Categorized | Marketing

Rain, Sleet, Snow and Congressional Meddling

The U.S. Postal Service gets a bad rap. I can’t think of many other organizations with such common negative phrases associated with them, like “going postal” or “mailing it in” (slacking). Then again, not many institutions have been around since 1775.

The woes of the postal service have made major headlines. Without paying much attention to the issue, I believed they were in trouble because it was just another bloated government bureaucracy being eroded by union’s influence and the inability to innovate.

I was wrong.

The USPS is self-funded from stamps and services and does not cost the tax payer anything…unless Congress rears its ugly head again. It turns out, email is not the biggest threat to the post office, it is Congress. With stifling legislation such as requiring the USPS to fully fund all its future pension obligations outright—a measure that would bankrupt any city, state, or business—Congress tried their best to sink the delivery service. Thankfully, legislators recent made some moves to address debt issues and stave off financial collapse.

My little tale has two points:

  1. Things are not always as they seem which is why, as a company, it is more important than ever to tell your story. If you don’t, someone else will, and they might not like you.
  2. The postal service is alive and well. And direct mail is still a dominant marketing tool. Direct mail is a leading method for businesses to acquire new customers. After all, who else reaches every address in the nation, daily?

This article was syndicated and originally appeared on the 919 Marketing website.

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