Postal Strikes and a New Communications Model

Another postal strike by Royal Mail staff brings so many questions to the forefront. The leading one must be that of a seemingly basic lack of logic to it all. If workers within a service industry decide to strike, apparently in protest against the process of modernisation that will ultimately result in some job losses, they drive further business volume away from their organisation and thus the overall result is the need to further reduce employee numbers. The world changes; one must evolve or become extinct. Ultimately it is the consumer (recipient of mail) who will decide the format that s/he would like to receive a communication (and I use the work communication rather than letter). This may by email, via mobile or indeed physically. It is not a monopoly, there is choice. This does not mean only as to whether someone picks Royal Mail, ViaPost, MyHermes or any other carrier, but also the format of that communication.

There is a place for Royal Mail today and in the future. We all love the postie and processing and delivering billions of items of mail every year is a big and complex job, but as with BT after deregulation of the Telecoms sector, change is needed. New entrants should be seen as positive and potential partners rather than direct competition.

It is therefore fitting that SendSocial approaches launch in the next couple of weeks providing a service that is at the extreme other end to the spectrum. SendSocial is creating a new niche in the postal sector encouraging people to send items they otherwise would not have been able to.

You will be able to send a gift, a letter, or a special offer physically to an individual that you have contact with online but not offline. Imagine being able to send flowers to a girl or boy you have been following on Twitter; a birthday gift to your favourite celebrity or a “guide to running the economy” to a member of the Cabinet! Christmas is coming…who will you surprise with SendSocial and who will surprise you?

There is a great team at SendSocial and I am excited to be involved, albeit on an advisory basis due to my full time commitments running ViaPost. There is a great synergy between the two businesses as both look to redefine the communications sector, taking advantage of technology and adapting to a world that expects a better service at a lower cost with minimal effort.

There are much broader applications for the SendSocial platform. Watch this space and get involved from Nov 13^th!