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Reprinted with permission from the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers

Recently, a group of USPS® customers got together and agreed on a “top ten” list of pricing suggestions for the Postal Service™. The list was given to the Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Jim Cochrane. We really believe that following these suggestions is in the Postal Service’s best interest as they will help it retain and grow its customer base.

Top Ten Ways to Ensure Successful Postal Pricing

1. Have an internal, cross-functional process to vet and prioritize all pricing initiatives.
2. Involve customers, mail service providers and all members of the postal supply chain as partners in the process of developing the rates filing long before going to the regulator.
3. Run scenarios of the actual impact the pricing and rules changes will have on all of your larger customers.
4. Keep a tight range of actual price changes around the CPI cap to maximize the benefit of predictability for the USPS and its customers.
5. Phase in structural pricing and rules changes over several annual rate cases to minimize disruption and maximize customer retention.
6. Ensure the USPS has adequate resources to build and implement rates and rules that grow the business.
7. Make avoiding surprises for your partner customers, mail service providers and other members of the postal supply chain a very high priority.
8. Release mail preparation requirements as early as possible in the process to minimize disruption and maximize retention.
9. Share all Federal Register and other rules changes with your partner customers, mail service providers and members of the supply chain well in advance of their publication.
10. Always remember that pricing and related rules are the main way you communicate with most of your customers.

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