"Doc says it?s very interesting that we still trust physical communications more than the electronic kind."
DUH.
Well, yeah: It's still the case that electronic mail is currently fundamentally broken in the following ways:
-There is no protection whatsoever against falsified information. Spammers know that they can pretend to be anybody, and that there will very likely be no technological measures to stop them.
-There is no protection whatsoever against spam entering the email system to begin with. Most of the anti-spam strategies are against spam that is already in the system, and it's a losing battle. It's really time we bought the battle closer to the spammers.
-Email spam is far easier to send than physical junk mail. Hence you get a lot more of it.
-Phishing is also very effective, especially since there's no protection against falsified information.
SMTP is the most broken protocol on our planet. It needs to be rewritten from the ground up with security in mind. It's really no wonder why people don't trust it - they don't trust it because it's not trustworthy. There is no reason to trust any email sent to you.
Spammers can pretend to be anybody they want, and they do it very effectively.
Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
Summary: The consumers surveyed for the study indicated a broad preference for physical mail, with 66% of respondents saying they prefer to receive catalogs by physical mail, 61% preferring to receive bills and invoices by physical mail and 59% preferring to receive financial/bank statements by physical mail.
You might think in these days of speedy electronic bill paying and online shopping, that most people prefer email marketing over the physical variety. Not true, Doc discovered, according to a recent survey by Pitney Bowes, the postage-meter folks. According to Chantal Tode over at the blog Marketing Powers Activate, many consumers prefer physical mail for bills, invoices, financial statements, and catalogs.
Pitney Bowes commissioned Leflein Associates to survey approximately 1,500 US adults and examine their preferences, attitudes, and behavior toward mail, both physical and e-mail. The study also investigated which factors influence when and whether recipients open their mail and read it at home.
The consumers surveyed for the study indicated a broad preference for physical mail, with 66% of respondents saying they prefer to receive catalogs by physical mail, 61% preferring to receive bills and invoices by physical mail and 59% preferring to receive financial/bank statements by physical mail.
Rather than reflecting the superiority of one method of communication over another, these findings indicate the need for companies to communicate with customers via their preferred channel of delivery.
Matching customers with the right method of communication can have a positive effect on mailings. “If you can tailor the message to the preferred method of communication for the customer, they will react in a quicker manner,” said Karen D’Andrea, director of product marketing, US mailing for Pitney Bowes. D’Andrea pointed to a couple of findings from the study in support of this statement: 83% of respondents said they would open and read bills right away and 73% said they would open and read financial/bank statements right away.
You can read more here. Doc says it’s very interesting that we still trust physical communications more than the electronic kind. He’ll also bet that response rates to physical mail are also higher than the electronic variety.
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ZDNet introduces Doc (The DocuMentor), sponsored by RICOH. Through his blog, Doc will educate you about Document Management. So who is Doc? Doc is something of an enigma. He was born to a Russian ballerina and a German electrical engineer who some believe was running covert operations for shadowy corporate interests. Doc grew up in various locations in the United States, although no one seems to know precisely where, least of all Doc. His early schooling was unremarkable except for the time he was caught trying to replace all the mimeograph machines with high-tech color copiers that had mysteriously disappeared from a shipment to Albania. At MIT, he made a name for himself by transforming a large printer into a robot that hunts and eats Roombas. Professionally, he reportedly has seen the insides of more brands, versions, and generations of printer and printer-related hardware than almost anyone. Some say his obsession with paper, printing, and mechanical movement was either started by, or evidenced by, a traumatic childhood episode when he crawled inside an old Xerox 2400 and tried to print himself.
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Talkback Most Recent of 11 Talkback(s)
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CobraA131st May 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
@CobraA1 Thanks very much! cartier replica watches bulgari watches replica breitling watch
3shao19th Sep -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
First of all I don't believe the categories mentioned (i.e. catalogs, financial statements and bills) are typical of what is being sent out by email or direct mail. There are still people who do not believe that the Internet is completely safe for their personal information and therefore want a hard copy. Others, like myself, who still prefer physical representations of certain products (i.e. catalogs and books).
For marketers it is more important to know what percentage of people read the less pertinent mail they receive. Comparing those response rates to that of similar email campaigns would be a better indication of which medium is more effective in communicating a message.
Josh
http://www.cuemarketing.com
jdbyers1st Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
I rarely receive a bill via snail mail and I only check my physical mail once week or so. I don't like receiving anything via snail mail and I stop all the junk mail I can but what does make it through goes straight to the recycle bin.
