MailSmart Logistics is out with a terrific blog called How Can Mailers Prepare for Five Day USPS Mail Delivery? Since they posted this piece, some members of Congress have introduced a bill to keep six-day mail delivery, and as I write this, we don’t know if this legislation will be successful. What we do know is that five-day delivery will affect all mailers (catalogs, magazines, nonprofits, etc.), so in the event that it becomes reality, we need to be prepared. The MailSmart blog describes how the volume of mail people receive each day will increase with five-day delivery, so we will all need to find a way to make our mail stand out even more. Here are MailSmart’s recommendations for getting ready for five-day delivery:
1. Transition management of your campaigns to focus on in-home dates versus drop dates.
2. Track your mailings to be better able to predict delivery times and prepare all those impacted by response. Our complimentary MailTracker™ uses the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) to track mail campaigns, real-time, through the mail stream. If you are not using MailTracker™, now is the time to begin using this free tool.
3. Use drop shipping and commingling to not only realize postage savings, but move your mail closer to its final destination, which provides you greater control of delivery dates.
4. Challenge your copy, design and production teams now to develop strategies to stand out from increased competition in the mailbox.
5. Plan for shifts in your integrated marketing strategies including online direct marketing, telemarketing, and follow-up mailings so they can fully support the success of your direct marketing campaigns with optimal timing.
You can read MailSmart’s full blog here. The bottom line is this: we are all going to experience a lengthening of delivery time for our campaigns, and we’ve only got until August 1 to get ready…so get your team together and start thinking this through now.