Every Door Direct Mail: Opportunity That Knocks

Many small and midsize businesses currently do not use the mail — or use it infrequently — because they may per­ceive it as burdensome, expensive and not worth the trou­ble. By inviting business owners of these under-tapped markets into our Post Offices to show them how we can help them grow their businesses with Postal Service prod­ucts and services, GYBD events provide the Postal Service with a large revenue opportunity.

The Postal Service has been offering EDDM for years on rural routes under the name Simplified Addressing. After we expanded Simplified Addressing to city routes, we adopted a new marketing name for the city and rural ser­vice: Every Door Direct Mail.

EDDM allows mailers to use mail-delivery route informa­tion, instead of names and exact addresses, to reach tar­geted groups in specific geographic areas. Mailpieces can be addressed to “Postal Customer,” “Residential Cus­tomer,” or “PO Box Holder.”

By eliminating the need to purchase address lists and reducing mail preparation time, EDDM can lower mailers’ costs, and, consequently, allow mailers to reach a greater number of existing and prospective customers for the same postage budget.

EDDM has the potential to dramatically increase mail vol­ume and revenue. Postmasters play a critical role in launch­ing this service to small businesses by conducting presentations, leveraging their knowledge of direct mail’s power and versatility, and creating demand for EDDM.

These efforts also will show American businesses that the Postal Service is evolving and improving. And more impor­tantly, the events will demonstrate that direct mail is a highly effective — and cost-effective — business tool, and, with EDDM, one that is easy to use.

Attendees should leave the event convinced that direct mail will help their businesses grow and committed to mak­ing EDDM a key strategy in reaching target markets and prospective new customers.

By helping businesses learn new strategies and adapt best practices, GYBD events will strengthen the business-to-consumer channel and improve the customer experience.