% of total volume. Whistl’s packet and parcel volumes continue to grow rapidly – up 20% from last year. Addressed letter volumes changing
Here at Whistl we have re-iterated our view on the changes that we feel need to be introduced by the sector regulator Ofcomas summarised below. We would certainly like to see more stability in the market with a termof at least five years and a limitation on Royal Mail’s ability tomake unilateral contract changes. We would also like mandated access to a wide range of services as more competition would benefit consumers by creating choice, driving efficiency, and promoting innovation in postal services. Our full set of proposals include: • Stability in the market with a termof at least five years and a limitation on Royal Mail’s ability tomake unilateral contract changes. • Mandated access to a wide range of services as competition would be of benefit to consumers of postal services by creating choice, driving efficiency, and promoting innovation. • Mandated access in the tracked/standard parcel area and in areas such as D+1, upstreampoints, PO counters and sale of goods viameters will deliver much-needed choice for users of postal services. • Develop a better way for requesting new services fromRoyal Mail which is much more even-handed, effective, speedy and transparent. • Consider a separate wholesale business unit run independently of Royal Mail to deliver some of the improvements that the postal market needs. • Eliminate the distortion on which wholesale customers and retail volumes enter the Royal Mail network to ensure provision of service on the same arms-length terms for all users of the network. • Royal Mail Wholesale needs to be appropriately resourced and incentivised to expand the areas in which access operates. • Set an appropriate access price cap to protect access customers fromany exploitative pricing going forward which of course flows through to the retail prices. • Ofcom should set an explicit efficiency gain target for Royal Mail and set out the consequences for failure. • Reduce transactional mail prices to those of advertisingmail. Ofcom is set to issue a statement on the regulation of Royal Mail in the coming months.
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Canwe domore for you?
Mail Offering UK
Packets & Parcels National delivery services for UK organisations sending packets and parcels with a range of delivery options. • Pre-sorted • Unsorted • Tracked
International A range of services for sending mail, packets and parcels overseas. • Pre-sorted • Registered • Unsorted • Tracked parcel services
Doordrop Media End-to-end management of doordrop campaigns using analytical insights to target the households you most want to reach, helping your media spend go further.
organisations an innovative range of economic and efficient mail delivery services. • Pre-sorted mail • Unsorted mail • International mail • Hybrid mail
We hope you enjoy readingWhistl Magazine. If you’d like us to feature anything in particular in future issues, or would like to feature as a case study please get in touch using the following contact details.
email whistl.magazine@whistl.co.uk write NatalieWalker, Whistl UK Ltd, Meridian House, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1TB
TO FIND OUT MORE Existing customers contact your account manager New customers call us on 01628 861503 e-mail whistl.magazine@whistl.co.uk or visit www.whistl.co.uk
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Whistl Magazine • Spring 2016
Returnaddress:Whistl UK Ltd, Meridian House, Fieldhouse Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1TB
Reach customers worldwide with Whistl The world comes shopping on UK e-commerce sites. If you’re looking to generate more cross-border trade, Whistl can help. Not just with all the delivery options you and your international customers want, but expert support on customs, duty and stuff like that. In short, we put the world within reach.
Call 01628 861503 e-mail whistl.magazine@whistl.co.uk visit www.whistl.co.uk/worldwithinreach
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