New Grow Your Business Days Topic: “A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items”
Grow Your Business Days (GYBD), a series of quarterly focused initiatives designed to educate small businesses about Postal Service™ products and services, is an ongoing success. To date, more than 3,000 GYBD events have been conducted.
Launched in Quarter Three, GYBD began with Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) as the first topic. EDDM is designed to make advertising through the mail easy and accessible for small businesses by enabling them to market to a specific geographic area without a mailing list. EDDM will continue to be a sales and marketing priority through Quarter Four. Therefore, continue to host additional GYBD EDDM events and ensure prompt follow-up with prospects from all past and current events.
In addition to continuing to promote EDDM in Quarter Four, we’ll be educating online shippers about our unique relationship with eBay as well as the benefits of using the Postal Service as a shipping partner. In a recent Growth and Revenue video, President and Chief Marketing/Sales Officer Paul Vogel said that there’s going to be a “fresh focus” on eBay. “We’re partnering with eBay to show online sellers how they can ship with the Postal Service — quickly, easily, and affordably.”
With more than 94 million active users globally, eBay is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces. The retailer has made the Postal Service its “leading shipper of choice,” integrating Postal Service products with its shipping platform. “From online price breaks to flat-rate packaging to Package Pickup, the Postal Service can help online sellers lower their shipping costs,” said Vogel.
Vogel called on local GYBD organizers to update online shippers on the Postal Service’s new shipping products, such as Priority Mail® Regional Rate Boxes. “And don’t forget about returns,” he added. “With easy and convenient drop-off and pickup, we offer several options that can make returning items easy for online sellers and their customers.”
To help with your meetings and presentations to customers, there are a variety of sales materials supporting “A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items.” For specifics, see the article “Business Connect Quarterly Contest Postmaster Kit” in Postal Bulletin 22314 (6-30-11, pages 3–13).
“Every Door Direct Mail through Grow Your Business Days events laid the groundwork,” said Vogel. “Keep up the good work, and good luck in promoting A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.”
Grow Your Business Days Events
Coordinate all events and media outreach with your local Corporate Communications contacts.
Area Corporate Communications Managers
Maureen Marion
Mgr., Northeast Area Corporate Communications
6 Griffin Street N.
Windsor, CT 06006-9876
Telephone: Office: 315-452-3582
e-mail: maureen.p.marion@usps.gov
Paul Smith
Mgr., Eastern Area Corporate Communications
3190 S. 70th St.
Room 611
Philadelphia, PA 19153-9992
Telephone: Office: 215-863-5024
e-mail: paul.f.smith(eastern area)@usps.gov
George Maffett
Mgr., Capital Metro Area Corporate Communications
16501 Shady Grove Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20898-9998
Telephone: Office: 301-548-1465
e-mail: george.t.maffett@usps.gov
Jim Mruk
Mgr., Great Lakes Area Corporate Communications
244 Knollwood Dr, 4th Floor
Bloomingdale, IL 60117-2208
Telephone: Office: 630-539-6565
e-mail: james.a.mruk@usps.gov
Earl Artis
Mgr., Southwest Area Corporate Communications
7800 N. Stemmons Freeway
Suite 450
Dallas, TX 75247-4220
Telephone: Office: 214-819-8704
e-mail: earl.c.artis@usps.gov
Teresa Rudkin
Mgr., Western Area Corporate Communications
1745 Stout St.
Suite 1075
Denver, CO 80299-7500
Telephone: Office: 303-313-5130
e-mail: teresa.rudkin@usps.gov
Don Smeraldi
Mgr., Pacific Area Corporate Communications
11255 Rancho Carmel Dr.
San Diego, CA 92197-0100
Telephone: Office: 858-674-3149
e-mail: don.a.smeraldi@usps.gov
Audiences
n Small and midsize businesses
n Retail outlets (such as drugstores, automotive stores, and hardware stores).
n Professional offices (such as dentists, doctors, attorneys, and realtors).
n Business services.
n Contractors.
n Small-business and service organizations
n Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov), federal with local offices across the country.
n Chambers of Commerce.
n Kiwanis Clubs.
n Rotary Clubs.
n Bizjournals and other local business publications
n Postal Customer Councils (PCCs).
Event Tips
n Collaborate with PCCs and local chapters of small-business organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce or the Small Business Administration, to host your GYBD events. Hold the event at their location to increase attendance.
n Provide your co-host, if any, with GYBD invitations to send out to its members and associates.
n Be sure to have plenty of handouts with contact information for attendees to follow up.
n Order materials to support your “A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items” group events from the Business Connect Data Center (BCDC) at http://bcdc.usps.gov. Hurry! Supplies are limited. See the article “Business Connect Quarterly Contest Postmaster Kit” in Postal Bulletin 22314 (6-30-11, pages 3–13).
n See the article “Grow Your Business Days Publicity Kit” in Postal Bulletin 22312 (6-2-11, pages 3–11) for information about promoting EDDM. EDDM promotional materials also are available from the BCDC at http://bcdc.usps.gov.
Event-Planning Checklist
n Begin planning early.
n Contact your local Corporate Communications managers so they can provide media outreach and launch a local publicity campaign.
n Set a date.
n Secure participants.
n Acquire posters, videos, fact sheets, brochures, and other supplies for the event.
n Secure staging, sound equipment, and a podium.
n Plan signage, including signs and banners.
n Draft a sequence-of-events agenda and speaker remarks.
n Prepare invitations.
n Work through your local district marketing manager/GYBD coordinator to get started.
n Use the complete checklist for postmasters and station managers on BCDC.
