Canada Post re-launches mail solutions programme for SMEs

Canada Post has launched a suite of products and services aimed at small businesses. The company said it was offering more ways for the nation’s 1.2m small and medium-sized businesses to succeed.

The new Canada Post Solutions for Small Business replaces the VentureOne programme.

The new programme offers free membership with no contract required, and promises “competitive” pricing with discounts that reward customer loyalty.

Canada Post said these discounts could include up to 28% off shipping rates and up to 15% off direct mail postage.

The state-owned operator is also promising additional offers on products and services from its approved partners.

Jacques Côté, Canada Post’s group president for the Physical Delivery Network, said the new programme would save entrepreneurs across the country time and money.

“By providing easier access to shipping and direct mail services, and offering incentives that really reward customers for their loyalty, we’re giving entrepreneurs what they’ve told us they want. We hope the new program will become an integral part of their success,” he said.

Canada Post is currently engaged in a major effort to improve its business in the light of the ongoing decline of its letters business.

Despite an improvement in its financial performance last year, the push to encourage more SMEs to use the mail comes as direct mail volumes have been dropping 2.2% year-on-year and transactional mail volumes have been falling by 5.2% year-on-year.

Parcels, meanwhile, remain a growth area on which Canada Post is looking to build. Last year the company generated more than $1bn in sales from its domestic parcels service for the first time.