The United States Postal Service is giving you a jump on seeing what’s in your mailbox before you even check the mail.
Here’s a quick look at the new USPS® service Informed Delivery™, exactly what it is and why it’s useful:
What Is Informed Delivery?
The automated sorting process at USPS® digitally images the front of mail that goes through the equipment. Informed Delivery™ will use these images to send digital notifications to household users so they can anticipate that day’s mail.
What Are the Benefits?
The short answer is security and access for household customers. If your mail is on hold while traveling or if you’re expecting an important package, you’ll know exactly what’s arriving every day. For mailers, it’s a chance to share offers and other interactive content related to the mailpieces that appear in a customer’s notification email. The service is capable of serving entire households so multiple mail recipients at the same address can each receive the digital notifications.
How Can Informed Delivery Add Value to My Mail?
The USPS Program Manager for Informed Delivery wrote a guest post for Tension on how this free tool can add value to mail campaigns. Metrics such as open rates, click rates and impressions can be viewed in a report once the campaign is complete, giving mailers real-time analytics on their performance.
How Does Informed Delivery Work?
Email notifications are sent to participating households each day. Your smartphone can receive up to 10 images of incoming mail. Anything beyond that is captured on your personal dashboard for viewing later.
Where Is It Available?
Select markets on the East Coast began pilot testing last year, and Informed Delivery™ was made available to most of the U.S. on April 14th, 2017. Check the Informed Delivery™ site for availability in your area.
Why Is It Important?
The big question is whether or not households and USPS® customers found this service beneficial. Results from the initial roll-out were very positive. 97% of subscribers indicated they were likely to continue to use the service after the pilot and 88% of them would recommend it to others.
Is Informed Delivery Safe and Secure?
The USPS® uses a verification process to prove you live at the address provided when signing up for Informed Delivery™. Learn more about the security of Informed Informed Delivery™.
How Can Marketers Take Advantage of Informed Delivery?
The USPS® has found a clever and meaningful way to connect digital and physical mediums and truly enhance the value of your direct mail via Informed Delivery™. Learn how to train your marketer about Informed Delivery™.
How Can a Business Create an Informed Delivery Campaign?
Business mailers have a new and exciting opportunity to capitalize on — an interactive Informed Delivery™ campaign. Learn how to create an Informed Delivery™ campaign.
Informed Delivery vs Informed Visibility
Informed Visibility® is not the same thing as Informed Delivery™. Informed Visibility® is a mail tracking platform designed for mailers that provides real-time information about campaigns. Learn more about Informed Visibility® here and here.
Visit the USPS® to learn more about Informed Delivery™.