Working With the Media — Tips for Corporate Communications Employees
n Ask your local business publication or local weekly newspaper to co-sponsor the event for the benefit of their readers.
n Invite businesses who have had success with using the Postal Service for online shipping to share “testimonials.” These make good stories with local angles that local business publications or local weeklies will appreciate.
n Pitch the events to your local network or cable TV stations, especially those that focus on small or local businesses.
n Work with your co-host, if any, to tap into any media contacts — in addition to your own — they may have to promote the event.
“A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items” Message and Talking Points
The U.S. Postal Service offers online sellers a variety of convenient and affordable options for shipping their items.
n A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items is ideal for experienced online sellers as well as people who are listing their items on eBay for the first time.
n Shipping online items with the Postal Service is fast, reliable, and economical.
n Postal Service shipping supplies are free, including packaging that is co-branded with the eBay logo.
n Shipping with Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes is simple: If it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate — and there’s no weighing needed.
n Customers can pay for insurance and postage online from the convenience of their homes or offices.
n Customers can print postage-paid labels and get free Delivery Confirmation™ service.
n Customers can save a trip to the Post Office by requesting free Package Pickup, giving them more time to sell online.
n The Postal Service offers global shipping options and no hidden surcharges.
n To get started, online shippers should visit www.usps.com.
Grow Your Business Days Message and Talking Points
The Postal Service is increasing its efforts to connect with smaller companies and local merchants to alert them to offerings that make it easier and less expensive to do business with us.
n The Postal Service is holding GYBD events to show small businesses how to use Postal Service products and services to grow their businesses.
n In the past, GYBD have been highly successful for Post Offices in selling Advertising Mail and Premium Postcards and in helping eBay shippers discover the benefits of shipping with the U.S. Postal Service®.
n To find a GYBD EDDM event, visit www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail. To register, visit www.usps.com/growyourbusinessdays.
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Name
Date (O) xxx-xxx-xxxx
(C) xxx-xxx-xxxx
xxxxx@usps.gov
usps.com/news
Release No. 11-xxx
It’s Never Been Easier to Ship Online Items
[Name of Post Office] Offers Free ‘Grow Your Business’ Seminar
[CITY] — The number of consumers researching or shopping online is steadily growing, according to several market research studies. That could mean a lot of opportunity for online sellers in [Name of City]. But overpaying on shipping costs can cut into profits. And, for inexperienced online merchants, shipping sometimes can be complicated.
That’s why the [Name of Post Office] is holding a free Grow Your Business Days seminar to demystify the online shipping process and help small businesses ship their items reliably and economically.
“The U.S. Postal Service offers online sellers a variety of convenient and affordable options for shipping their items, including online price breaks and flat-rate packaging,” said [Name and Title]. “And with easy and convenient drop-off and free Package Pickup, returning items can be trouble-free for both online sellers and their customers.”
Ideal for both inexperienced online shippers and those who have been selling online for awhile, a free Grow Your Business Days seminar on “A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items” is being sponsored by the [Name of Post Office] on [Day, Date, Time, Location]. Topics will include how to order free shipping supplies, including packaging that is co-branded with the eBay logo; how to print labels online; how to save money with flat-rate packaging; how to request Free Package Pickup and more.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com
# # #
Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
Sample Media Advisory
Date Contact:
Phone Number:
first.last@usps.gov
usps.com/news
It’s Never Been Easier to Ship Online Items
[Name of Post Office] Offers Free ‘Grow Your Business’ Seminar
With the number of consumers shopping online steadily growing, online sellers in [Name of City] will have increasing opportunities to grow their revenues. But overpaying on shipping costs can cut into profits. And, for inexperienced online merchants, shipping sometimes can be complicated.
WHAT: The [Name of Post Office] is holding a free Grow Your Business Days seminar titled “A Simpler Way to Ship Your Online Items.”
The seminar will demystify the online shipping process and help small businesses ship their items reliably and economically.
Topics will include how to order free supplies, including packaging that is co-branded with the eBay logo; how to print labels online; how to save money with flat-rate packaging; how to request Free Package Pickup; how to make returns trouble-free, and more.
WHO: [Name, Postmaster] [list all key presenters]
WHEN: [Date and Time]
WHERE: [Location Address]
BACKGROUND: The number of consumers researching or shopping online is steadily growing and will surpass 200 million by 2015. (Source: eMarketer, March 2011)
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com.
# # #
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
Audio News Release
Grow Your Business Days
Free Online Shipping Seminar From The U.S. Postal Service
[Date]
Intro:
The U.S. Postal Service is reaching out to local online shippers to help demystify the online shipping process. [City/Town] Postmaster [Name] says a free Grow Your Business Days seminar will show small businesses how to ship their online items reliably and economically.
Soundbite:
Our seminar will include how to order free supplies, including packaging that is co-branded with the eBay logo; how to save money with flat-rate packaging; how to request free Package Pickup; and how to make returns trouble-free.
Close:
You can get more information about the free seminar by contacting your local Post Office.
# # #
— Public Relations and Promotional Communications, Corporate Communications, 7-28-11
