Swiss show strong mail bias in business communication

The written letter still has a “bright future” in business according to Swiss Post, despite the widespread move to internet-based communications. It has surveyed 1,600 individuals and businesses in both French and German-speaking Switzerland – finding that three out of four of them would like to continue receiving business correspondence like invoices and statements through the mail.

As a result, Swiss Post said it was “convinced” that the letter business would remain a strong pillar of the company in the long-term.

“The studies show that physical communication between senders and recipients continues to enjoy great popularity and that letters and promotional mailings have a greater impact than electronic mail,” said Swiss Post, which delivered 2.37bn addressed letters last year.

The survey was carried out by market research institutes GfK Switzerland and Polyquest during the autumn of 2010 and summer 2011.

Some 76% of those surveyed said they preferred receiving business reminders in paper form, 71% were in favour of paper-based invoices and 67% wanted their statements in paper form.

“Higher perceived value”

Swiss Post suggested there were still “misgivings” about security in sending information electronically, and that customers appreciated the “higher perceived value, binding nature and simple archiving” associated with letters.

The survey results also suggested there was a greater impact from physical mail used for advertising – particularly compared to email, which was seen as a more impersonal form of advertising, while companies advertising through the mail were seen as more reputable than emailers.

Among Swiss companies, 97% surveyed still send correspondence by post because of the attention and impact it achieves.

Swiss Post said that business correspondence accounted for CHF 199m revenue in 2010, with the decline in mail volumes beginning to slow “significantly” last year.

“The first half of 2011 reveals an even more positive picture,” it said. “The number of addressed items has increased slightly. The latest survey results once again show that physical mail will stand its ground in the electronic world.”

The company said that it intends to continue making “huge” investments in its letter business, making processes more efficient and exploiting new potential for growth – though it will also be developing its links from the physical into the electronic world, it added.