Banks, utilities, local authorities and telecom providers are being urged to keep printing, if only to give vulnerable and disadvantaged customers a choice in how they receive communications.
This is the recommendation of a report by the Data and Marketing Association called Multichannel guidance for customers in vulnerable circumstances. During lockdowns mail played a crucial role in supporting these groups with services that improved lives, says the report.
And this is not something restricted to a minority. The definition encompasses the disabled, elderly people and those living in rural areas – or indeed other individuals – without access to broadband.
In 2019, the Financial Conduct Authority calculated that as many as 24.1 million people in the UK could be covered by one of these descriptions. And the pandemic is thought to have increased this to 27.7 million.
The Keep Me Posted campaigning organisation has endorsed the report’s findings. Judith Donovan, Keep Me Posted’s chair, says: “We welcome these finding that clearly illustrate that mail is a vital tool when communicating with people in vulnerable circumstances.
“Many people prefer to receive and send information by post as they either don’t have the skills to respond online or have no access to a computer, printer, scanner or broadband. It’s a relief when they don’t have to call on a family member or friend to help them upload or download attachments, and that a paper document is still available.”
The DMA’s report urges marketing and informational mailings to consider which of 11 possible channels people want to use for communication. And it provides a check list, pointing to the advantages and disadvantages of each channel.
The only channel that addressed every challenge was printed mail. “Indeed, it is the only channel that meets every requirement on the DMA’s checklist, adding further weight to our argument that organisations should not charge customers extra for receiving paper bills and statements,” she says.
Keep Me Posted began in Australia as a response to the increasing use of digital only messaging to customers. It stresses the consumer’s right to choose how they wish to be communicated with. The campaign is a partnership of more than 125 concerned organisations, including Age UK, Mencap, the Countryside Alliance, Scope, the Institute of Consumer Affairs and Moneysavingexpert.com.
