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Scoop

Here’s the BrightKey scoop—from the view from the top in our quarterly President’s Message to the outside perspective from our clients. We report on client successes not just to strut our stuff but also to prompt ideas for programs that will increase your success. With a large client base and more than three decades of experience, we have lots to share about effective practices.

Building on Lessons Learned

Don’t stumble over something behind you.”
—Seneca the Younger

At BrightKey, we’re moving forward with positive energy and determination. We have new initiatives, new faces, and new ideas!

Empowering our values: The challenges of the past year called on us to return to our corporate values. We transformed them into fun-to-remember action statements and brought them to life through a series of workshops with all our team members. What I heard was inspiring and motivating! At BrightKey, we invite everyone —employees, partners, and clients — to step in and make the world a better place. Because each of us can!

Strengthening our security: Our clients’ data is our number one business priority. With the increasing worldwide threat of malware, we have added more levels of security and new monitoring capabilities to our system. And BrightKey will continue its investment in the people, processes, and technology necessary to strengthen our security operation center.

Extending our reach: BrightKey continues to expand our onsite and warehousing services in New York City with major publishers and nonprofits. Corporations nationwide are seeing the value of outsourcing mail management — including mail screening and digitization — to improve efficiency and safety. Our coast-to-coast capabilities mean that BrightKey is everywhere you need us to be.

Sharing our experience: Since 1988, BrightKey has worked with hundreds of associations, and our research teams help clients take advantage of the wealth of effective practices and trends gleaned from that experience. Our Strategy & Analysis teams use primary and secondary research to provide an expert, objective analysis of how a specific program, product, or project is doing. And we have the expertise to implement recommended solutions.

What's Trending (At a Glance)

Our broad client base provides a great view of what’s going on in many different areas. Each month, we send out a news brief with a quick read on hot topics, emerging trends, and action steps. Here’s just a taste of What’s Trending…

What's Trending for February 2022?
BrightKey has clients from many industries, which gives us a comprehensive view of what's going on across different business areas. Here are some things we have seen trending this month.

Clean your dirty data
Ongoing data management should be a priority for all associations. Keeping your member profile information current to maximize communication efficiency and the member experience is essential. Consider performing an annual survey with your members to have their profile information current and ask what their preferred communication method is. BrightKey can tailor data management solutions to ensure your team resources stay mission focused.

