In a significant rebranding move last year, Lbox Communications, a UK-based mail distribution service, renamed its pioneering Targeted Delivery and Mapping Platform (TDMP) to tellthem™—a name that better encapsulated its purpose of facilitating streamlined delivery for vital mail notifications, ensuring communities stay well-informed.
tellthem™ has been adopted by a diverse range of organisations, including Network Rail, GRAHAM Construction, Kanda Consulting, Balfour Beatty and The Royal Borough of Greenwich. By leveraging the platform’s capabilities, these organisations are saving time, cutting costs, and enhancing efficiency. A free demo of tellthem™ is currently available for trial.
tellthem™: Simplifying Fast and Accurate Mail Communications Construction projects across the UK are on the upswing, with a 5% increase in construction output observed in 2022. These projects range from large-scale civil engineering endeavors to local road and rail works.
While these projects may vary in scope and cost, a common thread among many is the need to notify affected residents, businesses, and stakeholders about the ensuing disruptions. Such communication is typically mandatory and serves to minimise disturbances, encourage public feedback, and keep individuals well-informed.
However, historically, sending these crucial mail communications has been a time-consuming and arduous process, resulting in significant productivity drains.
David King, CEO of Lbox Communications and the creator of tellthem™, explains, “Reaching the right people with essential mail notifications had been a laborious and demanding task for the longest time. We often heard stories of individuals spending hours manually drawing maps, counting houses, and compiling address lists by hand.”
“When you add the back-and-forth conversations with print and postage providers,” he continues, “the sheer effort involved in just one batch of communications becomes apparent. When scaled up across numerous projects, it becomes evident that organisations faced a real challenge.”
To address this outdated workflow, Lbox developed tellthem™—a unique and unparalleled TDMP designed specifically for industries where essential mail communications play a crucial role. This encompasses construction, highway works, railworks, property planning, utilities & telecoms, and the public sector.
The aim of tellthem™ was simple: to transform the hours spent by companies on arranging mail campaigns into mere minutes and consolidate all these tasks within a single, user-friendly online platform—without the need for a subscription.
“We took the time to truly understand the challenges faced by our clients, which led to the creation of tellthem™,” explains King. “Now, organisations can custom map delivery areas with pinpoint accuracy and arrange print, fulfillment, and delivery through a single online platform in minutes.”
The Functionality of tellthem™ According to Lbox, tellthem™ has revolutionised the process of reaching residents, businesses, constituents, and stakeholders with mail notifications, making it faster and simpler than ever before.
Designed to deliver crucial notifications to the right people at the right time, the platform is utilised to send various types of important communications, ranging from construction notices and planning consultations to community newsletters and surveys.
To ensure a straightforward process, tellthem™ incorporates Google Maps and instant search tools. These powerful features enable quick, convenient searches for the right areas and addresses.
“We have also made it possible for tellthem™ users to search for delivery areas using a wide range of information, from postcodes to local landmarks and even what3words codes,” explains King. “This flexibility allows users to identify the desired area based on the information available to them.”
Additionally, the platform includes an ELR (Engineer’s Line Reference) search function developed through Lbox’s longstanding collaboration with Network Rail. This feature enables railworks industry users to immediately identify precise stretches of rail lines they need to work on.
During their initial research, Lbox discovered that clients heavily relied on paper maps and markers to outline their delivery zones. To modernise this approach, tellthem™ incorporates three in-built digital mapping tools: Polygon, Radius, and Buffer Line.
“Our smart and versatile mapping functions allow users to focus on single roads and postcodes or plot multiple maps at once to cover larger areas,” says King. “This gives everyone the freedom and flexibility to draw the delivery areas they need in a matter of seconds.”
Traditionally, informing communities involved manually counting addresses, making it a time-consuming and laborious process that posed additional challenges in terms of cost estimation.
“As you adjust the size of your target map, delivery method, and mail format in tellthem™, your changes are instantly reflected in your quote. This provides complete transparency regarding where your mail notifications will be sent and the associated costs at all times.”
The swift and powerful planning facilitated by tellthem™ is made possible by Lbox’s experienced team and cutting-edge technology. Users can choose from a wide range of paper stocks, and campaigns are executed efficiently, often ready for next-day delivery through either Royal Mail or Lbox’s uniformed, GPS-tracked distributors.
With the ability to upload artwork, schedule delivery, and select postage through a single online platform, Lbox believes that tellthem™ has revolutionised the coordination of outreach efforts, making it easier than ever before.
“Set aside the highlighters, discard the maps, and put calls to print and delivery providers on hold. tellthem™ takes care of everything within one fast, simple, and free-to-use platform tailored to your specific requirements,” concludes King.
