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Your Post Office Working for You |
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Encourages Use of QR Codes and
Other Digital Tools to Increase Returns |
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The U.S. Postal
Service is offering the 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization
Promotion to encourage commercial mailers to use mobile marketing tools —
such as QR codes — on their mail. During July and
August, the Postal Service is offering an upfront 2 percent postage discount
on Standard Mail and First-Class Mail letters, flats and cards (presort and
automation) that include a two-dimensional barcode or print/mobile technology
that can be read or scanned by a mobile device. When scanned, the technology
must activate a link directly to either a mobile-optimized Web page that
allows the mail recipient to purchase a product or service or to a
mobile-optimized and customized Web page uniquely tailored to the mail
recipient and accessible by a personalized URL. “Mobile
technologies continue to be one of the fastest-growing marketing sectors,”
said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. “During the holidays,
mobile purchases were up from 5.5 percent of ecommerce sales in 2010 to 11
percent in 2011. According to
MarketingProfs, 2012, 48 percent of “Personalization
has always been an effective attribute of direct mail, and studies show that
it improves return on investment,” said Reblin. “Tying personalization with
mobile technology is the next obvious step to enhancing the value of both mail and mobile
marketing.” Commercial mailers
may register for the 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion now
through Aug. 30, 2012. For more information, visit usps.com/mobile-barcode. # # # |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2012 Contact: James T. Wigdel
U.S. Postal Service Targets Small Businesses for Growth
Offers Free ‘Grow Your Business’ Seminars to Local Organizations
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Postal Service today unveiled a new integrated marketing campaign to promote easy-to-use and affordable direct mail and shipping services to America’s small businesses. The Postal Service in San Francisco is also offering a series of free ‘Grow Your Business’ seminars to show small businesses how easy and economical it is to use Every Door Direct Mail.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and the Postal Service plays an important role in enabling their growth and commercial success,” said Paul Vogel, president and chief marketing/sales officer, U.S. Postal Service. “We are providing a suite of mailing and shipping services tailored to the needs of small businesses to help them compete for customers and run their operations more efficiently.”
Every Door Direct Mail is a simple Web-based service that helps small businesses prospect locally to new and existing customers without the need for names or addresses. The mailings can be dropped off at a local Post Office. “Every Door Direct Mail is designed for small businesses,” said Vogel. “For less than 15 cents a piece, our customers can send fliers, menus, brochures and advertisements in highly targeted ways. The Web tool is free and easy to use, enabling restaurants, doctors’ offices and other small businesses to map their coverage areas online, so they can really zero in on the streets and neighborhoods they want to reach.”
The Postal Service also announced enhancements and new tools to help small businesses ship their products, such as a redesign and re-launch of Click-N-Ship, which enables small businesses to go online and ship their products in four easy steps. The redesign includes several improvements, such as simplified Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping and a simplified payment and printing process.
“The key to helping small businesses prosper is being innovative and responsive to their needs and ensuring that our products are not only simple to use and affordable but also offer our customers a way to generate positive return on investment from their marketing campaigns,” said Vogel.
To learn more about Every Door Direct Mail and other USPS services that can benefit any business or organization — please plan to join us at one of these free ‘Grow Your Business’ seminars:
March 27, 2012
Santa Rosa Main Post Office
730 Second Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
3:30 p.m. March 28, 2012
Townsend Street Station
550 Townsend Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
5:30 p.m. April 11, 2012
Sonoma Post Office
617 Broadway
Sonoma, CA 95476
2 p.m.
To reserve your spot at one of these free business events, please visit USPS.com/growyourbusinessdays, or call 415-550-5124.
# # #
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
Follow USPS on Twitter @USPS_PR and at Facebook.com/usps.
