October 2008

CONTENTS:

FRONT PAGE

Committed To Affordable Universal Service
NCOA^Link Processing Acknowledgement Form
Let’s Get Personal
BDT Teams Have Arrived

WHAT'S UP

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS

KEEPING POSTED

INFO@USPS

FRONT PAGE

Committed To Affordable Universal Service

Postal Service issues report on universal service obligation and postal monopoly

The Postal Service today submitted a report to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on its position related to the universal service obligation (USO) and postal monopoly. The Postal Service confirms its continued commitment of trusted, affordable universal service to the American public. The report supports that no changes to the USO and monopoly are necessary at this time while additional flexibilities will be required to ensure affordable, universal service into the future.

Obligations of the USO include uniform prices, quality of service, access to services and six-day delivery to every part of the country. To assure financial support for these obligations, the postal monopoly provides the Postal Service the exclusive right to deliver letters and restricts mailbox access solely for mail. Therefore, the USO and postal monopoly are inextricably linked. The report supports that eliminating or reducing either aspect of the monopoly “would have a devastating impact on the ability … to provide the affordable universal service that the country values so highly.” Relaxing access to the mailbox would also pose security concerns, increase delivery costs, and hurt customer service.

The Postal Service said that the USO should continue to be broadly defined and there should be no changes to the postal monopoly. Any changes would have far-reaching effects on customers and the trillion dollar mailing industry. “A more rigidly defined USO would … ultimately harm the American public and businesses,” according to the report, which cautions that any potential change must be studied carefully and the effects fully understood.

During hearings held earlier this year, the PRC also heard from mailers, mailing associations, and postal unions and management associations. Comments generally indicated that changes are not currently needed.

The Postal Act of 2006 requires the PRC to submit a report to the President and Congress on universal postal service and the postal monopoly in December 2008. The report must include any recommended changes. The Postal Service report supports the requirement that the PRC is to consult with and solicit written comments from the Postal Service. In addition, the Government Accountability Office is required to evaluate broader business model issues by 2011. Thus, the dialogue on universal postal service and postal monopolies, in many respects, is just beginning. Given the economy and significant dynamics in the marketplace, this dialogue may need to occur sooner rather than later.

NCOA^Link Processing Acknowledgement Form

It’s an essential part of the process

The new Move Update standard is almost here. On Nov. 23, two address quality initiatives take effect, expanding the Move Update standards from First-Class Mail automation and presort mailings to include all Standard Mail mailings and increasing the minimum frequency of Move Update from 185 calendar days to 95 days prior to the date of mailing.

One of the premium Move Update methods available from the Postal Service is NCOA^Link . Since this processing happens prior to mailing, it greatly reduces undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) mail, which in turn reduces rehandling costs. NCOA^Link is a secure dataset containing change-of-address data for customers who have moved and filed a change-of-address order with USPS. The NCOA^Link product is licensed to both service providers and mailers (end users) so they can correct mailing lists for customer moves prior to mailing.

Almost five out of every 100 mailpieces are UAA. When you look at UAA mail by reason, approximately 75 percent is caused by people moving. In addition, when you look at UAA mail by class, Standard Mail accounts for almost 63 percent of all UAA mail volume.

There are three types of NCOA^Link licensing:

Full Service receives a 48-month COA database.
Limited Service receives an 18-month COA database.
End User receives 18-month COA data.

NCOA^Link Full Service and Limited Service licensees (service providers) are required by their license agreement with USPS to acquire a Processing Acknowledgement Form (PAF) from each of their customers. PAF is not a requirement for the End User licensee.

PAF is an essential part of the NCOA^Link process because it enables USPS and the mailing industry to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 by way of a written request to use change-of-address information for mailing purposes. Specifically, section 552a of Title 5 states in part:

“No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains…”

The form:

Identifies those mailers to whom USPS has disclosed change-of-address information through the use of NCOA^Link processing.
Ensures mailers’ acknowledgement that use of NCOA^Link data is restricted.
May protect the NCOA^Link licensee if a mailer uses the processing results for reasons that abuse the intended use of the product (such as creating a list of new movers).

A service provider licensee must acquire this form from each customer before NCOA^Link processing can be performed. It must be completed and signed by the mail list owner, the NCOA^Link licensee and (when applicable) any third parties that are a part of the transaction between the list owner and the licensee. A PAF must be renewed annually and the NCOA^Link licensee must retain a copy for six years and must make it available to USPS upon request.

As the Postal Service expands automation to control costs and improve service, the importance of address quality increases. Reaching more recipients means more responses. Less UAA or returned mail can reduce costs significantly.

