Burrus: Mailers Want To Cut Postal Employees Wages At Least $18,000 Yearly
Burrus Update #13-2010, July 29, 2010
Competing Interests, Diverging Views
In many Updates and editorials on postal issues, I have criticized the influence of large mailers on the USPS — even while acknowledging that they provide much of the volume that makes it possible for the Postal Service to maintain its national network and provide middle-class employment to more than 600,000 Americans. I have frequently pointed out that the interests of these large mailers generally run counter to those of postal employees.
While some union leaders have joined forces with the mailers to achieve narrow legislative objectives, and others speak in favor of partnerships, I have counseled APWU members that the large mailers and postal workers have competing agendas.
A case in point involves the Postal Service’s recent proposal to raise the price of stamps. An association of large mailers, the Affordable Mail Alliance, vehemently opposes the rate hike and filed a protest with the Postal Regulatory Commission, which must consider the USPS proposal.
The mailers’ motion vividly exposes the lack of respect they have for postal employees and the collective bargaining process. A casual review of the document [PDF - see pages 50-62] reveals their callous desire to punish postal workers for the Postal Service’s financial difficulties — difficulties the mailers inadvertently fostered by promoting the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. The PAEA imposed crippling financial obligations on the USPS — obligations that are responsible for the Postal Service’s current predicament. To compensate for their colossal mistake, the major mailers wish to penalize postal workers.
In lieu of an editorial describing my reaction to this vicious attack, I invite postal employees to read the motion and draw their own conclusions.
Exercising Influence
The Affordable Mail Alliance, along with other organizations representing large mailers, influences postal policy by lobbying and applying significant resources to shape legislation. They hope to set the tone for the USPS-APWU contract negotiations scheduled for later this year.
While the opinions of these mailers are not dispositive, it is important that postal workers and their unions understand the power they have on matters affecting postal employment. The opinions expressed in this filing are a frontal attack aimed at eliminating collective bargaining as the vehicle for establishing the terms of employment in the United States Postal Service.
The major mailers wish to amend the law so that the Postal Service would have the unilateral right to set wages and benefits, leaving employees with only one option: Accept it or quit. This is the model the large mailers use with their employees; as they generated billions of dollars in profits from worksharing alone, their employees had no vehicle to demand an appropriate share. It would be interesting to review the salaries of the executives in the companies that form the Alliance and compare them with the salaries of postal employees.
The Alliance asserts that postal wages, benefits, and conditions of employment constitute a pay “premium” of more than 33.9 percent over other workers. Their “analysis” is based on USPS figures that suggest that total postal “compensation,” which includes both wages and benefits, averages more than $80,000 per year.
To put the mailers’ conclusion in context, they believe the wages of bargaining unit employees should be cut by at least $18,000 per year, with corresponding reductions in healthcare, life insurance, leave, and other benefits! The reduction they suggest would represent a loss of approximately $700 each bi-weekly pay period.
Yet the July 26 edition of Business Mailers Review, a newsletter prepared by a representative of the mailers — the very mailers who take exception to the results of free collective bargaining — reported on a study that showed mailers reaped $10.7 billion in “profits” from workshare discounts in 2008 based upon the postal costs avoided. With tongue in cheek, I ask, if postal wages were reduced arbitrarily, would the mailers suggest that workshare discounts should be reduced to the arbitrarily set “cost-avoidance” rate?
The Sides
For those members and observers who have not identified the sides in this struggle, on one side we have the employees who have organized into groups (unions) that are committed to playing by the rules of democracy, negotiating the terms of employment, and resorting to binding arbitration when voluntary agreement cannot be reached. On the other side are the mailers, whose profits are affected by postal employee wages and benefits. These mailers believe in capitalism and democracy — as long as “democracy” excludes the opportunity for workers to have a meaningful voice in their place of employment. The mailers would prefer to eliminate collective bargaining entirely, but if they are forced to accept the process they favor a law that would guarantee the outcome.
I encourage postal employees to closely examine the Alliance’s document to enhance their understanding of the forces engaged in this struggle. Please note that the Alliance analysis is not craft specific. The mailers’ efforts are not targeted to a specific group of postal employees, such as clerks, letter carriers, mail handlers, etc: Their goal is to quench their insatiable thirst for profits at the expense of all postal employees.
The indecent pay and bonuses many CEOs receive do not seem to bother the Alliance; however, they put each advance by working people under a microscope for after-the-fact comparison.