Adapting your in-person events
Hybrid events have been the focus for organizations over the last two years, with most of the focus on attendee engagement. One area often overlooked is how to evolve the traditional in-person event bookstore. Explore a hybrid fulfillment strategy involving shipping lower volumes of merchandise to the in-person event and using your fulfillment house to ship items directly to customers. This strategy allows you to capture impulsive purchases while also enabling your organization to rely on the efficiencies of your fulfillment house to personalize event orders with promotional swag and inserts.
What's Trending for January 2022?
BrightKey has clients from many industries, which gives us a comprehensive view of what's going on across different business areas. Here are some things we have seen trending this month.
The race to lower your office footprint
According to a report by CBRE, nonprofits recorded 223,000 sq. ft. of occupancy loss in 2021 in the DC metro area. While some organizations grew their footprints, the majority pursued downsizing or a complete exit. The transition to a more flexible workplace requires organizations to find solutions to traditional office tasks. Digitizing and outsourcing your front office work will help your support staff with the time they need to stay mission focused. BrightKey can offer a complete portfolio of services to assist your workplace transformation.
Telemarketing campaigns made personal
Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) continues to disrupt the email marketing channels traditionally relied upon by associations. The update inflates open rates and drives down the reliability of segmentation and a/b testing. The personalization of a phone call will define outreach in 2022. New-member welcome calls, check-in calls, and renewal outreaches let your members know they are valued as members of your community. BrightKey can engineer full member life-cycle campaigns that provide the personalization and actionable insight to drive your member experience.
What's Trending for December 2021?
BrightKey has clients from many industries, which gives us a comprehensive view of what's going on across different business areas. Here are some things we have seen trending this month.
Personalize Your Member Engagement
Creating personalized offerings for different member segments will help drive membership value by focusing on what matters most to specific subgroups. Chances are your members' inboxes are overfilled, and your outreach will likely get overlooked, or reporting may not be accurate based on the latest apple privacy updates. Consider ditching the email and replacing it with a live phone call campaign. A phone call is personalized. It connects one-to-one vs. an email crafted to engage a more general segment.
Collaborate with Industry Partners
According to a report by NonProfitHR, the entry-level career segment represents the most challenging segment to retain for nonprofits. In associations, this segment is often responsible for the day-to-day tasks that allow mid and senior-level roles to stay focused on strategic topics. Take advantage of your relationship with Industry partners to reimagine how the relationship can evolve to better position your organization to meet operational demand while improving the member experience.
What's Trending for November 2021?
What's Trending for November 2021? BrightKey has clients from many industries, which gives us a comprehensive view of what's going on across different business areas. We have listed over the last year to Here are some things we have seen trending this month.
Prepare for Increased Shipping Rates
Disruptions to global supply chains will continue to impact packaging supplies and shipping rates in 2022. UPS, FedEx, and DHL will be implementing a 5.9% rate increase to base services, while USPS will be applying even higher increases ranging from 3.87-12.87% for some of their most popular products.
In-Person COVID Response Planning:
As confidence levels are restored and in-person attendance increases, organizations must remain proactive with incident response planning. One option is to partner with providers of medical evacuation services. Historically used by frequent international travelers, these services provide medical transport, via private jet, to your home airport while following quarantine best practices. The service is typically purchased as event insurance and offered complimentary for a designated group with an opportunity for others to buy coverage at their discretion.
What's Trending in October 2021?
BrightKey has clients from many industries, which gives us a comprehensive view of what's going on across different business areas. Here are some things we have seen trending this month.
Diversify your outreach channels to drive results:
SMS/Text campaigns add to the omnichannel experience, have high open rates, and are personalized to specific member groups. The ability to personalize your messaging creates the opportunity for more impactful campaigns and member engagement. An SMS/Text campaign can be one of the most influential and cost-efficient campaign strategies when managed correctly.
Provide a seamless attendee experience for your events:
With the continued adaptation of hybrid events, there is greater attention on the participant experience. The experience needs to be managed both at the physical location and for the virtual platform. To do so, organizations will need to scale up their customer service teams to respond in real-time. The result is an enhanced attendee experience and a new touchpoint to offer personalized products offerings.

Testimonials

“In my ten years of managing teams and handling customer services for large territories and being reliant upon partners to get the job done, I can honestly say that I have never received such raving compliments as I have received since working with BrightKey. There is absolutely zero exaggeration when I say that I receive daily positive feedback. Not one time since this has all begun have I received any questionable or negative feedback on the team at BrightKey.”

Manager, Membership Sales
Association Client
“I’m very pleased with the services that BrightKey provides. The smooth and productive transition to BrightKey was impressive. But I can’t say enough about BrightKey’s staff, to the degree of quality service they provide to our 2,000 associates her as well as around the globe.”

Senior Facilities Manager
Commercial Client
“After the first day of our telemarketing campaign, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to hear how many renewals BrightKey has processed! We got a better response I none day than we were achieving with our previous vendor in an entire month. I am very impressed with the retention call program already and am looking for to GREAT SUCCESS! Thank you for your team’s hard work.”

Membership Manager
Nonprofit Client
“Words cannot express my gratitude for all the hard you do on our behalf. You’ve always gone above and beyond what is expected, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate your superior level of service. I feel as though with your leadership we’ve built a strong partnership. I look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.”

Coordinator for Fulfillment
Nonprofit Client
“I wanted to take a moment to tell you how pleased I am with all aspects of our business relationship. You and your staff could not have been more responsive in light of the terrible weather conditions you experienced. Your staff stayed in touch with our staff, and we were able to make sure our customers were aware of delays. We were also able to keep senior management aware of what was happening and what was being accomplished. You should be very proud of the professional, courteous, thoughtful staff you have. Thank you and all of BrightKey’s staff.”

Vice President, Member Support
Association Client

BrightKey Delivers Results

Data Integrity:
Aligning with the Times
FOCUS: A leading provider of residential servicing in the mortgage industry experienced unprecedented growth over the years but lacked efficiency in the mailroom. As a result, they sought expertise with streamlining incoming mail processes and the logistical complexity of handling the increased workload.

