Royal Mail launches targeting tool for unaddressed mail
The Royal Mail is launching an online tool to help direct marketers improve the targeting of their unaddressed mail campaigns. The move follows concerns from consumer groups that the recent scrapping of the limits on the amount of unaddressed mail Royal Mail can deliver will lead to a surge in “junk” mail.
The postal service claims the web-based Customer Finder service will help businesses “find and target new consumers or business clients more easily”. It offers targeting, granular search and mapping tools.
The decision to lift the restriction on the number of unaddressed items the Royal Mail can deliver came in March as part of a peace deal with the Communications Workers Union that ended the immediate threat of industrial action.
The change was criticised by some environmental and consumer groups over concerns that the volume of unaddressed mail would rocket after the restrictions were lifted.
However, the Royal Mail argued that the change would allow it command a bigger share of the existing market, rather than lead to an increase in volume.
The postal operator is looking to earn more from commercial ventures as part of its ongoing modification drive. A boost in commercial revenue could help the Government attract the “injection in private capital” it is looking for to complete the part-privatisation of Royal Mail.
