Six Strategies, the Post Operator Could Consider
The future will belong to Posts that recognize and address the significant customer market shift that continues to occur.
We all know that mail volumes have dropped and will continue to drop. It really doesn’t matter if it is all due to the growth of free e-mail, social media, online banking, e-cards, coupons and direct marketing by e-mail, the economy, the unions, changing demographics, the ubiquity of mobile devices or anything else….because the demand for communication is not going down, it’s moving in a different direction and growing.
In fact, demand is higher than ever. We have only to look at e-mail, Twitter, Face Book, etc. Posts are impacted because the market has shifted and rather than recognizing the problem, some Posts are still focusing on its symptoms and they are trying to improve, defend and extend the life of lettermail. Instead, market shifts need to be understood and organizations need to address the changing needs of customers.
The successful Posts will be those that develop products that are aligned to where the market shift is going, focus attention on the recipient customer`s needs; privatize and franchise; transform the culture into an innovation culture; create an end-to-end e-commerce ecosystem; and become dramatically more mobile and multi-channelled.
What also really matters is how fast Posts move in the right direction – to provide customers what they need and want and not just more of what Posts have always provided. If they don’t, Posts risk losing their value proposition for customers and ultimately becoming irrelevant.
It’s not that Posts have not innovated. They have, but their focus has traditionally been on core products, operational processes, efficiencies, productivity, cost savings, product improvement and not on customer need. They need to develop an innovation culture, make better use of employee and customer input, seek help from outside experts, develop more commercializable products and be quicker to market.
1) Focus on the Receiver
2) Franchise Effectively
3) Innovate
4) Create an Ecosystem
5) Go Mobile
6) Integrate Your Channels
We all know that mail volumes have dropped and will continue to drop. It really doesn’t matter if it is all due to the growth of free e-mail, social media, online banking, e-cards, coupons and direct marketing by e-mail, the economy, the unions, changing demographics, the ubiquity of mobile devices or anything else….because the demand for communication is not going down, it’s moving in a different direction and growing.
In fact, demand is higher than ever. We have only to look at e-mail, Twitter, Face Book, etc. Posts are impacted because the market has shifted and rather than recognizing the problem, some Posts are still focusing on its symptoms and they are trying to improve, defend and extend the life of lettermail. Instead, market shifts need to be understood and organizations need to address the changing needs of customers.
The successful Posts will be those that develop products that are aligned to where the market shift is going, focus attention on the recipient customer`s needs; privatize and franchise; transform the culture into an innovation culture; create an end-to-end e-commerce ecosystem; and become dramatically more mobile and multi-channelled.
What also really matters is how fast Posts move in the right direction – to provide customers what they need and want and not just more of what Posts have always provided. If they don’t, Posts risk losing their value proposition for customers and ultimately becoming irrelevant.
It’s not that Posts have not innovated. They have, but their focus has traditionally been on core products, operational processes, efficiencies, productivity, cost savings, product improvement and not on customer need. They need to develop an innovation culture, make better use of employee and customer input, seek help from outside experts, develop more commercializable products and be quicker to market.
1) Focus on the Receiver
2) Franchise Effectively
3) Innovate
4) Create an Ecosystem
5) Go Mobile
6) Integrate Your Channels