I'm surprised 61% prefer paper bills. Within a few seconds of receiving an email bill notification Im logged into the bank and have a scheduled payment setup for it--no wasted trees, no forgotten payments, no time wasted hassling with antiquated paper bills and payment methods.
Mythos73rd Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
It's just too much of a hassle when something goes wrong. I open my filing cabinet and review the file in two minutes. Don't need power, web access, and in seven years you can use it as toilet paper (try doing that with your email).
It's unlikely someone will hack into my locked filing cabinet but your email suppliers and banks accounts are constantly being attacked and they don't tell you if someone gets in. If they can get into the CIA computers thousand of times a day I doubt your pc can protect your information.
Also I have noticed that often my online statements are not consistent with the amount I owe and FYI many companies have policies were they are not required to give you refunds for billing errors charged to you unless you specifically request a refund.
reed@...14th Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
I still prefer paper bills but pay them electronically. I get paid once a month so it's so much easier putting all the bills in one place and when I get paid go through them scheduling payments.
nitecourt@...3rd Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
I could do without the marketing junk. I don't buy stuff on the street, on my doorstep, from mailings, or from emailed communications. Rarely are the bargains bargains.
When it comes to online vs paper bills, statements ect.. I want the printed version that I can store. I have worked for large and small companies and all to often have witnessed poor data storage proceses, limited access to statements (like six months), dishonest institutions (like banks ect...), and other reasons.
If I have the paper I can scan it and save it on my secured drives as a backup to the media. That way I don't have to pay the bank $10 to get a copy of a statement.
The recent financial collapse as well as my many many business dealings with city employees, credit card companies, and retailers has done nothing but reinforce the level of dihonesty in this country. I recently saw a stat that said 1 in 15 people in the US will do prison time. If they actually prosecuted the many dishonest people in this country it would be more like 12 of 15.reed@...14th Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
I prefer to receive bills on paper because I can never guarantee that my computer will be working to receive email. I prefer to pay my bills online because it saves me 44 cents in postage per bill. With a paper bill, if my computer is broken, I can still pay the bill via snail mail to avoid late charges.
DLClark23rd Jun 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
As a employee of the U.S.Postal Service,I must first object to the term "snail mail". We do our best to expedite every piece we handle, every day. In the years I have worked for the USPS, I have been told that staffing must decrease with the falling mail volumes. Lately, we are seeing somewhat of an increase in bulk business mail, and are hearing from customers that many still prefer to physically receive many of their mailings. I am positive that we still fill a very important role in business and personal correspondence and I am heartened to learn that others still value our service. I would hate to see our agency disappear and consumers not have the choices they do today.
maffL29th Jun 2010 -
Outrageous
I stay in UK and here I see many dishonest organisations. Most of organisations (i.e. Utility companies, banks etc) are imposing extra charge (?1-?3 ) to receive paper bills. Which is outrageous. I dont mind them sending me bills electronically as far as they can email to me instead of asking me to log into "My Account" section of their website. Its very easy to forget credentials for website and its possible to forget about retrieving these bills from their portal. Clever idea.
BTW in UK they take payment automatically through Direct Debit process; so we dont have to trigger it separately. If I did not go through the bill on their website, I will only discover actual amount when its gone from my bank account.
On top of that they don't believe in printed copies themselves. So every time I have to make application for Mortgage, bank account, license etc, I have to request utility company to send me paper copy and pay for it (?3-?5 for each month). And mind you they want latest copy of utility bills and bank account statements to prove where I stay and how much I earn.
It seems government is not doing anything about it. I am sick and tired of this attitude.
I work in IT industry for 11 years now and understand various aspects of physical and electronic medium of communication. But in this capitalised world, every organisation has double standard. One when they deal with their customers and second when customers deal with them. Due to security issue, they dont allow me to email them anything. All of them expect me to send in writing if I have to say anything about them (i.e. cancellation of subscription, complaint, feedback).
p.vinnie@...13th Jul 2010 -
RE: Physical Mail Still Preferred by Many
Doc didn't think there would be so many defenders of traditional mail. But given some of the weaknesses in electronic mail that posters have pointed out, it does seem like traditional mail still provides a valuable service for many. As we get better at reducing spam and securing the integrity of electronic communications, traditional mail may lose some of its advantages. But for now, seems at least a few of you are still fans of the U.S. Postal Service.
DocuMentor (Doc)13th Dec
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