Stamps.com 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
(2) getting electronic Delivery or Signature Confirmation at 40 to 70 cents less per package than the comparable services at a
retail USPS post office; (3) an automatic check of all addresses against the USPS database, so postage is not wasted on
undeliverable-as-addressed mail; (4) avoiding wasted postage by calculating the exact amount of postage that is needed
depending on mail class, mail form, weight and distance to the destination; (5) tracking and controlling postage expenditures in a
small office using cost codes built into our software; and (6) paying a monthly service fee that is up to 75% less than the total
cost of an entry-level postage meter, where users typically pay monthly rental fees, maintenance fees, postage purchase
surcharges, cleaning fees, and fees for proprietary ink cartridges.
Some of the other benefits of using our service noted by our customers include: (1) mail produced with our service is more
professional looking than stamped mail, helping a smaller business resemble a larger business; (2) providing the ability to send
USPS packages with Hidden Postage
TM
, which hides the actual amount paid for postage (a useful feature for e-commerce
companies that may not want the recipient to see actual shipping cost information); (3) helping a business reduce its customer
support costs by automatically generating and sending package delivery status e-mails to its customers; (4) providing a complete
record of all mail or packages sent, allowing our customers to easily keep a record of all sent mail; (5) generating a single bar-
coded form that represents multiple packages in a single shipment so that the USPS can scan the single form to accept all of the
packages at once and the customer gets a record that all the packages were accepted by the USPS; and (6) allowing enterprise
customers to track and control postage spending across their distributed network of individual locations centrally from corporate
headquarters.
Marketing of PC Postage
We target our PC Postage marketing at small businesses, home offices, medium-size businesses and large enterprises, and
within these segments we target both mailers and shippers. We market our PC Postage services through the following channels:
•
Affiliate Channels.
We utilize the traffic and customers of smaller web sites and other businesses or individuals that are
too small to qualify for a partnership directly with us by offering financial incentives for these small businesses and
individuals to drive traffic to our web site through a third party affiliate management company.
•
Direct Mail.
We send direct mail pieces to prospective customers with prospect lists purchased from third parties or
obtained from partners.
•
Direct Sales.
We utilize a direct sales force for higher-priced Enterprise and Professional Shipper versions of our PC
Postage service.
• Offline Marketing Programs. We utilize various other offline advertising and marketing programs including
telemarketing, traditional media advertising, retail and other programs.
•
Partnerships.
We work with strategic partners in order to leverage their web site traffic, marketing programs, and
existing customer base to distribute our PC Postage software. For example, these partnerships may result in a link to our
website from a partner’s website, a copy of our software included along with a partner’s software product, the
distribution of our software at a retail location, or the bundling of our software with a hardware device. Our partnerships
include Microsoft, Avery Dennison, and Hewlett Packard.
•
Remarketing.
We remarket our services to former customers. Our remarketing efforts are generally focused on new
features that may relate to the reasons former customers stopped using our service. We utilize e-mail and regular mail to
communicate new features of our products to our former customers.
• Traditional Online Advertising.
We work with companies to advertise our services online through paid searches, banner
ads, permission-based emails, and other online advertising vehicles.
• USPS Referrals. We utilize the nationwide USPS Account Manager network to market and sell our services to
customers. We market to the account managers by attending regional and national meetings and forums, and
participating in local vendor calls. We also receive referrals directly from the USPS website at www.USPS.com .
5