William Burrus
President
OIG Audit: USPS Summer Sale For Mailers May Have Lost Money In FY 2009
This report presents the results of our audit of the fiscal year (FY) 2009 Standard Mail® Volume Incentive Program (Project Number 10BO008FF000). The report responds to a request from the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). Our objectives were to evaluate the Standard Mail Volume Incentive Program (Summer Sale) to determine whether the Postal Service achieved its objective of increasing volume and revenue and whether the process used to establish customers’ mailing history was valid and accurate. This audit addresses financial risk. See Appendix A for additional information about this audit.
The U.S. Postal Service intended its Summer Sale to increase volume during a typically light mail volume period and increase revenue. The program ran from July 1 through September 30, 2009. At the end of this period, the Summer Sale provided a 30 percent credit to customers for additional volume mailed over a specified threshold.
Conclusion
The Postal Service reported both volume and revenue increases resulting from the FY 2009 Summer Sale.1 However, the processes used to calculate the reported
increases may result in misleading reported revenue and volume impacts. While the Postal Service used actual, verifiable mailing data in many cases, the additional data
essential to calculations supporting the reported increases is less precise. These data included various assumptions related to mail thresholds,2 negotiated mail volumes
based on customer input, and incomplete or unconsidered employee cost data. Postal Service outsiders — including the PRC’s public representatives3 — have also
questioned the Postal Service’s methods for calculating reported revenue and volume increases. The public representatives found that using methods more closely aligned
with those initially considered by the PRC in approving the Summer Sale suggests the Postal Service may actually have lost money on the FY 2009 program.
A Postal Service official stated that the benefits gained from conducting incentive programs like the Summer Sale outweigh their potential financial uncertainties. The
official said the Summer Sale program should be viewed as an investment in the future of the Postal Service, creating long-term customer satisfaction and building its
reputation. While these goals are commendable, a stated objective of the FY 2009 Summer Sale was to increase revenue and volume. It is uncertain whether the Postal
Service achieved that objective. We believe the Postal Service needs solid data and complete cost information in order to make well-informed decisions on the programs it initiates or conducts, particularly considering the critical financial predicament it is currently facing.
Revenue and Volume Increases Reported for Summer Sale May be Misleading
Overall, the Postal Service did not always have independent, reliable, and complete data upon which to calculate the $24.1 million in net revenue contribution and increased volume resulting from the FY 2009 Summer Sale. This occurred because the Postal Service relied on certain customer-provided data to determine customer thresholds and this data was a key component in evaluating revenue and volume increases. In addition, the method the Postal Service used to determine customer mail volume without a Summer Sale — commonly referred to as “loyalty growth” — differs from the PRCapproved method. The Postal Service’s calculation of “loyalty growth” considered trends in volume, whereas the PRC’s public representatives applied a measure of price sensitivity to volumes actually mailed during the Summer Sale to calculate “loyalty growth.” As a result, the Postal Service provided $67.8 million in rebates to customers who exceeded the established threshold volumes that may have been inaccurate. We consider the $67.8 million to be assets at risk.
A key component in calculating net revenue and volume increases was determining customers’ mail volume thresholds. To determine thresholds, the Postal Service provided mailing data that established a threshold for all its customers who were eligible to participate in the Summer Sale. While 324 customers agreed with this threshold figure, 129 others did not. Customers who disagreed with the threshold met with a Postal Service analyst from the Business Customer Intelligence (BCI) Department to discuss and negotiate the changes. Postal Service officials stated that BCI analysts researched the requested changes; however, they were not able to provide documentation to support the changes made or the validation process.
Furthermore, Postal Service outsiders have questioned the validity of the calculation of the “loyalty growth.” The PRC’s public representatives8 found that using the PRC’s method for “loyalty growth,” the Summer Sale lost $39.6 million of revenue. This is in contrast to the Postal Service’s reported $24.1 million net revenue growth. These varying calculations illustrate the difficulty in determining the results and effect of the Summer Sale.
see full report from the Office Of Inspector General:
note: another postal website really likes stealing my headlines.
Major Mailers Go Ballistic Over Rate Increase
Attempt to Shift the Burden to Postal Employees
Burrus Update
The Postal Service has filed a request to increase postage rates effective Jan. 2, 2011, and is proposing to raise the price of first-class, single-piece letters from 44 cents to 46 cents. Increases for other mail classes would range from 5.4 to 8 percent.
