Tag Archives: Houston

Slow Delivery in Houston Continues

Houston Standard Mail DeliveryThe new USPS delivery standards for First Class and Standard Mail that take effect on July 1, 2015 have been published.  However, we have continued to experience slow delivery both local and regional, especially with standard mail.  We encourage our clients, especially those mailing to promote scheduled events, to drop your mail an extra 7 days earlier to ensure timely delivery of your marketing mail!  We will continue to keep you apprised of delivery in the coming months as we prepare for the upcoming back to school and holiday seasons.

 

New Delivery Standards for Standard Mail

New delivery standards for Standard Mail will take effect on July 1, 2015.  See below for details:

USPS Standard mail delivery standardsWe have experienced slower than normal standard mail delivery locally and regionally.  See details on what Houston mailers are experiencing and read our recommendations for the coming back to school and holiday seasons.  Read More…

USPS Halts Closures

POSTAL POOCH CHANGESUSPS halts plan to consolidate and close processing facilities

The Postal Service has suspended its plans to consolidate or close processing facilities in 2015.

According to documents on the USPS website, the closures and consolidations dates of all plants were changed from 2015 to “to be determined,” with the exception of three plants in Asheville, N.C., Houston, Texas and Queens, N.Y.

The USPS planned to close up to 82 mail processing facilities this year and expected to save about $750 million a year by closing those facilities – money that it desperately needs after the agency recorded losses in 21 of the last 23 quarters.

Read more

 

 

Houston & N Houston Permits update

Power icons

 We published a blog with detailed information earlier about the USPS merging Downtown Houston Permit numbers into the North Houston Permit number system back in February.

STOP!  DON’T DO ANYTHING! 

The USPS is in a holding pattern as it has determined that it may be easier to merge the smaller North Houston Permit numbers into the Downtown Houston Permit number system.  As soon as a decision is made, our BEB Mail Pooch will notify you immediately.  Stay Tuned!.

Spring Seminar Classes Rated Excellent

2015-BEB SPRING SEMINAR SERIES SURVEY RESULTSOur Spring Seminar Series have come to a conclusion and once again, we are (so) pleased to share results of participant surveys.  100% of our attendees submitted surveys this round, and 100% rated the overall series as EXCELLENT!  Summer classes are in the planning stages now.

Thank you to our wonderful participants for making this series so popular.

The Bureau – A Letter from our CEO

BANNER

President & CEO, Ron Royall

President & CEO, Ron Royall

Houston, TX- We are already over half-way through the first quarter of 2015 and the year seems to be moving at lightning speed.

As our executive team planned for the coming year, we determined that our business must become even more nimble and adapt to the changing economic climate, quickly. In fact, I believe that the only consistency in our economy today, is change.

Texas has a new governor for the first time in 14 years, and the price of oil is dropping at accelerated rates. Houston led the country with 125,300 new jobs created in December, while the Federal Reserve announced in January that the state will lose approximately 125,000 jobs due to lower oil prices by mid-2015.

Social media marketing was a primary marketing strategy for several clients last year, and netted amazing results.

As the economy is ever changing, we see that our client’s needs are consistently changing too. As a result, our service offerings and skill sets are evolving to ensure we continue to serve our customers well.

Last year we expanded deeper into social media marketing, websites, wide format printing, and created several marketing strategies for a wide variety of companies.

Our primary focus for this year is to continue to develop new ways to help our clients market smarter. We’ll execute with greater agility and speed, and keep you informed of the latest industry happenings.

And so, in this edition of The Bureau, we review details of the recent USPS postal increase request, offer information on upcoming Marketing for Small Business classes, and share results of some of our marketing campaigns from 2014.

As always, we sincerely thank you for your business and partnership and look forward to serving your needs in the coming year.

Sincerely,

Signature - Ron

PRC Approves Rate Hike effective Apr 26

April 26th Rate HikeThe Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has issued orders approving some of the price changes proposed earlier by the Postal Service. After its review of the USPS filing, discussion of the input from commenters, and its own analysis, the PRC found that “the planned” prices for First-Class Mail do not violate the price cap.

The PRC has also approved the price increase for competitive products (proposed on January 26), except for some rates associated with products whose transfer from “market dominant” to “competitive” remain under review.

Rate increases will take effect on April 26, 2015. You can view the new rates by clicking below:

STANDARD NONPROFIT LETTERS AND FLATS

STANDARD LETTERS AND FLAT | FIRST CLASS LETTERS & POSTCARDS

Downtown Houston Permit Holders

BEB MAIL POOCHIf you currently hold a mailing permit number that is issued from the Downtown Houston Post Office, you will need to make some changes.

As closure of the Downtown Post Office completes, all permit numbers issued from there must be re-issued from the North Houston office.

To make the transition, you are required to re-apply (at no additional charge) for a North Houston permit number. However, North Houston may not be able to assign the same number you were given from the Downtown Post Office. If the number issued from Downtown is not currently taken by another mailer in North Houston, you will be assigned the same number. Otherwise, you will be issued a new number.

This process must be completed no later than June 15, 2015
Inventory of items already printed with the Houston permit information will be accepted throughout the balance of this year. If you currently use a permit with the verbiage “Houston”; when creating new inventory, you will need to use the verbiage, “N. Houston” going forward. A sample for your review is below.
EXAMPLE INIDICA

You can see detailed standards for mailing permit verbiage by clicking here or you can contact the North Houston Post Office at 713-226-3032.

If you need additional information or assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us at 713-528-5568.

BEB Takes Platinum Award

2015-02-01 AVA DIGITAL AWARD BEB WINS PLATINUMPlatinum is the highest honor received within the AVA Digital Award annual competition. It recognizes outstanding achievement by creative professionals involved in the concept, direction, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Our winning entry was for the use of QR Codes in our annual company interactive calendars.

The competition this year received over 2,500 entries from across the globe. The AVA Digital Awards is sponsored and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). This international organization consists of several thousand production, marketing, advertising and free-lance professionals. We thank all of our valued clients and partners for continued opportunities to serve them!

You can see our winning entry by clicking here.