Reduced operating hours may benefit direct mail marketing campaigns
By: Mark HaslanMay 26th, 2010
Any direct mail marketing campaign relies on the fact that mailers are successfully delivered to clients. With the United States Postal Office considering ending service on Saturdays, many business owners are wondering what ramifications this would have on their direct mail marketing campaigns.
According to Jennifer McNally, vice president for Discus Dental, the missing day of delivery won’t affect her operations too much. Her operations are focused primarily on a Monday to Friday work week, nullifying any drastic changes. What does worry her, though, are any potential rate hikes, according to DMNews.
"We hate rate hikes. Whenever there’s a rate hike, we have to build it into our plan," McNally told the site. "We have very strict ROI measurement on our direct mail and, if it doesn’t make money, we’re not going to do it."
The extra mail that collects over the weekends as a result of the missing day could also have an effect on the potency of direct mail marketing campaigns. Consumers will receive a huge pile of brochures and envelopes on Monday, so there is a bigger chance that unsolicited mail would be trashed, Doug Sauerhaft, president of DCS Marketing Solutions, told DMNews. This effect would be even greater after long weekends.
Some small businesses rely on Saturday to get their mailing done, in terms of both sending and receiving. Their productivity would also be affected by the loss of a mailing day.
Still, not all analysts think the change will be bad. In fact, Greg Grdodian, executive vice president of management and data solutions at Edith Roman Associates, told DMNews that there could be some opportunity for small business owners. According to Grdodian, as faith in the USPS dwindles, less mail is being sent and individual mailers are more able to stand out.
"More and more, we’re seeing business mail getting opened because the volume is reduced," he told DMNews.
Reducing the number of operational days is only one measure the USPS is considering. Last week, the postmaster general announced several new initiatives that would help the company reduce costs. For example, the expedited and ground shipping groups will be merged into a single service unit. The company is also focusing more on product visibility and consumer information.
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