As anticipated, large mailers have gone ballistic. They have formed a new organization, the Affordable Mail Alliance, dedicated to stopping the rate hike.
The mailers comprising the Affordable Mail Alliance want mail service, but they do not want to pay the actual cost of those services. Instead, they are seeking to shift attention to the employees. They are suggesting a renewed focus on closing stations and branches, consolidating mail processing facilities, and demanding concessions from workers.
The next step is a review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, which may accept, reject, or modify the proposed rates. This is the first rate request submitted under the “exigency provision” of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), and it faces stiff opposition because it would increase postage rates above the rate of inflation. The exigency provision allows the USPS to do so.
The APWU will intervene in the PRC proceedings to contest the absolute refusal by postal officials to comply with another provision of the law, which stipulates that postage discounts may be no greater than “postal costs avoided.”
Despite the Postal Service’s admission in previous rate requests that discounts exceed the costs avoided, this request would reduce the discount on five-digit pre-sorted mail by just 1/10 of 1 cent. This is preposterous!
Mailers Try to Make Employees Pay
Early indications are that the Affordable Mail Alliance will attempt to make employees the scapegoat, by claiming that postal workers — who have the benefit of collective bargaining — are paid substantially more than employees in comparable private-sector jobs.
They hope to make postal employees pay for the legislation that requires the USPS to pre-fund $56 billion in future retiree healthcare obligations over a 10-year period.
The 2010 exigency rate request is a direct response to the requirement that the Postal Service assume this cost in 10 successive annual payments ranging from $5.4 to $5.8 billion. Absent this payment, a rate increase in 2010 would have been unnecessary.
Can you guess who the principal supporters of the legislation that requires the onerous payments were? Yes, the large mailers. Now the same mailers who supported the requirement cry that the payments should be made from the wages and benefits of postal employees.
When postal employees retire, they assume responsibility for approximately 30 percent of health insurance premiums, which is a significant increase from what they paid when they were active employees covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. For example, an employee who is enrolled in the Blue Cross Standard Family Option pays $132.83 biweekly or $287.80 monthly during active employment; upon retirement, this payment escalates to $400.97 monthly. The balance of the premium is paid by the government, which is reimbursed by the USPS.
The PAEA requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the USPS share of this future payment, and now the mailers want to force postal employees to pay the USPS share through wage-and-benefit reductions equal to the PAEA-required payments. This would result in postal retirees paying 100 percent of their retirement healthcare premiums — by shifting the pre-funding requirement to employees through cuts in their pay and benefits.
Exigency Case Was Inevitable
The simple truth is that the exigency rate case was inevitable. The 17 percent decline in mail volume, coupled with the pre-funding requirement, has left the USPS on the brink of insolvency.
Because the Postal Service does not earn or set aside profits, any USPS deficit bears a direct relationship to the cost of postal operations – including mail collection, processing, transportation, delivery, retail services, and support. By law, the postage that funds these operations must equal the costs.
The mailers comprising the Affordable Mail Alliance want mail service, but they do not want to pay the actual cost of those services. Instead, they are seeking to shift attention to the employees. They are suggesting a renewed focus on closing stations and branches, consolidating mail processing facilities, and demanding concessions from workers.
The 2010 rate adjustments proposed by the Postal Service are not a response to declining mail volume caused by the recession, or the diversion of hard-copy mail to electronic forms. This adjustment is to pay the future healthcare bill, aggressively lobbied for by the mailers who now cry foul when payment is due.
I feel compelled to tell them: “You wanted the PAEA and its payment schedule, but now you want to avoid paying for it through higher postage rates.”
William Burrus
President
USPS To Mailers: Shipping Is the Key To Our Future
Speaking this week at National Postal Forum in Nashville, Vice President of Expedited Shipping Gary Reblin told mailers the Postal Service is in the shipping business and that shipping is key to its future.
“We want USPS to be known as much for shipping as it is for mailing,” said Reblin. “With the boom in online ordering, shipping will be an important part of the Postal Service’s business plan for the future.”
In large part because of the successful advertising campaign promoting Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes, the Postal Service has gained market share and experienced double-digit growth in flat-rate shipping. Equally important, innovations in pricing and product design have been popular with customers.
