THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 1995 TAG: 9503290532
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
The U.S. Postal Service has a new motto. Sort of.
``So long as it's not illegal or immoral we'll do everything we can to get your business,'' says Norman Kravitz, a Postal Service account representative who handles customers' packages and parcel services.
Faced with rising costs and burgeoning competition from various media and other delivery services, the U.S. Postal Service is trying to woo business clients in Hampton Roads. It celebrated the grand opening of its Business Center with an open house Tuesday.
Eight postal service consultants will staff the facility, based in Norfolk Commerce Park. They're experts on everything from bulk mail to parcels to mail-package design.
The center will cater mainly to small and medium-sized business owners. The consultants will give free advice to local firms about how to cut costs on mail fliers and packages.
Postal officials hope the free assistance will create loyalty to the federal mail services, said Linda Ball, manager of the Hampton Roads and Richmond offices.
The postal service has been bombarded with growing competition in recent years. Business people can choose from delivery services like United Parcel Service, the industry leader in package delivery, and nontraditional communication services like America Online.
Rising costs and smaller budgets forced a 3-cent increase to 32 cents for first-class mail recently.
Postal officials opened the Norfolk center with the specific intention of targeting smaller businesses. They located the office in a business park and sent notices about the grand opening to the 4,800 Hampton Roads firms that have registered bulk-mail licenses. About 200 company representatives attended the open house.
Some people just like the old-fashioned way of reaching people.
``Direct mail is better,'' said Fran Solesbee, a media coordinator at Coastal Video Communications Corp. in Virginia Beach, which makes safety videos for industrial companies. ``We get a direct response.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Les Hull, left, and Betty Koebler, owner of Century 21 Realty Corp.
in Virginia Beach, pick up supplies from the new U.S. Postal Service
Business Center during an open house Tuesday.
by CNB