USPS rolled out “Informed Delivery” as a handy service for residential consumers and commercial mailers in the fall of 2018. The good news is, the intended audiences both really like Informed Delivery, which is a score for USPS. The bad news is, if you research Informed Delivery online (like I’ve been doing) the majority of articles you’ll see are about how cyber thieves are exploiting this service to commit identity theft and credit card fraud.
We believe that USPS will address and resolve these issues as they troubleshoot their new service—at the same time, given the current situation, we don’t recommend Informed Delivery for our financial clients (yet). However, it could greatly benefit our nonprofit and retail customers.
For residential consumers (folks who receive mail at your home)
Informed Delivery lets you see what you’re going to get in your mailbox by sending you an email with digital images of your mail pieces. So you know what to expect when you get to your mailbox—this may not be the right service for you if you enjoy being surprised every day! Please note, Informed Delivery can’t tell you about a birthday card from grandma or a wedding invitation from your BFF. It only “informs” you about letter-rate pieces that qualify for bulk mail. In other words, the kind of mail that has a barcode on it.
Informed Delivery also lets you track packages, leave delivery instructions, and reschedule deliveries.
89% of people who signed up for Informed Delivery were happy with the service and 93% would recommend it to family and friends. To sign up, go to usps.com and create an account, and follow the instructions from there.
For commercial mailers
Okay, so here’s where we get excited because we are *ahem* self-proclaimed postal nerds and lovers of direct mail. Informed Delivery is not only a convenience for mail customers—it’s also another opportunity to market to them! While it’s great for USPS to send your customer a black and white digital image of your mail piece, it’s even BETTER to take advantage of their “interactive campaign,” which includes customized content and interactive content.
To break it down, the customized content is a full color image that can serve as a call-to-action message (for instance, encouraging a visit to your site). The interactive content is another image with a target URL, so the mail recipient can click on it and, voila! They’re exactly where you need them to be to take action. How cool is that? It’s like your direct mail is working double time.
An added bonus—we can track specific recipient’s actions. Did they click? Did they download your offer or make a purchase? Or did they do nothing at all? This digital component allows us to capture this data in real time, which can influence what steps you take next.
Informed Delivery is pretty cool.
It’s like adding another level of marketing to your DM campaign. You can track your mail, market online, and build your brand, all while offering your customer ease and convenience. If you’d like to incorporate Informed Delivery into your next DM campaign, we’d be glad to help!