SKILL: BrightKey’s experts in mailroom operations and document scanning workflow, completed an onsite assessment of current operations and presented recommendations to enhance the essential mailroom operations. BrightKey assisted with procuring and installing state of the art mail processing and accountable mail tracking equipment in addition to deploying standard operating processes and procedures, and volume and performance tracking dashboards.

RESULTS: BrightKey continues to work with our customer to identify additional document workflows and expects to maximize the existing capacity to meet the demands of their growth. In addition, the implementation of new technology and the development of standard operating procedures and reporting provided the corporate operation with a well-oiled mailroom which turns around inbound mail the same day it is received.
Process Improvement and Efficiency:
Reducing Cost While Creating Efficiencies
FOCUS: A quasi-government organization encouraged our onsite team to evaluate the printing, mailing, supply processes, and equipment and make recommendations for process and efficiency improvements and anticipated cost savings.

SKILL: BrightKey’s Project Team researched costs for printer and coil machine replacements, designed supply workrooms for standardization, and identified a new approach to shipping and mailing.

RESULTS: By replacing a printer that allowed for in-house services rather than outsourcing, Brightkey helped save money and organize production within. In addition, Brightkey helped standardize the workroom for efficiency and supply management which allowed for ensuring standardization of both supplies and industrial equipment. Our team standardized supplies for tracking and reordering as needed which improved productivity. Brightkey advised using FedEx ground home delivery services vs FedEx express for employees working from home, reducing delivery costs for shipping.
Continuity of Mail Delivery During the COVID 19 Pandemic:
Following COVID Protocols While Remaining Engaged
FOCUS: In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, BrightKey’s client reassigned most of its employees to remote work. As a result, hundreds of employees no longer had access to their mail which contained time sensitive work product and various documents that must be processed or require dispositions. This presented a significant continuity challenge for our clients and anticipated cost savings.

SKILL: BrightKey worked closely with our client to outline their requirements. This resulted in timelines for completion and definitive performance standards for delivery and security. BrightKey also consulted with the client to develop a customized migration to their preferred file sharing application and implemented the solution within five weeks of initial request.

RESULTS: BrightKey developed a customized mail digitization program that allowed employees to work seamlessly from home or any location with internet access. Employees received their digitized mail by 1:00 pm on the same day received. All mail images were migrated via an encrypted network. Additionally, all hard copies were indexed, filed, and stored in a secure location, making hard copy retrieval fast and efficient.
Ongoing Process Improvements:
Enhanced Reporting for Mail Services
FOCUS: Client is in need of real-time reporting for the mail services BrightKey is currently providing.

SKILL: BrightKey implemented an online, customized Reporting Dashboard. No client resources were required to implement this solution. Our solution provided a customized dashboard and tabular reports along with drill down capability into report data, daily refreshing of reporting data, and export functionality. These capabilities allowed for improvements in real time data reports, accompanied by secure usernames and passwords for staff to access data when needed.

RESULTS: The dashboard provides daily data on both inbound and outbound mail volumes. The dashboard tracks items such as total shipments, mass mailing, and mail screening. With the help of BrightKey, the company was able to digitize some of the current flow of mail, facilitating the clients current flow of mail and mail tracking.
Win back members:
Last Chance Fellow Recovery
FOCUS: A one hundred-year-old, prestigious medical association that sets the standard for patient care and provider education sought to recover lapsed Fellow members. After numerous email and direct mail campaigns, the nonprofit wanted to invest in one last push with an outbound calling campaign to retain these expired members.

SKILL: BrightKey’s Strategic Outreach team collaborated with the medical nonprofit to develop an outbound calling campaign to transition the lapsed members. Campaign design strategy included calling Fellows near benefit expiration to create a sense of urgency, a compelling script that highlighted powerful member benefits, clear rebuttals that combined a discount on renewing membership, and strategic collection of member feedback to tailor strategy throughout the current and future campaigns.

RESULTS: The three-week, two attempt, outreach campaign approach ensured that every member received a form of communication, which included direct conversation, voicemail, and email follow up. The campaign success was measured by payments received over the phone, members who pledged to pay, and payments made after the first call. With a final campaign ROI of $34.73 for every dollar spent, the customized approach to the outreach campaign proved to be a successful win back effort.

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