Chapter 2 Our Customers
Who They Are
Customers can be grouped into four major categories: large-volume business mailers; business partners and service providers; small and medium-size business mailers; and households. Although businesses generated 86 percent of postal revenue, households play a much more significant role than suggested by this percentage. Two-thirds of all mail is destined for households. They are the customers to whom businesses send their bills, advertisements, and merchandise, and household behavior influences business mailing decisions.
Large-volume business mailers, numbering about 15,000 national and regional mailers, use mail to communicate to customers and vendors for billing, remittance, and order fulfillment. The Postal Service has extensive sales, operational, and service-oriented relationships with these business mailers on a national level.
Business partners add value to mail creation in a variety of ways. There are about 4,500 such businesses helping clients use the mail to reach their objectives. Some specialize in integrated marketing strategies, direct mail copy and graphics, mailing list selection and management, or printing and preparation for entry. Some companies consolidate mailings for other customers and provide other mail-related services, filling a niche in the mailing industry by offering end-users postage discounts through workshare opportunities.
Small and medium-size businesses, generally regional and focused on specific market segments, use mail to communicate to their customers and vendors for billing, remittance, and order fulfillment. The Postal Service has dedicated sales, operational, and service-oriented relationships with many of these mailers through local postmasters, business development teams, and business mail entry units.
Households are mainly the recipients of correspondence, advertisements, bills, statements, and merchandise sent by businesses. This business-to-household mail flow is the heart of the $900 billion mailing industry. As senders of mail, households contribute roughly 15 percent of postal revenue.