New cubic pricing, an industry first, was introduced in January and bases shipping prices on the size of the box, not on the weight. This groundbreaking strategy has been well received by businesses and the mailing industry. To date, more than two dozen very large shippers have signed on. Cubic pricing allows shippers to reduce shipping costs and lower their carbon footprint through the use of smaller packaging.
“Just a few years ago, we had only one pricing table for all Priority Mail,” explained Reblin. “Today, we offer channel discounts, volume discounts, contracts and now cubic pricing. We will continue to innovate, continue to grow and — most importantly — continue to provide the best possible value and pricing for our customers.”
Other innovations include the Priority Mail Gift Card Envelope, which was introduced on a trial basis for the winter holiday season. It has been expanded nationwide just in time for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, summer weddings and school graduations. In addition, Customized Packaging — which allows customers to create boxes, envelopes, cohesive packaging and address labels that are tailored to meet a customer’s specific needs — has helped the Postal Service bring in new business.
“We believe we are the best business-to-consumer solution,” added Reblin. “Through product innovations and enhanced technology, the Postal Service will continue to deliver better value at a lower cost.”
source: USPS News Link
PRC Report: Shortfalls in Some Products, Services Cost USPS $1.7B In FY 2009
Some workshare discounts exceeded the savings to USPS
Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission today issued its Annual Compliance Determination (ACD) assessing the financial and service performance of the Postal Service in fiscal year (FY) 2009.
The Commission reported that 14 separate Postal Service products or services failed to cover their direct costs. Shortfalls in these products cost the Postal Service $1.7 billion dollars in FY 2009. Despite surpluses in other products such as First-Class Mail, the Postal Service lost $3.8 billion overall.
The report also identifies 30 instances of workshare discounts offered to large mailers where the discounts exceeded the savings to the Postal Service from the work performed by the mailers. Only in 17 of those instances could the Postal Service show that special circumstances justified the discount.
In issuing the report Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway said: “The ACD is the primary tool established by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act to ensure that the Postal Service is accountable for and transparent in its operations and service to the public. Unlike the Postal Service’s recently announced ten-year plan, the ACD reports on where the Postal Service is now and provides direction on what can be done in the short term to improve revenues, service levels and equity among rate payers.”
The ACD also reported on the Postal Service’s performance for delivery of each distinct class of mail, on consumer access to postal services, and customer satisfaction. The Postal Service had generally high performance levels for delivery of First-Class letters, but it performed well below target delivery levels for periodicals and packages. The Commission closely monitors the Postal Service’s performance and is pressing for the further development of measurement systems to assure speed of delivery and customer satisfaction.
The ACD also provides a detailed analysis of the Postal Service’s deteriorating financial situation. It is questionable whether the Service has maintained the capacity to provide fundamental postal services to the Nation as required by law in the future. Mail volume declines caused by the severe economic recession, combined with longer-term trends that replaced mail with digital communications led to reduced revenues in FY 2009. But losses were also caused by the requirement – in place since 2007 – that the Postal Service annually prepay over $5 billion for retiree healthcare benefits. The Postal Service ended FY 2009 with a $3.8 billion loss despite receiving $4 billion in temporary legislative relief from its requirement to prepay those benefits.
In the interests of clarity and accountability, Chairman Goldway filed a separate, concurring opinion choosing to use the term “not in compliance” to describe Postal Service results that did not meet provisions of the law. But she affirmed that all of the regulatory directives to the Postal Service detailed in the report were adopted unanimously by the Commission.
“The Commission will play an essential role in the upcoming public debate on the future of the Postal Service and the future of universal service to the Nation. Our agency will provide the platform for all interests and all issues to be considered fairly. We will put to use our expertise in evaluating postal costs, analyzing economic trends and bringing together all parties in the mailing community. The ACD is a fundamental tool in that process.”
The Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent federal agency that provides regulatory oversight over the U.S. Postal Service to ensure the transparency and accountability of the Postal Service and foster a vital and efficient universal mail system. The Commission is comprised of five Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed Commissioners, each serving terms of six years. The Chairman is designated by the President. In addition to Chairman Goldway, the other Commissioners are Vice Chairman Tony Hammond, Dan Blair, Nanci Langley, and Mark Acton.
USPS: Mailers Show Success in Printing Intelligent Mail Barcode
Readability Threshold to Be Raised, As Planned
WASHINGTON — According to verifications performed by the U.S. Postal Service since January 2009, 95 percent of mailings with the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) are quality, readable barcodes, enabling the commercial mailers who print them to receive the benefits that Intelligent Mail Full Service has to offer: mail tracking and address correction information.
