We may think of the mailing industry as a steady, dependable business but mail is always changing-especially now. Print and mail service providers need to adapt as the mailing world evolves. Expect some uncertainty and be prepared to react when new risks and opportunities arrive on your doorstep.

The mailing industry has plenty of questions about the future of postal mail.

How much will postage rates change — and when? Will delivery standards decline? Will the next Postmaster General lead the organization in a different direction? Could private enterprises take over some or all of the USPS? Will the delivery network change? Could some facilities close? How will advancing technology further change the way humans communicate? Will your clients change their mailing practices?

Nobody knows answers to questions like these. Maybe none of those things will happen and you won’t need to change your business practices at all, but it pays to be informed and as well-prepared as possible.

Navigating USPS Challenges

The traditional methods print/mail service providers and high-volume mailers use to offset postage rate hikes are well known:

· Use workshare discounts for presorting or drop-shipping

· Evaluate mailing classes

· Improve address hygiene

· Optimize mail formats

· Participate in USPS promotional programs

· Lower mail volumes

Mailers should take advantage of all the cost-saving strategies available to them. Mail service providers can help their clients lower their costs, even if it means processing fewer pieces of mail per job. Your goal should be to keep your clients engaged in the mail channel.

Keep in mind that the USPS controls the conditions that make those well-worn moves viable. The rules could change. You don’t want to be caught unprepared. Keep up with all the news from USPS sources and from industry experts that keep you informed in publications like Mailing Systems Technology.

Politics has a greater effect on the USPS than ever. Mail-in voting, the pandemic, and leadership choices all attracted political attention. Rumors of privatization plans by certain groups have circulated for years. Almost everything today seems to be viewed through a political lens, which can make the coming years even more unstable than we’ve recently experienced. Keep a close watch and prepare your business to be ready, regardless of which way the political winds should blow.

A Different Approach

How customers view mailed communication continues to change. Companies conduct business with customers, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders via many communication channels, decreasing their reliance on printed and mailed documents. Mail still plays an important role, but it will never again be the leading actor.

If you haven’t done so in a while, this would be a good time to evaluate where your company stands in the communication environment.

Thinking of your organization as a communications company that happens to produce mail, can change an entire company culture. In this scenario, the focus shifts from postage costs, paper supplies, and production efficiency and towards a desire to find the best way to meet your client’s objectives. Sometimes the answer is the mail, sometimes it’s a digital approach. Often, it’s a combination of channels that has the best chance of producing the desired results. Some people call this a “digital first” methodology. I like to think of it as “solutions first”. Consider a business challenge or goal from the client’s point of view, along with all the possible answers. This approach opens a lot of doors you may have previously overlooked when the only solution you contemplated was postal mail.

Thousands of agencies and other firms call themselves marketing experts or public relations authorities. They are wizards with social media, search, online advertising, SMS, and email, but many of them have little or no experience with mail. Unsurprisingly, their solutions are often entirely digital.

You, with your mailing experience, can easily conceive of customer communication strategies that include postal mail. Mail serves as a component that works in conjunction with the digital channels. You know how to integrate physical documents with the rest of the workflow. This experience gives you an advantage.

Advanced Technology as a Tool

With a focus on effective communication, you might look at an application differently. Is a four-page, eight-image paper phone bill that includes generic bill stuffers in a double-window envelope the best way to present this information? Is a PDF that mimics the paper presentation the only other option? What if you delivered the facts to customers as an intelligent, data-driven digital experience? Can you approach customer communication from an angle that seeks to deepen customer relationships, offers upsell opportunities, and provides something different to phone company customers? Will your clients be willing to pay a little extra for such a presentation as they save money on paper and postage? What technology and expertise would be necessary to build and distribute such documents?

For some, intentionally switching away from postal mail is a foreign concept. Print/mail service providers have long made their money based on the volume of pages and mail pieces they produce. However, there’s no guarantee those volumes will continue to be up for grabs. Developments entirely beyond your control could cause a rapid reduction in mail volumes. Wouldn’t you rather diversify your revenue streams?

This idea of looking at your business from a completely different perspective will be difficult. Most of the people I know in the mailing business are seasoned veterans. Visualizing something new may be a tall order.

One approach that might help in this transition is hiring younger people who can bring fresh ideas into your company. Some bright people who can re-imagine business communications might lead your company to offer products less vulnerable to the technical, marketplace, and political influences we can anticipate in postal mail.

Readying for an Uncertain Future

Everyone has seen how fast things can change. By the time you are reading this, we may know more about the Postmaster General situation. But over the course of just a few weeks, we’ve gone from an announcement that a successor search should begin to an abrupt departure of the person holding the highest position in the USPS. There’s been new talk of governmental moves that would affect the autonomy and governance of the United States Postal Service, including layoffs, closing locations, or even selling the service to a private entity.

I wish the best for the men and women of the USPS, and I believe a strong and reliable postal service is vital to our nation. But I also recognize that things could easily change. You can’t plan for everything, but you should at least make some adjustments according to what you think is right for your business.

Mike Porter at Print/Mail Consultants creates content that helps attract and retain customers for companies in the mailing and document industry and he assists companies as they integrate new technology. Learn more about his services at www.pmccontentservices.com. Follow @PMCmike on X, or send him a connection request on LinkedIn.

This article originally appeared in the May/June, 2025 issue of Mailing Systems Technology