USPS Cutbacks

Yup, you heard the news about the USPS: (Click Here to Read).


Again, we can fight this thing to the bitter end, and that's ok, have at it.  You have great advocates at the ACMA who literally do thankless work on your behalf, largely for free ... a shame for those kind folks, but a huge benefit to your business.


Then there's the reality, the reality that is actually haunting the USPS ... information is being transmitted digitally, and when it is transmitted digitally, the business model can no longer work given the expense structure of the USPS.  This is not going to change.


As you know, I've created an algorithm that segments customers into one of three groups.

1. Traditionals:  They must continue to get catalogs, or sales decline, rapidly.
2. Transitionals:  They have moved online in the past decade ... catalogs are only a portion of their total shopping experience ... you can cut back here without pain.
3. Transformationals:  These customers do not care about catalogs ... you can cut back dramatically here, and the customer will barely notice.  This customer has moved from e-commerce into mobile/social, they operate in a world foreign to catalog marketers.

We're not going to stop the transition from printed information to digital information.  Maybe it's time we accepted this fact.  


Instead, let's segment customers into groups that have similar behavior, and start moving our business models into the future.


The Traditional customer is still worth building a catalog business around, regardless of what happens with the USPS.  This audience represents between 15% and 60% of the customer file of the clients I work with.  It's largely a 55+ rural audience.  Catalog marketing matters to this audience.  In fact, in most cases, you should be mailing these customers MORE often.  Yes, MORE often!  You are leaving profit on the table.


The Transitional customer is leaving print.  We can save a lot of money (and rely upon the USPS less) by transitioning with this customer.  Think of this customer as being an email subscriber who actually purchases from email campaigns, or a branded search customer placing a second order with your brand.


The Transformational customer never cared about print in the first place.  We can/should build new business models around this customer.


I have a lot of project requests around identifying the Traditional / Transitional / Transformational customer.  


And if you respond between now and December 31, I will honor 2011 pricing for your 2012 project.  Remember, my Catalog PhD projects (now evolving into Traditional / Transitional / Transformational projects) help $100,000,000 clients generate $1,000,000 of incremental, additional, bottom-line profit on an annual basis.


So sign up now, and in doing so, you guarantee 2011 pricing for your 2012 project.  Contact me by clicking here, right now!