ICS Blog RSSVolume down as prices go up for USPS. What does it mean for Marketers?
May 11th is the date targeted for postage rates to go up across the board. The average rate increase is about 3.8% and does vary by segment. Of course, the behind the scenes story contributing to the increase is the decline in recent mail volume … with a 9.5 billion piece decline in mail for 2008.  According to the USPS, “Declining mail volume was a symptom of the worsening national economy, particularly related to the financial and housing industries and to trends toward the use of electronic mail.”
While I am sure the economic climate is an element here (isn’t it the blame for everything these days?), I think the “trends toward the use of electronic mail” are an even greater longer-term issue for the USPS. And as they are forced to raise prices, it will not make matters any better.
Clearly, companies are having to look at every dollar these days. Utilizing the most customer-effective and cost-effective communications is certainly an area that nearly all companies are reviewing.   And as most things go, technology continues to bring new solutions to the table that enable the small- to mid-sized companies to do what only the larger companies could do in years past.
What do you look for if you are one of those companies evaluating your customer communications? Â
- Likely you will want a partner to help navigate the increasing complex data management issues that come with multi-channel marketing integration
- The organization should also have deep expertise across traditional and digital channels (both technical and strategic)
We see the continuation of these trends (lower mail volumes, stronger use of electronic communcations) for the forseeable future. And yes, a continuation of the increases from USPS.
