Royal Mail

A veritable colossus of a site, so don’t be fooled by the comparatively simple homepage. The presentation is excellent, with lots of pretty graphics and weird and wonderful tricks, though we’re curious as to why some pages (notably the homepage) aren't optimised to fit the screen.


Much of the information is for public consumption, but there is plenty for small businesses to investigate – and that word is used advisedly. Each section of the index, provides a sub index, which in turn provides a sub-sub index. So you click on the little words ‘Business Advice’ and open a Pandora’s Box. The wisdom of this is debatable. Browsers can find themselves lost – you begin to question whether you have already referred to a page, and where was it you started anyway?


The raison d’etre of the business details within the whole site is to encourage companies to use direct mail as a forerunner and promotion for their advertising (especially e-commerce).


SPECIAL FEATURES


The site contains a good deal of information giving an overview of ‘e-strategy issues facing business today’ or how to attract people to your website. There is also some interesting information on Media Options and Brand Awareness; that people prefer to buy brand goods on line from companies they have dealt with off-line (ergo, use direct mail as part of your advertising budget). There are case studies to ponder, and some good links which include www.emarketer.com, a provider of internet statistics and www.dmis.co.uk, for information on direct mail.


Not surprisingly the site majors in on the benefits on Clear Addressing, and provides information and advice on envelope design, machine readable mail, barcoded mail and pre-printed postage.