USPS marketing chief talks about direct mailers Resistance to fee hikes

The United States Postal Service's president of marketing sales Paul Vogel recently stated the agency was still debating what could be done to solve the imminent financial Armageddon due to an anticipated $8 billion budget deficient.

In an interview with Business to Business Online, Vogel said that proposals to increase the postage rates had been strongly rejected by those who rely on direct mail and address verification software to better engage customers. Previously the USPS requested a 5.6 percent increase for commercial mail, but it was rejected by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

"We do a lot of business with the American Catalog Mailers Association; and they've told us loud and clear that, if we try to offset an $8 billion loss with a 20 percent increase in postal rates, it will drive a lot of mail volume out of the system,” he told the publication.

The USPS is hoping to be helped by more interactive technology as well. This past summer it offered mailers of first-class and standard mail a 3 percent discount when using QR or Microsoft Tags.