It’s this success in printing the Intelligent Mail barcode that has given the Postal Service the confidence to move ahead with previously published plans to raise the Intelligent Mail barcode readability threshold to 90 percent, according to Thomas G. Day, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.
“The industry has consistently improved in its ability to print the Intelligent Mail barcode,” said Day. “The fact that more than 95 percent of the mailings being verified are passing the 90 percent threshold means that our customers are doing an even better job of printing the IMb as they are with printing the POSTNET barcode,” said Day. “The change in the threshold is consistent with the trends we have seen in overall mailer performance.”
This new threshold took effect March 15, the target date previously announced to the industry.
Mailings that meet the 90 percent barcode readability threshold are eligible for automation prices. The barcode readability threshold for IMb aligns with the barcode readability threshold for the POSTNET barcode.
In May 2009, the barcode readability threshold for mail using an Intelligent Mail barcode was established at 70 percent. At that time, the plan to raise the threshold in November 2009 to 80 percent and in March 2010 to 90 percent was communicated to the mailing industry. In November 2009, the Postal Service raised the threshold to 80 percent.
For more information about Intelligent Mail Full Service or barcode readability thresholds, visit ribbs.usps.gov.
Direct Marketers Catalog, Mailer Groups Pledge to Work Together on Postal Issues
Joint Statement from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the American Catalog Mailers Association
Boston, MA, March 11, 2010 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the American Catalog Mailers Association (ACMA) have come to an understanding of their common goals in protecting the catalog segment from legislative and regulatory threats. We pledge to work together on postal issues at the US Postal Service, Postal Regulatory Commission, and Congress, and in fighting Do-Not-Mail proposals at the state and local level.
Going forward, both groups will continue to represent our respective members’ best interests, which may differ at times. ACMA will continue its aggressive work in postal and other catalog-specific matters. DMA will continue its work on postal issues, as well as the many other issues that affect catalogs and the broader direct marketing community, including tax, privacy, and offers.
There is an enormous amount of work to do. It requires significantly increased participation from every company with an economic stake in cataloging. Both ACMA and DMA are under-resourced from the catalog community. Our ability to operate successfully requires the financial resources, executive time, and broad-based membership of catalog mailers and their suppliers.
ACMA and DMA would like to call on all companies that mail catalogs to join both organizations if you are not a member already; and to become active participants. We need a broad-based and unified effort to continue the endeavors both organizations have shaped. ACMA and DMA are excited about developing a productive and cooperative relationship and look forward to making a difference for catalogers on a long list of public policy issues.
USPS Summer Mail Sale Returns
Customer Loyalty to Be Rewarded Again in 2010
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service did something for the first time last year, and it was so successful, they’re planning to do it again: launch a summer sale.
The 2010 Summer Sale is scheduled to run July 1 through Sept. 30 and will provide a 30 percent rebate to eligible mailers on Standard Mail letters and flats volume above a predetermined threshold. The threshold will be five percent over each participating mailer’s volume for the same period in 2009. Invitations to participate in the sale will be sent to customers in early March.
“The 2010 Summer Sale is our way of rewarding our most loyal customers and demonstrates that we value their business,” said Robert F. Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services. “We expect the 2010 Summer Sale to provide as much excitement about direct mail as the sale did last year and to generate between 300 million and 1 billion new mailpieces.”
Nearly half the 960 customers enrolled in the 2009 Summer Sale increased their mailing volumes. This resulted in approximately 1 billion incremental pieces during the sale period, producing a net revenue contribution of $24 million.
“Direct mail works, and our customers know that,” said Bernstock. “That’s why we will continue to invest in programs that promote the health of our customers’ businesses as well as our own. We very much appreciate our customers’ business, and we will compete aggressively for their advertising and promotion dollars in this highly competitive marketplace.”
To be eligible to participate in the 2010 Summer Sale, a company must have mailed 350,000 or more Standard Mail letters and flats between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2009. Approximately 3,525 customers are expected to be eligible to participate in the sale, representing 67 percent of the Postal Service’s Standard Mail volume.
