Is anyone else getting seriously concerned about the postal service? Snail mail isn’t the only way I know how to get deals, but it’s a big part of it.
We’re not thinking the USPS would ever completely cease to exist, are we? I’ll be fine as long as they can deliver mail at some point, even if the normal timeline is delayed by a few days. I just don’t know what I’ll do if the whole thing goes under.
If that happened, I’m sure some other physical mail delivery option would replace it in time, right?
Seems unthinkable that the whole ship would go down, but a lot of unthinkable things have already happened this year!
First, the postal service is an essential service to the operation of our country. To think that a leader who says he has our best interest at heart would destroy that service to have an edge in re-election should have all Americans pulling their fire alarms. Systemic corruption to retain office, under whatever veil you'd like to place it, is still the exact opposite of being an American. So if the postal service is under attack, then I would argue that we have an obligation to defend it. If your business relies on the postal service, then now is the time to fight for it. Pretty simple.
Second, the postal service is not likely to ever be replaced with a commercial option. Simply put, running a rural route with postage at flat rates, there's no way to ensure that it would be profitable. And that's OK. It's an essential service for our country, not necessarily a profitable one. So with that established, it's not likely that a commercial model to replace the postal service could be built in the same image. Package delivery works because it's variable pricing by distance/weight/volume. Postage with flat rates...there's no way at these rates it could be sustained.
@Cory well put. I can tell you actually thought about this. Those sound like some pretty logical points to me.
I do wonder about what should be labeled an essential service these days. I’m not saying the USPS isn’t, but that word “essential” can vary based on who you’re asking, who has the power and who it stands to benefit.
I really can't see a world where the USPS doesn't exist.
Sure, I can see them raising postage rates and/or reducing the number of delivery days and/or just making us wait twice as long for our mail to get delivered... but fo the whole thing to just disappear?? I don't see how that's possible (and hopefully we never have to).
Even if that did occur, though, there are still plenty of other highly-scalable alternatives to direct mail... like direct voicemail drops, text blasting, highly-targeted FB ads, email marketing, etc.
Granted, I don't actually want to become a specialist in all those things if direct mail is already working, but even if the unthinkable happens, the world won't come to an end. We can adapt, adjust and evolve into whatever kind of direct response marketing will work in the days head.