Trends in Print and Mail

For most people in the mailing industry, involvement with their local Postal Customer Council (PCC) has been a key component to their success. Industry members have the opportunity to learn from the US Postal Service (USPS) and their peers from other companies.

However, PCCs are an underutilized resource by larger mailers. There’s a misconception that PCCs are only for small to mid-sized mailers. After all, large companies have representatives on the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) and have USPS sales representatives assigned to their accounts. With these resources, the advantage of local PCCs are often overlooked.

In October 2001, an unknown terrorist sent envelopes containing anthrax through the US Postal Service (USPS). The intended targets were news broadcasters and elected officials. One envelope was misdirected, and ended up at the State Department, where several employees were seriously injured.

17 years later, another terrorist is using the mail to attack people. Instead of anthrax, pipe bombs were sent to a cable news company, past presidents and elected officials. One package was misdelivered to the return address on the envelope – the local office of a congresswoman.

Each spring, mailers gather at the National Postal Forum, and every fall brings the spotlight to Postal Customer Councils (“PCCs”), culminating in National PCC week, which takes place September 24 – 28, 2018.

For mailers across the United States, the next best educational opportunity is National Postal Customer Council (“PCC”) Week, which takes place September 25 – 29, 2017 at multiple locations throughout the country.

PCCs have a variety of events scheduled – from luncheons, to half-day seminars to full-day conferences. At almost every event, a senior representative from the United States Postal Service (“USPS”) will be present to discuss upcoming postal initiatives and field questions from the audience. Their presentation will be supplemented with training on subjects like networking, quality control and professional management.