New Pricing for Postal Products and Services
On January 22, the price to mail letters to
any location in the United
States
Highlights of the new single-piece
First-Class Mail pricing, effective Jan. 22, 2012, include:
- Letters (1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents
- Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents
- Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents
- Letters to
Canada
or Mexico
- Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent
increase to $1.05
Prices also changed for other mailing
services, including Standard Mail, Periodicals, Package Services and Extra
Services
New domestic retail pricing for Priority
Mail Flat Rate products include:
- Small box — $5.35
- Medium box — $11.35
- Large box — $15.45
- Large APO/FPO/DPO box — $13.45
- Regular envelope — $5.15
- Legal-size and Padded envelope — $5.30
For business mailers, there
is good news for First-Class Mail Presort mailers. When the new prices went into
effect on Jan. 22, the second ounce for presorted letters became free. “This
gives companies expanded opportunities to advertise new services and products
to their custom ers as part of bill and
statement mailings,” said Paul Vogel, president and chief marketing/sales
officer.
And new for all custom ers
is a 3-month pricing option to rent PO Boxes, perfect for people on the move
and others who need a PO Box for a short time period.
More information on the new pricing is
available at
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2011/pr11_factsht_pricechng_1018.pdf.
http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2011/pr11_factsht_pricechng_1018.pdf.
Every Mailing Address, No Mailing List
Every Door Direct Mail™
Every Door Direct Mail from the U.S. Postal Service® lets your business send advertising mail to your desired audience without the need to acquire an address list or print specific names and addresses on your mail pieces. A letter carrier delivers your piece along with the day’s mail to every address on the route.
Every Door Direct Mail provides your business with an efficient way to promote your services. It gets your marketing messages directly into the hands of consumers while reducing the mail preparation costs associated with the lists and printing. As a result, it could help you:
- Target a location without an address list
- Built more traffic
- Find new customers
- Increase revenue
- Retailers: Includes auto dealers, restaurants, furniture stores, community groups, supermarkets, sporting goods shops and department stores.
- Service-based businesses: Includes attorneys, health-care professionals, banks, home-improvement companies, insurance agencies and real estate firms.
With Every Door Direct Mail Retail, businesses can mail up to 5000 pieces per day with No Direct Mail or Permit Imprint Fee’s required and to make mailing easier the US Postal Service has launched a new shipping tool, the Simplified Mailing Process located at https://smp.usps.gov/.
With the Simplified Mailing Process software you can target your mailing by city, county or location and using our mapping software you can see the street locations your mailing will be delivered too.
Learn more at USPS.com/everydoordirectmail
Or contact your local U.S. Postal Service representative
Gary Couto
Business Solutions Specialist
707-778-5250
gary.l.couto@usps.gov
Welcome to Business Mail 101!
Welcome to Business Mail 101, information for beginning or infrequent mailers that will help you harness the power of mail for your business or organization. Over the course of the next few weeks, the U.S. Postal Service will introduce you to Business Mail, and how it can possibly reduce mailing costs for your company and increase business. Let’s begin at the beginning by explaining just what is Bulk Mail?
What is Bulk Mail?
The term "bulk mail" refers to larger quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage. In Business Mail 101, the term "bulk mail" means commercial First-Class Mail and advertising mail (called "Standard Mail" by the Postal Service). Commercial prices are available for other classes of mail, too. The Postal Service uses the terms "bulk" and "presorted" interchangeably.
Bulk prices are lower than "single-piece." "Single-piece" means that you pay the full postage price; when you put a stamp on a letter, you're paying the single-piece postage. Many mailers pay single-piece postage even though they are doing large mailings. Why? Because they don’t want to do any extra preparation work—they don’t have the time, or it’s just not cost effective for their business. Business Mail 101 will help you make smart choices about your own mail to determine if commercial prices are right for you.
There are many advantages to using bulk mail. The most important advantage is that bulk mailing prices are significantly lower than single-piece prices. That can save you a lot of money.
Next time on Business Mail 101 we’ll ask the question: Is Bulk Mail Right for You?
Until then if you have any questions about using Bulk Mail to give your business a boost, or want to learn more about saving on your mailing costs, contact:
USPS Sales and Shipping Specialist Gary Couto
Phone: 707-778-5250
Email: gary.l.couto@usps.gov
Or on the web at: http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/
For other Postal questions, call 1-800-ASK-USPS or visit USPS.com.
