If you thought snail mail was slow before, you haven't seen anything yet. The revenue-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced yet another way to cut costs: shave the delivery time on first class mail.
Currently, first class mail gets delivered in one to three days within the continental U.S. Yesterday's announcement that the agency is going forward with its plans to begin eliminating nearly half of its 487 mail processing centers in March would extend delivery times to roughly two to three days, as mail would spend more time traveling between post offices.
To be sure, the move was expected. In September, the USPS announced that it would study the effects of closing more than 250 mail processing centers. While many business owners have given up regular mail delivery in lieu of digital correspondence or online bill paying.
But a number of Americans are still licking envelopes. Patrick Donahoe, the postmaster general, told the New York Times that about 40 percent of people still pay their bills through the mail.
For those business owners who continue to rely on the Postal Service for everything from paying invoices to dispatching holiday cards, slower deliver times could make you more vulnerable to late-payment penalties or even lost sales. Instead, here are three tips for revising your mailing strategies:
- Don't wait until the last minute. As credit card companies increasingly look for more ways to fill the gap in their revenues brought on by the passage of last year's credit card law, late payment fees have already begun to tick up. Some banks now charge $25 to $35 if you're late paying a bill. To save yourself from being nickel and dimed, sign up for automatic bill pay through your bank, or, when you see that you're cutting it close, make an online payment right away.
- Target your efforts. If you have a mailing list, consider cutting it down to save on postage. For instance, sending a mailing to everyone who lives in your shop's zip code is less effective -- and more expensive -- than sending an invite to shop or discount offer to your actual customers. You'll want to cater to your best customers, not everyone in the neighborhood. Also, if you receive returned mail, be sure to cross that person off your list.
- Go digital. In addition to sending out email newsletters in lieu of the paper kind, consider electronic postal services. The cost of sending a letter is also expected to rise to 45 cents from 44 cents on January 22. For $10 to $20 a month, DYMO Endicia, Pitney Bowes and Stamps.com gives small businesses the ability to print U.S. postage through their computers at a discount to USPS rates. For roughly the same price other companies such as Earth Class Mail and Zumbox act as a digital window to your mailbox. You can send messages to customers' private electronic mailboxes, which are accessible anywhere.
How will the changes at the USPS affect your business? Leave a comment and let us know.
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Comments:
Tell me about it! With us its cheques, its the 21st century and people still send cheques. But blaming the mail man is often the easy way out. "I definitely posted it" is a favourite of mine.
Electronic mailing is a cheapest way of mailing but most of the e.mails are overlooked and the efforts go in vain.
Hi Diana! I am thankful to you for sharing these tips. I hope these are very helpful to me in present situation.
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About two years ago the USPS changed rules on bulk mail for our mailings. We had to go to less frequent mailings, but implemented some email correspondence. We have started to gather our clients email addresses so we can keep in better contact during the year. At first increase hurt, but now it seems to be a blessing
Our Company uses USPS to ship. Since we run our on line company from our home we are in a residential area, and since 99% of our orders are going to a residence, and not a business FedEX and UPS charge more. Most of our customers are surprised how quickly their orders arrive. It will be tough on our business when First calss is slower and if Saturday delivery is stopped.
While I agree this week’s news about the U.S. Postal Services cost cutting plans have potential negative impact on small business as you have outlined in your article, there is some positive news too. In fact the U. S. Postal Service introduced a new innovative marketing program in April that was designed specifically for small business. It builds on your point made about the importance of target marketing efforts to save money and increase effectiveness especially with a limited budget. The program is called Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) , a program that allows businesses to target a mail piece precisely by zip code, neighborhood, or even a single postal route. No names or mailing addresses are required. All a business needs is to print Postal Customer on the mailing piece and then pay for the postage and the Postal Service will do the rest --all for 14. 2 cents apiece!! This means a local business can send a mailer to 500 potential customers and pay only $ 71.00. If the business has a postage meter using it to pay for the postage that’s just one more efficiency gain. Since I work for Neopost, a mailing solutions company, I am very familiar with all of this and wanted to let your readers know about the Postal services efforts to help small business. I also wanted to mention that my company, Neopost USA, has recently launched a postage meter designed just for the small business market that wasn’t mentioned in your article. Neopost’s newest postage machine, the 280 iMeter, has an internet connection so that postal funds can be updated anytime and postal expenses tracked conveniently online --- just a few of the important features benefiting small businesses.
As a fan of 'snail mail' I have to say, the sad part of this is not that there is 'an extra day' for delivery... but that it clearly signs the beginning of the end for the USPS. We've been postulating on their demise for years, this time it seems truly inevitable. I'm hoping they last at least another 10-20 years, which seems like a stretch given the current national economy woes.
Digital mail is the wave of the future... those that ignore this are losing money every day... example: Telephone lines are a thing of the past... why go to video stores... what the He#@ is a memo... and on and on... let's see, the post office is raising rates and cutting service... sounds like a good business model to me... NOT
As a small business who participates in Free Shipping Day, this news from the USPS is not very welcome. Their first class option for parcels has been the main stay of my shipping plan. Fortunately Free Shipping Day falls a week before Christmas, which should allow for enough time for packages to get where they need to go, but this also means my local Christmas deadline will get moved up. Evidently packages going down the street or across town will take 2 days instead of one. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and lose Saturday mail. THAT will hurt a lot. It's just a sign of the times unfortunately