Rising stamp costs may make smaller businesses think twice about going to the post office. Online advertising expert Thomas Harpointner explains when it's still necessary to make the trip and when to avoid it at all costs
The cost of stamps keeps going up, but small and midsize businesses still need to mail catalogs, sale promotions, and reminders to clients and customers. Or do they? To find out, bMighty speaks to online advertising expert Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, an e-business marketing firm. Harpointner discusses when smaller businesses do need a postal mailbox and when e-mail is just as good or even better. He addresses customers' e-mail security concerns, how spam is sometimes unavoidable, and looks ahead to where smaller businesses will be conducting their next marketing campaigns. (Hint: Think smartphones.)
bMighty: How will the rising postal rates affect smaller business' use of the post office?
Thomas Harpointner: Businesses already have cut back on postal use. The rate hike is making the press, but now they will be raising the rates every year. Next May 1, it will be one more penny, at least. It could be much higher. With the rising cost of gasoline, any business that requires transporting goods will be affected. And we've already seen a 25% reduction in postal use by business.
E-mail is being used by virtually every type of business. There are some things that can't be sent by e-mail -- medical reports, credit reports, law firms' documents -- and anything that needs to go through the post office. In some cases, the stamp makes the document official. Any official business will continue with postal mail, such as any type of a legal document that requires an original signature or postmark, for example, if a company is being sued.
bMighty: Is there a way for those types of businesses to avoid snail mail?
Harpointner: Banks have found a way to circumvent the post office with direct deposit and paperless statements. Brokerage firms are also making statements available online. They don't mail statements and they avoid cost of paper and ink. It's also more environmentally friendly. And with the rise of fuel costs and postal costs, it's cheaper.
bMighty: What about customers who worry about security with e-mail?
Harpointner: Many customers prefer paperless statements. It's voluntary, easily accessible, and they don't have to worry about identity theft. The No. 1 complaint to the [Federal Trade Commission] FTC is identity theft. Until every mailbox has a padlock, anyone can get in. Banks are all guilty of this. Banks send these blank checks [to customers in the mail]. If somebody intercepts it and writes on the check, money comes right off the account. The postal service is still scarier than e-mail vis-à-vis identity theft.
If someone can open an envelope, they can have access to lots of financial records. A mailbox has no real security. It's wide open to the world. Computers don't steal, people steal.
People are afraid of using credit cards online, but they don't have a problem handing it over to a waiter who disappears with it for 15 minutes. As long as confidential information isn't sent in an e-mail but informing the user it's available with login and password, it's safer for their customers and cheaper for the business and more convenient for both.
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bMighty: What about the people who like having a hard copy?
Harpointner: If you get a coupon in the mail, how often do you have it on you in the store? But if it was sent via e-mail and you can pull it up in your BlackBerry and show the cashier? The big stores are starting to do that. Organizing your e-mail is easier than organizing your mail at home. Postal mail, people open over the trash can. Skeptics say much of e-mail goes to spam and junk, but I would argue that people open their postal mail [business and residential mail] over the trash! In one study the average response from an e-mail marketing campaign is 4.5% versus 2% to 2.5% for a postal mail campaign.
Next Page: Is This the End For Postal Mail?