The 2010 Summer Sale is a component of a broader pricing strategy that creates incentives to grow and retain volume. It was one of many solutions discussed this week at a Washington, D.C.-stakeholder event in which Postmaster General and CEO John E. Potter addressed hundreds of customers, business partners, employees and the media during a presentation: Envisioning America’s Future Postal Service. At the event, Potter outlined an aggressive plan of cost cutting, increased productivity, and an array of legislative and regulatory changes necessary to maintain a viable Postal Service.
The 2010 Standard Mail Summer Sale is subject to approval by the Postal Regulatory Commission
USPS, Modern Postcard To Help Businesses With Direct Mail Crash Course
CARLSBAD, CA — 02/22/10 — In today’s challenging economy, businesses are looking for an advantage to help them pull out of the recession and avoid losses, layoffs, or worse. Companies are focusing on a single task — increasing sales. To help businesses in Texas learn how to quickly implement powerhouse direct mail marketing campaigns proven to sell, Modern Postcard is providing an exclusive opportunity to learn the tools, tricks and techniques behind capturing better leads for new customers and driving increased revenues. The Direct Mail Crash Course, a national seminar series, will be presented for the first time in Texas in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) where attendees will receive new and proven strategies to increase business leads and revenues.
Direct mail is one of the most effective types of advertising a business can do today. According to the Mail Moment™ research gathered by the USPS, 98 percent of consumers bring in the mail the day it is delivered; and according to the Direct Marketing Association, direct marketing yields an average return on investment of over 1100 percent based on the lifetime value of a new customer. Attendees will learn how to make these numbers a reality in the own marketing.
With the new technologies available in direct marketing, today’s smart marketers are learning how to better integrate new media and social media marketing, including Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, with traditional mass media, print and direct mail campaigns to maximize the effectiveness of their advertising dollars. Lead generation and customer acquisition is one of the most coveted aspects of marketing, but it must be successfully targeted to the right customers. Direct marketing can bring a company excellent results — quality lead generation for increased sales and revenues.
These unique seminars will include a complete buffet breakfast and commence in Dallas with additional stops in Austin and Houston as follows:
– Dallas: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel, 2222
Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207, from 7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
– Austin: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at the Courtyard Austin Downtown, 300
E. 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701, from 7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
– Houston: Thursday, March 4, 2010 at the Houston Marriott at the Texas
Medical Center, 6580 Fannin Street, Houston, TX 77030, from 7:30 a.m. -
12:00 p.m.
In three powerful sessions, this interactive learning opportunity will show attendees how to use direct mail to boost sales and start generating revenue immediately.
According to the U.S. Postal Service’s Household Diary study released in August 2009, advertising mail spending was at $59.7 billion in 2008, accounting for 22 percent of all advertising spending and ranked only below television.
Presenting will be a group of top direct mail experts with over 50 years of combined experience in the direct marketing industry. Keith Goodman is a 20-year direct marketing veteran who has helped companies such as IBM, Hughes and Amway increase their direct mail profitability and achieve greater return on investment for their marketing dollars. Dan Anglin, a list development expert, has 10 years of data experience and has worked with Fortune 500 firms such as Microsoft, AOL and Time Warner. Arnie Cohen has assisted businesses in effectively executing mailings for 23 years and will focus on improving mail delivery and reducing postage costs. Cohen is active in various industry groups and heavily involved with new US Postal Service technological advances.
“Many marketers don’t realize how critical data is to the success of their direct mail campaigns,” said Dan Anglin, a seminar co-presenter, “and there are so many new data products available on the market that it is hard to understand when to use the different solutions. We walk the attendees through everything they need to know to tackle even complex projects such as modeling their existing database to identify prospects that most resemble their best existing customers.”
In addition to a breadth of information, there will be a special presentation from the USPS that will also provide attendees with insight into what the postal service can do to help local businesses with their mailing and shipping needs.
“Typically a recession drives small businesses to evaluate, re-design and refine their product offerings and marketing processes as they focus on cash flow, costs, customer retention and survival,” said Keith Goodman, vice president of corporate solutions for Modern Postcard. “Our goal is to help business marketers learn how to be innovative, send the right message to the right person, and create new opportunities for increasing their revenues despite the economic climate.”
