USPS Ups Standard Mail Rates, Offers 4 Promos

The U.S. Postal Service is raising Standard Mail prices by an aggregate 1.937%, starting May 31, per reporting by Direct Marketing News magazine. Helping commercial mailers swallow the pill, four commercial-mail promotional programs also have been okayed to proceed as scheduled for 2015. The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the U.S. Postal Service's proposed price and classification changes for Standard Mail and Periodicals after rejecting two previous requests. The Postal Service's approved promotions for commercial mailers, set to launch this summer, are the Earned Value Promotion, the Color Transpromo Promotion, the Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion and the Mail Drives Mobile Engagement Promotion. Prior to PRC approval, only the Earned Value promotion had been cleared for registration. The latest rate increases come as the USPS announces a net loss of $1.5 billion in its 2015 fiscal second quarter, ending March 31, per a subsequent DM News report. Yet that loss is actually an improvement over the $1.9 billion shortfall of last year's second quarter, and operating revenue for the 2015 second quarter actually increased by $223 million over the same period last year, largely due to a 14% gain in shipping and package business. Also, for the first six months of the fiscal year, Standard Mail volume increased from 2014, with the 4.3% exigent surcharge in effect. The surcharge is scheduled to be removed later this year, however, so the PRC, in approving the latest 134 changes in Standard Mail pricing, asked USPS to come up with two price lists, with and without the surcharge. For more detailed information on the latest USPS changes, see http://www.dmnews.com/postal/postal-rate-increases-approved-by-prc/article/413387/

The High Cost of E-mail Targeting Failure

Targeting and personalization may be the mantras of today's e-mail marketers, but many are still missing the mark, according to an Aimia Institute study recently reported by Direct Marketing News magazine. The penalties for faulty targeting are steep. Poor e-mail communications caused 70% of respondents in the study to close accounts or subsciptions, 66% unfollowed brands on social media, 59% opted out of all e-mail communications, 57% blocked phone numbers, and 54% deleted apps. Excessive e-mailing was another common misfire for marketers; 68% of Americans surveyed complained that they received too many brand e-mails. Of course, some industries are doing a better job than others. For example, 33% of consumers surveyed felt they received relevant e-mail information from credit card providers, and 29% said supermarkets and banks send useful e-mails, too. And there were glimmers of hope in the study for e-mailers who need to take better aim: 56% of Americans said thay are still willing to share personal details to receive relevant offers, and 48% felt personalized e-mails from brands are useful. For an infographic of study findings, see the DM News article at http://www.dmnews.com/marketers-fail-to-hit-the-target-infographic/article/412023/