Mastering Mail: Crafting a resilient mail strategy amidst the changing postal landscape

Discussions about the future of the postal system have intensified in the last few months. In particular, Ofcom's recent call for input on the future of the Royal Mail turned up the heat, suggesting letter deliveries could be cut to five days or even three.
 
Although any potential restructuring would take months and even years to come to fruition, businesses must be confident their postal communications will not be interrupted by any adjustments that are made to the service. It's never been more important to ensure you have a resilient mailing strategy.
 
Still playing a crucial role

Although many organisations have moved towards a 'digital first' communications approach, prioritising emails and texts, letters remain an important part of the mix for most. In fact, our own research shows that almost three-quarters of consumers expect to receive important documents through the post. Some of the most important B2C correspondence comes in the form of direct letters, for instance NHS notices, banking updates, and parking fines.
 
Rules around customer communication are also tightening – the Consumer Duty places more responsibility on financial services organisations – and letters have a big part to play in building the required level of understanding.
 
Preparing for a five or three-day delivery service

Businesses must act now to ensure they are prepared to deal with any disruption. Cutting Saturday deliveries would be a worst-case scenario for many businesses, given individuals are more likely to be home and spend time with mail – sitting down to read something at the kitchen table or discussing it with their family. If this crucial delivery day does end up being cut, businesses will need to find a way to work around the problem. For example, they could consider whether they could change anything to speed up so that mail arrives on Fridays – shifting production deadlines earlier in the week, so that time-sensitive post arrives at the right time.
 
Now more than ever, businesses must assess their communication channels and identify what their customers truly want from them. Which pieces of mail are a true priority, and when do they need to arrive in customers' letterboxes? Do some pieces of mail need to be fast-tracked, and could others afford to wait a few days? If so, they may be able to cut mail production to just a few days a week rather than running a steady stream across the week.
 
A robust mailing strategy

Businesses should treat the potential changes to the postal service as a catalyst to review their approach for all communications. Across all channels, businesses must be ready to share the right piece of information at the right time and in the right way.
 
This can be easier said than done across the mix of physical and digital channels. When it comes to letters, businesses reviewing their mailing and communications strategy need to step back and ask themselves some fundamental questions, such as:

• Does this communication specifically need to be sent in the form of a letter?
• Has the customer specified a preferred communication channel?
• Do we have the correct name and address on file, so we can be confident the letter will arrive?

These are just top-level considerations, however. To get a fuller picture, businesses should consider drawing on advice from postal experts – reviewing the current state of play and the best way forward. Many businesses could be in line for unexpected financial savings: there are numerous tariffs available, and organisations with larger volumes qualify for lower prices. If they can unlock cheaper services than the standard franking machine rate – for example, Royal Mail Business Mail Advanced, businesses could unlock unexpected savings.
 
Other potential strategic changes to make include consolidating mail from multiple offices, potentially building a larger single number to further drive down rates. These changes are unlikely to be immediately obvious, which is why outside expertise can prove invaluable – and bring tangible benefits.

Mastering Mail
Although the nature of postal services may change, the need for physical mail correspondence will not. To prepare for potential future changes to the postal service and keep customers happy, organisations must step back and look at their mailing strategy. Even in smaller businesses, mailing can be more nuanced than it appears on the surface – and for larger organisations, there are huge potential cost savings to be made by switching to higher volume postal tariffs. If businesses can step back to review the overall approach, they can set a robust mailing and communications strategy, giving them confidence they can deliver no matter how the postal system changes in the future.