USPS Office of Inspector General

For any business, customer service is important. It improves the brand image, keeps customers loyal, and provides insights into the customer experience. In the past, customer service operations for a major corporation would involve thousands of service agents to handle calls — from routine problems to more complex ones. Technology has changed customer service, allowing automated systems to handle routine inquiries 24 hours a day without requiring an agent.

Because of the pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service had to suspend walk-in passport application services and require appointments be made in advance. Add in a drop in international travel, again because of the pandemic, it’s no real surprise USPS experienced a 34 percent drop in passport application revenue from fiscal year 2019 to 2020.

In modern marketing, companies often draw from a chest of marketing tools to target the right customer at the right time. They mix and match a multitude of advertising channels to create an efficient campaign when every marketing dollar counts against the bottom line.