What advice do you have on which USPS promotion should be used at the moment?
The Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive Promotion ended in July, so many clients are now transitioning to the Integrated Technology promotion, which offers a 6-month sliding window of opportunity. Marketers can receive a 5% discount by connecting mail with digital technologies. As we reviewed during our Ask Randy Virtual Session, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) incentive might be the easiest way to earn the 5% postage discount (with the Informed Delivery and Sustainability add-ons) for those who cannot qualify for the mobile shopping barcode. Mobile shopping requires the direct mail piece to drive the audience to complete their purchases online through a seamless mobile experience.
You can visit the recap blog here.
What is unique about enrolling in the Artificial Intelligence Incentive?
There is an important aspect of this promotion that must be completed by the client. Because this promotion does not have a defined date range, each client must access the USPS Business Customer Gateway (BCG) and enroll their Customer Registration ID (CRID) to participate. This is the CRID provided to SPC’s data processing team and what postal departments use on the mailing statement to identify the mail owner. Without CRID registration, the postage savings will not be applied to the mail statement.
As a reminder, this promotion is good for 6-month participation from the date of the first mailing claiming the promotion.
What was the latest USPS postage increase?
The USPS’s postage increases took effect on July 13th. You can download our PDF to view the new postal rates.
Marketers are assessing the true impact of this significant price increase as well as other USPS changes:
- Elimination of NDC entry for marketing class mail.
- Decrease in the workshare discount for marketing mail entered at USPS SCF locations.
- This discount lowered from $27/M to $17/M meaning there is less postage savings when shipping to SCF’s.
- USPS Network and delivery standard changes that the USPS contends will lower costs with little to no impact on delivery.
SPC is assessing these changes closely to validate the overall impacts on pricing and delivery.
What are your recommendations on how to adjust mail strategies to minimize the impact of the July postage increases?
SPC has made many adjustments to our mailing strategies to help mitigate the impact of the USPS rate increase and service standard changes:
- Moving marketing mail from Destination Entry to Origin Entry.
- Moving more marketing mail to commingle.
- Lowering postage savings or piece quantity thresholds to enter more marketing mail at USPS SCF locations.
- Incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) messaging or images into mail pieces to be eligible for the USPS Integrated Technology Promotion.
- Researching eligibility for the USPS Catalog Promotion (A significant 10% postage discount).
- Working with the SPC creative team to identify less expensive mail formats to offset some of the impact of the USPS postage rate increases.
This question is complex, as there are various strategies available. If you need further explanation or assistance, please reach out to me, Randy, at askrandy@specialtyprintcomm.com
What are your preseason predictions for NFL Central?
- Green Bay
- Detroit
- Chicago
- Minnesota
