An Overview of Recent OIG RISC Report on Informed Delivery and Informed Visibility
This article appeared in the July 2021 edition of NPSOA Magazine.
On June 8, 2021, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the RISC Report on Marketers’ Perceptions of Informed Delivery and Informed Visibility. This report sought to inform the USPS® of marketers’ perceptions of Informed Delivery (ID) and Informed Visibility (IV), two programs aimed to promote omnichannel marketing using the USPS.
What is Informed Delivery?
Informed Delivery is used to digitally preview and manage incoming mail. Launched nationwide in 2017, ID is a service that allows residential users to view letter-sized mail before it arrives via email, track and change delivery instructions for packages and more oversized items and receive automatic notifications about incoming mail delivery.
With millions of program subscribers, ID has made a significant impact on mail delivery in the U.S., changing the landscape of the postal industry.
What is Informed Visibility?
Informed Visibility is a USPS service provided through Full Service Intelligent Mail® on First-Class Mail®, USPS Marketing Mail®, and periodicals. IV uses electronic documentation and unique Intelligent Mail barcodes (IMb™) to provide mailers with notifications as each mailpiece, bundle, tray, sack, and pallet is processed and scanned throughout the postal network.
Why Should Marketers Engage With These Products?
According to statistics released by the OIG, the number of customers using both Informed Delivery and Informed Visibility continues to rise. As of March 26, 2021, 21.9 percent of all U.S. households had signed up for ID, equating to 37.5 million people. On the other hand, the IV database includes approximately 12,000 customer registration identification (CRIDs), each representing a unique, physical business location.
ID and IV add another touchpoint in companies’ omnichannel marketing campaigns. The notifications provide a base of engaged users who are current customers or potential leads. Along with these perks, ID also allows marketers to:
- Analyze open and clickthrough rates
- Integrate digital and direct mail
- Add an interactive call to action and ad image to ID notifications
ID and IV are free services provided by the USPS. They allow mailers and marketers to track the progress of their mailpieces as they travel from mail house to customer through the postal system.
To register for ID, visit informeddelivery.usps.com. Select “Sign Up For Free.” Enter your address to determine if it is eligible for Informed Delivery. Registration for the 2021 USPS Informed Delivery Promotion begins July 15th and runs through November 30th. The promotion period begins September 1st and ends November 30th. During this period, customers may be eligible for a 2% discount on eligible mailpieces. Mailers can register for IV through the Business Customer Gateway (BCG).
A Trusted Industry Leader
At BCC Software, we make it easy for you to participate in Informed Delivery. We offer a variety of software products that make it easy to populate campaign info directly into Mail.dat® files and upload that data in PostalOne!®. Additionally, at BCC Software we take industry involvement seriously. With executive members on boards such as MTAC, we are active industry advocates for our customers.
