On the 30th April 2012 the price of postage stamps in the UK are set to rise yet again.

A 1st class stamp will increase from 46p to 60p. While a second class stamp will rise from 36p to a staggering 50p.

Sending a letter via the UK postal system is no longer a cheap method of communication. In addition to this, if you are using 2nd class mail, your letter most likely wont arrive for a few days.

Yet more, it has been reported by both the BBC and Sky News today that the Royal Mail are limiting supply of stamps to retailers before the price rise in a hope to stop consumers and businesses stocking up. It could be argued that this is blatant profiteering by the Royal Mail.

Time to switch to email?

We would suggest that if you have not done so already, it is time for your business to migrate over to email as your preferred communication method. Many large companies based in the UK have already done so – Banks, ISP’s and mobile phone networks all ask their customers if they would like to opt for paperless communications.

Along with looking after the environment by consuming less paper, email is a much more cost effective method of communication.

At EBUK, your company can broadcast 2000 emails to your customer database at a cost of £8.99 – this works out at less than 1p per communication. A huge saving over the new 60p charge imposed by the Royal Mail.

In addition to the cost, email is faster and provides more detailed tracking.

If you send a brochure via the post to your client – are you able to track if they opened and read the brochure or simply threw it in the trash? With email marketing you can, its easy and tracked automatically.

In summary, email is more cost effective, quicker and provides tangible success tracking. We would argue that now really is the time to switch over to email as your preferred communication method – even if our viewpoint may be a little biased!