More on Direct Mail and the USPS

More on the whole direct mail alive or dead topic . . . Grayhair Software reported in their monthly newsletter that the Post Master General  has declared that not only is the USPS not going out of business — he also stated that it will not be privatized and will continue to play a vital role in the US economy.

According to Grayhair, PMG Donahoe stated:

“. . . we are shaping a bright future for a Postal Service that is better able to serve our customers and the American public. We are radically realigning our mail processing, delivery, and retail networks to create a low-cost, technology-centric delivery platform to serve the nation for generations to come. We are aggressively pursuing product and service innovations to drive business growth and to enable businesses to gain a greater return on their investment in the mail.”

While the USPS is still trying to convince Congress that they should migrate to a 5 day delivery week (no delivery on Saturdays), they’ve definitely got even work to do to become more profitable.

When you look at the services companies like Grayhair offers, you start to see the viability of direct mail when used in concert with the other channels.  For example, if you use Grayhair’s MailTrak Monitoring service, you can track direct mail pieces as they get into the consumers’ mailbox and the response is sent back.  With an integrated approach, you can warm up the arrival of that mail piece with a targeted email message to the consumer or business, then follow up with an email message reminding them that they just received a great offer. Studies have shown that this type of integrated channel approach can boost results significantly.

I’m glad that the USPS is working to become more efficient and that there are companies out there helping them by creating products that increase the efficiency of the direct mail channel. However, I still believe that you’ve got to use multiple marketing channels to really make each direct marketing campaign as successful as possible.

Have a great Halloween Weekend!