Being the mailing nerds that we are, we were excited to hear about the United States Postal Service’s new consumer-facing feature- Informed Delivery. Don’t know what it is? Well, as the marketing mail experts, we are happy to help inform and hopefully get you as excited as we are at Plumb Marketing!

So then- what is it? According to the USPS, Informed Delivery is “a mailing feature that gives eligible residential consumers the ability to see a daily digital preview of their household’s mail”. What that means to you is that whenever you have mail being delivered to your home, you now have the option for an email notification to be sent to you containing grayscale images of the exterior of the mail pieces arriving soon. Not only that, but as a business, the greater opportunity is to develop an informed delivery campaign. When developing a marketing campaign surrounding a piece of marketing mail, you can include full color messaging and even a link to a video or website. Informed Delivery engages users through an integrated mail and digital marketing campaign, hence, making it a multichannel strategy. This feature is not only beneficial for consumers, but especially for the businesses mailing to potential clients.

Despite being experts in direct mail, we are not blind to the reality that direct mail is not the end-all be-all answer in marketing strategies. In order to see a positive return on your marketing efforts, you have to target your ideal client through multiple channels. Using a single channel can be overwhelming for the consumer, and it may not be their preferred method for purchasing. Multichannel marketing engages your customers by giving them several different access points from which they can choose to complete a sales transaction; it’s all about giving your customers CHOICES. So, instead of bombarding your customers with email campaigns, utilize other marketing channels as well, such as: mail, website, social media, mobile, display ads, catalogs, etc. In a technological world where consumers are more connected than ever, multichannel marketing is the best approach for your business to convert potential prospects into buyers.

Seeing the USPS utilize multichannel marketing makes our ears perk up; if the big dogs are doing it, we better take note (and so should you!). They are aware that in order to stay relevant and impactful in today’s Digital Age, they have to increase their points of contact with consumers. Informed Delivery was their next step, what will yours be?