To view and print a sample PAF, go to ribbs.usps.gov/files/ncoalink and click FSP_INFO then FSP PAF_V3.DOC or FST_PAF_V3.PDF, as appropriate.

Let’s Get Personal

Direct mail campaign encourages targeted messages

The Postal Service has launched a new direct mail campaign urging mailers to “get more personal” with their customers by creating messages that are relevant and targeted to the recipient.

Aimed at direct marketers, large businesses, advertising agencies and print industry professionals, the campaign includes a direct mail piece and print ad as well as a fulfillment DVD and T-shirt that show how to use existing customer data — whether it’s response history or just a ZIP Code — to create more personal conversations with your customers. The goal is for marketers and other mailers to create mailpieces that are more targeted to their customers, which can increase chances the mailpieces will be opened, read and responded to.

What’s your preferred superpower? Flying, invisibility or elasticity? Or how about your “guilty pleasure” — is it reality TV, pork rinds or pro wrestling? To demonstrate the latest in personalized and database printing, recipients of the USPS mailpiece can create a personalized T-shirt by answering questions on these and other topics.

From tips on greening your mail to ideas for driving response, the Postal Service can help you create effective direct mail. Check out our direct mail website at usps.com/directmail.

BDT Teams Have Arrived!

Helping to meet the needs of small and medium-size business mailers

They're new, they're engaged with customers and they will help increase your PCC membership. What are they? Business Development Teams (BDTs).

The teams consist of small business specialists dedicated to generating and retaining revenue. As part of their overall mission, the BDTs are committed to providing solutions to meet the needs of small and medium-size business mailers across the country. One of the best and most logical ways to accomplish this is for BDT members to work closely with PCCs.

BDT members are actively involved in the following:

Signing up new PCC members.
Presenting educational sessions at PCC meetings.
Assisting in the coordination of PCC events.
Attending PCC events.

We believe the support provided by BDTs will be great for business mailers and PCCs.

WHAT'S UP

New Five-Year Plan

The Postal Service has released Vision 2013, its new five-year strategic plan. It acknowledges that postal customers, and the mailing industry as a whole, are hard pressed by current economic conditions, and that service improvements and cost reductions remain crucial. Vision 2013 offers a broad perspective of what it will take for the Postal Service to succeed in the future, while providing affordable, universal service. Vision 2013 is available online at http://www.usps.com/strategicplanning/vision2013.htm.

New Hours For PCSC

The Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC) is now open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday. The PCSC administers the National Customer Rulings program, handles mailer appeals of local decisions, and processes applications for Periodicals and nonprofit mailing privileges. To find out more about the PCSC, visit Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com and click PCSC in the left column.

FYI…

Join the blog! The first official postal blog at 2blogPCC.com is up and running and waiting for your comments. Current topics include PCC certificate program, PCC workshops-in-a-box and how the Postal Service can meet your needs. It's up to you to leverage this communication tool to your PCC’s advantage!

INSIDE SCOOP. The PCC was established in 1961 to improve communications between customers and USPS managers

SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS

If You Offer It — They Will Come

How do I apply for a permit? What’s a postage statement and why are there so many different forms? Why can’t my mailing go bulk? First-time business mailers can have a lot of questions. The Postal Service offers a great online tool — Business Mail 101 — at usps.com for those new to the mailing industry, but the Central Missouri PCC proposed another option. Why not offer the same material in a classroom setting?

“Many of the mailers in our area are a bit intimated by technical jargon used by the Postal Service and sometimes navigating through the online course can be a bit time consuming,” says Industry Co-Chair Cathy Rupard. So the PCC set up a one-day event in Columbia, MO. “We targeted business mailers who were unfamiliar with the PCC. If you offer it — they will come.”

With the help of USPS Mailing Standards, the PCC developed a presentation that covered the basics on how to present mail for discounted pricing at a business mail entry unit. Mailers received information about forms and quick service guides and learned about supplies, from trays to sleeves. For future seminars, the presentation has been updated to include information on the new Move Update standard.

“For someone new to the mailing business, I knew I had a lot to learn,” says Carissa Havens, special projects manager for Inside Columbia magazine. “The seminar was a great help to learn about things like the new address standards as far as size, spacing, placement. And being able to ask someone face to face how we needed to adjust our product to adhere to the new address standards and Intelligent Mail® barcoding coming next spring, we were able to get all of our questions answered with no doubt we’ll be able to do it correctly.”

More than 50 people attended the business mail session, which also served as a refresher course for mailers familiar with bulk business mailings.

“The results were outstanding, says Rupard. “We covered the entire process for getting mail in the mail stream. This will become an essential part of all upcoming mailers’ conferences.”