Postal Rates on the Rise...But Does It Really Matter?

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The governors at the U.S. Postal Service announced on Monday that postal rates will increase 5.4% on January 8. In other words, a stamp will cost you $.39 instead of $.37. Priority goes up to $4.05 and express rates up to as much as $18.80. The last increase was in 2002, but the Postal Service has said that it's planning another increase in 2007.

If this were the early 90s, you might have heard a collective groan among business owners, as communication with customers and vendors generally relied on snail mail. But today, there's e-mail, and company's leverage the Internet to promote their businesses. Traditional marketing mailings most likely make up less of a company's marketing budget than they did a decade ago. Or am I wrong? Will these postal increases hit your bottom line to a point where it could influence your marketing and communications strategy?