Direct mail campaigns, as well as email marketing campaigns, rely on databases of customer information that your marketing organization has accumulated and kept current over time. These databases may include customer names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, demographic information, buying habits, and other customer data.
In using and storing this personally identifiable information, you have an obligation to safeguard the data and protect it from loss and theft. As your printing and mailing services provider, SunDance has the same obligation to safeguard this data and maintain direct mail security—and it is a responsibility we take very seriously.
According to recent statistics, the open rate for direct mail ranges from an admirable 55% up to 90%. In contrast, the open rate for email marketing averages just 18%. It’s no surprise that 73% of marketing professionals consider direct mail a critical component of their overall marketing strategy.
Among consumers, 92% believe that direct mail is more effective than email marketing in getting reader attention and delivering messages effectively. More than three-quarters of consumers (76%) trust direct mail when making decisions to buy.
Dollar for dollar, direct mail campaigns are more cost-effective than most email marketing campaigns. Employing both formats can further enhance your marketing results. However, it is vitally important to safeguard the personally identifiable information used in these campaigns and to maintain direct mail security from beginning to end.
SOC Certification? OK, you’ve probably never heard of it. But it’s important, and here’s why.
SOC Certification is part of the System and Organization Controls developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In 1992, the Institute published SAS 70 as a framework for auditing and reporting on internal financial controls as elements of the overall System and Organization Controls.
SAS 70, officially the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70, is an internationally recognized standard that enables organizations and the vendors who supply services to them to communicate clearly and transparently according to the same criteria. It specifically addresses the internal controls over financial reporting implemented by those vendors. Over time, the SAS 70 standard was replaced by SSAE 16 and later SSAE 18 (Statements for Standard Attestation Engagements).
True to its original purpose, the SOC I standard is focused on financial reporting. SOC II is an evolved standard that encompasses a broader range of data management practices, including data security. SOC II incorporates globally accepted data security principles designed to protect personally identifiable information and other sensitive customer data. Vendors and service providers can choose to adopt these principles and become certified to the SOC II Type 1 standard to demonstrate their voluntary compliance.
SOC II Type 1 certification documents a service provider’s security and privacy controls, including cybersecurity controls, that are in place at the time of audit and certification. This certification also attests that the controls are sufficient and properly designed to safeguard customer data. As such, SOC II addresses the security, confidentiality, processing, integrity, privacy, and availability of customer data on behalf of the client organization.
Most direct marketers and others who plan and execute direct mail campaigns prefer to work with service providers who meet the SOC II requirements for data security, including commercial printers, mailing houses, and fulfillment centers.
As a full-service printing and direct mail facility, SunDance maintains extensive in-house direct mail expertise in addition to direct mail security. Our expert designers work with clients to ensure all postal standards are met so that your campaigns are delivered seamlessly, without sacrificing imaginative designs and trend-setting uses of full-color printed envelopes, for example.
In addition, our advanced direct mail software collects data from your campaigns, enabling you to monitor results over time and determine what materials, messaging, and offers work best. More than half of business decision-makers (56%) rely on this type of data to guide their customer experience strategies, according to Forrester research.
SunDance direct mail experts have the tools and experience necessary to advise and support your competitive direct mail initiatives in addition to safeguarding your proprietary customer data. And it’s all under one roof.
As an innovative printing, packaging, and mailing company, we are constantly enhancing our services for the benefit of our marketing clients. In the interest of protecting the security and privacy of our clients’ customer data, we are proud to maintain SOC II Type 1 certification.