Attendees will learn insightful direct mail information about understanding list opportunities, improving mail delivery and reducing postage costs, including:
– Why you should use direct mail — the numbers, benefits and expectations
– How to design a business marketing plan that will turn expectations into revenues
– How to write compelling copy targeting recipients and maximizing responses
– Using offers and a call-to-action to increase conversion rates and return on investment
– Testing and tracking direct mail successes for increasingly effective campaigns
– Identifying the right prospects
– How to enrich your customer base for better results
– How analytics can help target prospects most likely to do business with you
– Choosing from more than 40,000 available lists to get the best response rate
– Maximizing on-time mail delivery through effective address hygiene
– Identifying the “money wasters” in your mailing lists
– Taking advantage of postage discounts for mailings
– Using drop shipping to enhance delivery and cut costs
– Tracking your mail through the mail stream with Intelligent Mail Bar
Code™
Direct marketing and direct mail services can be a very powerful and cost-effective sales tool when done properly, whether you are a small business, medium-sized company, or a large corporation. The Direct Mail Crash Course is a half-day seminar that costs $59 to attend. As a special incentive, all attendees will receive $250 in free printing for their first direct mail campaign, easily recouping the cost of the seminar. Registrations are limited and can be made at: www.modernpostcard.com/seminar or by telephone at 800.959.8365 ext. 2135.
About Modern Postcard
Located in Carlsbad, California, Modern Postcard is a full-service direct marketing provider high quality printing, direct mail, email deployment, as well as emerging direct marketing applications and Web-based solutions to efficiently manage and execute campaigns.
With more than 25 years of experience, Modern Postcard manages all operations in-house from its 75,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility. The company provides additional services including creative services and design, variable data printing (VDP), pURL campaigns, digital imaging, and color editing, account management, mailing lists, and mailing services. Visit www.modernpostcard.com or call 800.959.8365 ext. 2500 for more information.
Future Locations:
San Jose, CA
March 23, 2010
Santa Clara Marriott
2700 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054
March 24, 2010
San Francisco Marriott Marquis
55 Fourth St
San Francisco, CA 94103
March 25, 2010
Radisson Hotel
500 Leisure Ln
Sacramento, CA 95815
April 27-29 – Mid Atlantic – Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC (Northern VA)
May 25-27 – Southeast – Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans
June 22-24 – Midwest – Kansas City, St. Louis, Cleveland
August – Pacific Northwest
September – Midwest
October – Southwest
November – Southern California
Postal Service Processes Billionth Intelligent Mail Piece
One Hundred and Nine Mailers Sent 11,000 Mailings With Intelligent Mail Barcode
WASHINGTON—One hundred and nine commercial mailers can’t be wrong.
That’s the number of mostly high-volume mailers who helped the U.S. Postal Service deliver one billion pieces of mail using Full Service Intelligent Mail. The milestone mailing entered the distribution network on Dec. 4, and the actual number was confirmed earlier this week.
Since the May implementation of Intelligent Mail Full Service, 109 commercial mailers have submitted more than 11,000 electronic postage statements.
“Intelligent Mail Full Service provides commercial mailers with visibility into the status of their mail so that they can provide better service to their customers,” said Tom Day, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality. “When their customers call, they will have the information to respond more quickly and accurately. Intelligent Mail tracking also will help finance departments monitor and predict payments more easily. And, in this economy, this is more crucial than ever.”
Commercial customers also are experiencing the speed with which their postage statements are now being processed in the PostalOne! business mail management system. According to Day, the PostalOne! system is processing more than 90 percent of Full Service mailings in less than 10 minutes.
“We highly recommend that mailers take advantage of electronic processing of postage statements, even if they have not yet signed up for Full Service Intelligent Mail,” said Day. “It’s fast, and mailers can more easily monitor their accounts and keep track of their mailings more efficiently than with paper postage statements.”
Customers also are seeing the benefit of free Address Correction Service (ACS). More than 12 million Full Service ACS notices were provided to mailers since July.
Day credited the success of the Intelligent Mail program to the relationships the Postal Service has with its customers. He cited decisions to simplify a number of business mail acceptance processes as examples of the Postal Service responding to the needs of its customers.
For example, the Postal Service recently implemented the use of hand-held scanning for initial verifications of Full-Service mailings. The process is simple. When mailers bring in their Full Service mailings into a processing plant, postal personnel use the scanners to collect data about the quality and content of the barcodes on the mailpieces as well as on the trays, sacks, and containers. If the data collected by the scanners shows problems with the mailings, the mailer has the option of taking the mail back to rework it.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
For more information about Intelligent Mail Services, visit ribbs.usps.gov.
source: U.S. Postal Service