A newsagent expressed concern to me yesterday about the impact of the price increase for postage stamps on their greeting card sales. I asked whether they had taken steps to mitigate the situation, to soften the impact. They said no. I asked if their marketing group had offered advice, they said no. This surprised me.
Back in January newsagency marketing group newsXpress published advice to its members on steps available to mitigate against the impact of the stamp price rise. I wrote the advice. I saw it as common sense. I expected other newsagency marketing groups would od similar as providing such advice is a key benefit marketing groups should deliver.
To assist all newsagents, here is the newsXpress advice:
SOFTENING THE IMPACT OF THE STAMP PRICE RISE.
NEWSXPRESS BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING ADVICE
– JANUARY 25, 2016 –
The 42% increase in the cost of posting a standard letter (or card) could hit greeting card sales – unless to act now to mitigate the situation. Yes, there are things you can do, opportunities you can embrace to make soften the impact.
To our knowledge, no industry association, no card company, no marketing group and no greeting card association has offered any advice or support for newsagents in the wake of the extraordinary price rise.
Not everyone has to pay the new price of $1.00 per item. For example, people with a MyPost Concession Account can post letters and cards for 60 cents.
The following Australian Federal Government concession cards are accepted as proof of eligibility for a MyPost Concession Account:
- Pensioner Concession Card
- Health Care Card (all types)
- Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs Card
- Veterans’ Repatriation Health Card
If you have customers with any one of these cards, they can apply for the postal concession. Applying is free. Here is a link to the concession account form online from Australia Post:
http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/MyPost-Concession-Account-application-form.pdf
Print the form out and hand it to customers. This demonstrates you offering an appreciated customer service. If you have a retirement village or nursing home in your area, give them plenty of copies of the form – show you care about helping them save money.
Offer to help complete the form for customers.
Australia Post does not actively promote the MyPost Concession account. You should and in doing so you are likely to be appreciated by the customers that benefit. Australia Post reports that 5.7 million Australians are eligible for this concession but that considerably less than half have applied.
The MyPost Concession Account allows them 50 concession stamps a year.
Here are other ways you can make greeting cards more appealing in the wake of higher postage costs:
- Have a loyalty offer.
- One approach is Discount Vouchers as they provide a cash amount the customer saves off their next purchase. The amount printed on the receipt is perceived as being of immediate value to the shopper.
- Another offer could be Buy X get Y – like the Hot Press range from Hallmark. Three cards for $10 would be seen as a saving by customers.
- Another offer could be like the Hallmark buy 8 cards and get your 9th card for free. The key in our view with this is you need to date limit the offer.
- Run a free stamp day promotion. This is a challenging promotion in that it could be expensive. Therefore, our suggestion is you set the bar and target committed card shoppers. People spending more than $25.00 in cards get a $1.00 stamp for each $10.00 they spend. An alternative could be – people buying 8 or more cards in one purchase get 8 cards. The goal with either approach is to get people purchasing more cards than is usual in a single purchase.
- Improve your card offer. The postage price hike will get some people thinking twice before purchasing a card. It is vital you confront this with a more compelling card offer, a better card department and placement of cards in better impulse purchase locations in-store. Placing cards with gifts, for example, can see more cards purchased with gifts – to be handed to recipients with the gifts.
The alternative is to do nothing. If you do nothing you may or may not be impacted by the postage price hike. The newsXpress view: it is better to lean into a challenge, to be on the front foot.
Footnote: I have shared this advice today so you can access the advice itself and so you can see one example of the type of resources available to newsagents who want options beyond being average. Whether through newsXpress or elsewhere, there are people who will help you grow your business.
This is great advice, but what about those of us who carry stamps at no margin because Australia post are so bloody minded and refuse to supply stamps at anything but full retail. Why should we waste our time doing someone else’s job for nothing. We have put our focus on the merchandising and meeting the market with the correct range, value adding through our loyalty offer. Stuff Australia Post.
Okay Cris what would have preferred me write?
From the feed back of customers they don’t really care about the price rise anyway . before it happened everyone complained then it happens and they realise there’s nothing they can do so they just pay .I don’t think there is a need for what you are doing well not here anyway .
Fair enough Shaun. I have shared the advice because some I have spoken to have asked. The advice, like any advice, can be a resource bag from which selected ideas are plucked.
Nothing. When it comes to Australia Post words fail me.
I saw it as a great opportunity to quit stamps.
Too many people expecting to buy bulk quantities and pay by card, get stroppy when I say “Cash only” and 99% of them never bought anything else.
I do keep a few stamps on hand to sell to customers who purchase a greeting card they want to post straight away, as I see that as true customer service.
Being taken advantage of by people who are too lazy to go 200 metres to the Post Office is not customer service, its being a whipping boy. 🙂