Chapter 2: Our Customers
In the keynote address, the PMG highlighted the Postal Service’s environmental accomplishments: Express Mail and Priority Mail boxes are still the only packaging with Cradle to Cradle certification. Today’s mail contains more recycled material and more mail is being recycled than ever before. The Postal Service is in a unique position to reshape the nation’s refueling infrastructure with its fleet of alternate fuel vehicles. Attendees were reminded that postal pickup and delivery of merchandise save unnecessary car trips. Actor and environmental advocate Ed Begley, Jr., spoke to attendees and saluted postal efforts to make the mail “greener.”
Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee
The Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC), composed of the major mailing associations and organizations working with the Postal Service to enhance the value of mail, achieved major progress during 2008. MTAC workgroups focus on issues important to both the industry and Postal Service, including establishing service standards, improving address quality, facilitating successful deployment of FSS, and implementation of Intelligent Mail®. In recognition of their significant contributions to the mailing industry, MTAC representatives received the prestigious Partnership for Progress award at the May National Postal Forum.
Postal Customer Councils
Postal Customer Councils (PCCs) enhance working relationships with local businesses and keep customers updated on the latest postal products and developments. More than 100,000 members belong to 200 local PCCs across the country. PCC Insider, a monthly eNewsletter, provides the latest information on products and services, technology advances, and pricing and classification. Readers learn about developments affecting mailing operations and programs that meet their business needs. Members are also provided information from MTAC general session presentations and workgroups through links to the MTAC and National PCC Web sites.
PCCs find new ways to help new and existing customers use mail. The PCC Mail Service Provider (MSP) program database contains 181 national and locally-based companies that provide assistance with mailpiece design, obtaining mailing lists, printing, mailing support, supplies, and equipment. Businesses can search for local MSPs by clicking on the Find Mail Service Providers link on usps.com/pcc.
This year National PCC Day took place on September 17, 2008. The St. Louis, New York, and Bay Valley California PCCs hosted more than 14,000 members, viewing the broadcast from more than 150 locations around the country. Postmaster General Jack Potter was the keynote speaker at the event, which featured workshops on shipping services and Intelligent Mail®. A new tool for sharing information and best practices among PCC members, 2blogpcc.com, was announced during the broadcast.
In March, the Postal Service and PCCs co-sponsored four symposia to help prepare mailers for new Intelligent Mail requirements set to be implemented in 2009. About 1,600 attendees participated in events in Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York. Customers already using Intelligent Mail related their experiences and how it is adding value to their mail and their businesses.
Other Points of Contact
Customer outreach is also performed through employee-based outreach programs like Business Connect, Customer Connect, and Rural Reach, which provide customers with information about how postal products and services can help them grow their businesses. Customers can also find information online at usps.com or from employees working in Post Offices or delivering mail.
Customer Support and Feedback
The Postal Service has taken steps to significantly improve each of the customer support programs during 2008 — strengthening Business Service Network teams, integrating and improving access to customer data, and expanding the support offered through Customer Call Centers. Additionally, the Customer Satisfaction Measurement tool for getting feedback from customers was enhanced to provide additional measures of service.
Business Service Network
The Business Service Network (BSN) is a dedicated, nationwide network that provides customer support to the largest business customers. The BSN is strategically
positioned to impact customer satisfaction, revenue growth, and retention of this important customer segment, representing more than $55 billion in revenue. As a critical link between mailers and internal postal operations, the BSN resolves service inquiries. With a strong commitment to service, BSN raised its customer satisfaction score by 5.3 percent.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer Relationship Management provides a comprehensive 360-degree view of business customers’ interaction with the Postal Service, across all channels and touch points. Notable this year was the introduction of the Customer Data Mart, an integrated customer database designed to help achieve the goals of improved customer service and revenue growth. The Customer Identification process integrated three additional applications to support the corporate-wide strategy of uniquely identifying customers across all business processes to improve customer data quality in Postal Service systems. New address matching processes implemented in Customer Registration provides a secure, single sign-on application for customers to access Postal Service products online at usps.com.