In 2019, the operating revenue of the United States Postal Service (USPS) reached a whopping $71.1 billion. The staggering revenues of the USPS are the result of the ever-increasing demand for their services, including the use of certified mail labels.
Since its introduction, USPS certified mail has transformed the way modern businesses communicate. Businesses now have a secure and professional means of communication.
Of course, one of the concerns when it comes to using simply certified mail is the additional costs involved. However, the benefits of this form of communication far outweigh any financial costs.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll tell you all you need to know about certified mail, how to send certified mail online, and the benefits involved. Read on to learn more.
What Is Certified Mail?
Certified mail is a service provided exclusively by USPS that involves essential, time-sensitive documents and materials that require tracking and secure delivery. The service was first introduced in 1955.
With certified mail, you get proof of mailing in addition to a record of delivery.
Certified mail only caters for first-class mail or priority mail. The service is available for mail delivery within the U.S. only. You can find out more about the service online.
Who Can Use Certified Mail?
Any person in the U.S. can send certified mail. Companies prefer the service because of business and regulatory factors. That’s because organizations are able to get proof of mailing and delivery.
Registered Mail vs. Certified Mail?
The top difference between registered mail and certified mail is in the way the USPS treats each of them when it comes to mail handling. Generally, the USPS provides additional security for certified mail to prevent damage, loss, and theft.
What Makes Certified Mail More Expensive?
As we mentioned before, certified mail postage caters to highly sensitive documents. That’s why the service provides added security and assurance. It’s the ideal mailing solution for documents that are time-sensitive and require proof of mailing and delivery.
The additional fees of certified mail are nothing compared to the higher costs of mistakes.
How Certified Mail Works
When the USPS delivers your certified mail, they usually require that the addressee or an authorized agent provide their signature before they receive the letter. This official delivery of mail is kept in record for two years.
There are different ways to send certified mail. Below is a list of some of them.
Certified Mail
Sending an ordinary certified mail offers you a unique tracking number, which you can check online to confirm whether your mail has reached its destination. This option allows the carrier of your letter to deliver mail to any person who receives mail at the provided address.
Certified Mail With Return Receipt
This option involves the attachment of a return receipt green card to the mail. The recipient then signs and dates the receipt upon delivery, before its send back to you by mail. This service attracts an additional fee.
Certified Mail With Electronic Return Receipt
This service attracts an additional fee that’s lower than the green card. You get an electronic version of the green card as a PDF document. The document includes the image of the signature of the recipient or a hand-stamp.
Certified Mail With Return Receipt and Restricted Delivery
Of all the certified mail options, this is the strictest. The service adds a restricted delivery service to the return receipt to ensure that the certified mail is delivered to the actual addressee. An authorized agent may also receive the mail.
What Are the Benefits of Using Certified Mail?
There are many reasons certified mail has been so popular with businesses across the country. Below, we discuss ten of them.
It Helps Create a Positive Impression With Your Customers
The way you communicate with your clients creates an impression on them. Using certified mail shows how committed you are to improving each client’s experience. It’s one of the most effective ways to entice, impress, and maintain your clients.
Don’t assume that one little mail can’t do much to boost your client’s experience. Documents sent through standard delivery usually appear different than those sent as certified mail.
Certified mail is highly professional. It proves your commitment to ensuring that documents arrive safely and on time. Customers notice these little things.
Using Certified Mail Helps Prevent Postage Errors
Sending crucial documents to your clients requires doing everything right. You need to ensure that you’ve gotten the address right, selected the appropriate mailing class, and chosen the proper amount of postage. Getting some of these things right is sometimes easier said than done, with mistakes happening often.
Unfortunately, postage errors can prove costly. Mail arrival could be delayed, and sometimes documents lost. Such cases are common in businesses that handle their mailing in-office.
Even if you use postal delivery for your mailing, this means of postal delivery is still less secure. Delivery methods that don’t have insurance or tracking cannot provide a delivery guarantee.
Certified mail provides secure tracking and transmission. This service also records all the information pertaining to delivery.
You Get Added Peace of Mind
Remember when an important mail you sent got lost or delayed? It’s one of the biggest nightmares administrators, and business owners face today, especially where the information contained in the mail is urgent and critical.
Certified mail prevents such inconveniences. When it comes to certified mail, you don’t have to worry about sensitive documents arriving at the doorstep of your client on time. With the tracking and record deliveries offered by certified mail, you have the much-needed peace of mind.
With Certified Mail, You Are Aware of All Steps of the Delivery Process
One of the biggest benefits of certified mail is the fact that clients are able to track their mail throughout the delivery process. For instance, you can know when your shipment is recorded, when it’s sent out, and when it’s delivered.
Such information is priceless when dealing with sensitive material. Whenever you notice any error, you can immediately notify the postal service.
Moreover, you never have to worry about your documents getting loss. You can always check in with your client when a document has been delivered to verify whether the delivery status is accurate.
It Helps Prevent Financial Losses
We already did mention that certified mail does cost a little more than standard postage. However, investing in this service has a huge potential for return. Losing your shipment or valuable documents through postage errors can cost your business thousands of dollars.
Given the secure nature of certified mail, the risk of document loss is near impossible.
You Can Send Mail to Post Office Boxes
Many couriers and private delivery agencies do not deliver mail to P.O. boxes. That makes it impossible for you to send mail to your clients who only have P.O. boxes instead of physical addresses.
Using certified mail services, you can have documents delivered to the P.O. boxes of your clients. The recipient will receive a notification that they have certified mail available. They’ll then visit the front desk of their post office to receive it.
You Get a Return Receipt
For archival purposes, you may require a return receipt showing that the addressee received your piece of mail. You can request this receipt at an additional fee. As we pointed out earlier, return receipts can be in the form of hard copies or PDF documents.
You Have Mail Deliveries on Record
All items you sent via certified mail stay on record for years. This is especially useful for businesses that engage in high-volume mailing.
Record-keeping is vital for recalling whether you sent a document to a client in the past or not. Regardless of whether the certified mail was delivered five years ago or not, you can easily call up all the details of the specific delivery.
You Can Easily Print Certified Mail Labels Online
With online certified mail, it’s possible to print mail labels. This is especially so if you know the weight of the mail you intend to ship. Therefore, you don’t need to visit the post office physically.
Having said that, it’s important to realize that the USPS does not allow the printing of certified mail labels on its website. However, there are lots of couriers and third-party couriers that do.
Certified Mail Encourages Clients to Read the Documents
When you’ve sent a piece of mail to your client, you want them to open and read the document as quickly as possible. Given that recipients of certified mail have to physically sign before receiving and opening the mail, chances are they’ll proceed to read the document right away.
Another added advantage is that certified mail looks more official and important than standard mail. Therefore, it’s less likely to end up in the junk pile.
Certified Mail Can Boost Your Business Communication
In the corporate world, professionalism and security in business communication can help keep you ahead. Using certified mail labels, you can achieve both of these, and so much more.
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