Postal services around the world are facing a crisis. With handwritten letters and catalogues gradually becoming things of the past, there’s less and less mail for their carriers to deliver with each passing year.
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So what can companies like PostNL do to remain relevant and useful in the 21st century, especially for members of Generation Y and their younger Millennial counterparts? That’s the question that Strategic Product Design student Evelien Veldhuijzen sought to answer while working on her MSc thesis.
Veldhuijzen interviewed her colleagues at PostNL along with her friends and family to find out what their needs and desires are in regards to postal delivery companies. In addition to wanting letters and packages delivered as quickly and conveniently as possible, a few of them told Veldhuijzen that they miss authenticity in the age of social media and WhatsApp. “The people who miss this authenticity the most are those who spend the most time on Facebook and this is generation wide,” Veldhuijzen explained during her defence on 12 May. “They want more authentic experiences though they’re all about keeping things efficient. This is a way that PostNL could provide a service that’s efficient and authentic.”
One way that companies like PostNL could boost their annual revenue, thinks Veldhuijzen, is by making postcards more appealing to their younger customers. “The market for personal postcards still accounts for €200 million a year. That’s not something you can neglect,” she said. “A large part of that €200 million is ordinary postcards sent by a letter box. It’s interesting to note that postcards used to be a way to communicate but they’re now becoming more desired because of the increased value people attach to them.”
If these companies were to introduce products like reusable stamps, apps to help customers keep track of the physical addresses of their friends and colleagues, and computer programmes that will let them design postcards at home, letter boxes might become more useful and appealing. Veldhuijzen also thinks that ‘boomerang postcards’ and similar correspondences that encourage people to swiftly respond and return them to their senders might also prove popular. This could come in especially handy for those arranging weddings and other events where speedy RSVPs are very much appreciated.
Veldhuijzen E., Timeless Postal Service, Supervisors: Dr. L.W.L. Simonse, Dr. P.C.M. Govers, and B. Yeung, Defence: May 12, 2016
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