WASHINGTON DC – Direct mail should expect to see a rise in volume beginning in 2011. The United States Postal Service announced Tuesday, December 21, 2010 that it plans to offer simplified addressing for business customers for city deliveries.
For those businesses who currently use direct mail, this can save a lot of expense for mailing list prep when covering many addresses in a targeted area.
For small businesses who previously could not afford such targeted mailings, they will now be able to take advantage of them.
Simplified Addressing
Simplified addressing means that businesses will be able to use mail delivery route information on direct mail pieces. Currently, direct mail postage rates require that addresses must be in the form of names and exact addresses.
Beginning in January 2, 2011, postal customers who desire complete coverage on a particular mail route will be able to to address mailings using “Postal Customer” instead of an occupant’s name. This will cut down on mailing list expenses.
Simplified addressing has previously only been acceptable for government mailings and for rural routes. Now it will be available for businesses to be able to reach targeted customer mailings in specific areas. Starting in January, 2011, businesses can begin using the format.
USPS News Release
In a news release dated December 21, 2010, USPS president and chief marketing/sales officer, Paul Vogel had the following comments about the new addressing options:
“Simplified addressing will help local small and midsize businesses as well as large businesses drive more traffic and attract new customers … This can help strengthen the U.S. economy as well as our organization, the U.S. Postal Service, which is doing everything it can to drive revenue growth.”
Vogel also added the following:
“Simplified addressing will serve as the on-ramp for many small businesses trying to reach their audiences within a specific geographic range … It will allow them for the first time to take advantage of the most effective marketing channel there is — direct mail.”
This can make a huge impact in direct mail volume by offering a solution to many small businesses who simply cannot afford to use direct mail.
It’s a Win – Win Deal
The USPS decided to make the changes because it stands to earn millions in new revenue by simplifying addressing options for business.
The way this saves money is that direct mail marketers will not have to buy current databases of specific sequenced names and addresses that have to be updated on a continual basis. They can simply specify all the addresses within a given postal route.