Between private-sector competition like FedEx, UPS, and Mail Boxes Etc., and the trend toward email and other electronic communication… it would appear that significant changes to traditional mail service are only a matter of time and extent. (When will those changes occur, and how dramatic will those changes be?) I make that statement after having read this special report on the matter, published this morning by the Washington Post.
Implications: From electronic bill-paying, to the instant gratification of email, to the overnight guarantee of commercial shippers… the consumer simply has too many reasons to stop thinking of traditional mail as “first class.” The postal service is not immune from the tectonic changes happening in the communications landscape. On the contrary, their semi-private status seems to only inhibit their ability to respond to those changes.
I personally think the arrival of change for the USPS is inevitable. So the question becomes: How will a reduced service mail system impact your business? For example...
Have your catalogs been fully moved to online? Can I order on the web? If some customers pay their bill with a check that is sent by traditional mail, will your "grace period" need to be adjusted to accomodate one less delivery day per week? Are you invoicing people electronically yet (and can I pay you electronically)? What else can you do to innovate… in preparation for a world where the postal service is different than it is now?
Change is more easily tolerated if you’re the one to initiate it.
Mike Anderson
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