Mail still relevant to businesses

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), August, 1996

Despite the rising use of fax and e-mail, business executives clearly believe that mail is a vital part of the business communications mix. Three-fourths of business executives read mail as soon as it is received, 65% feel strongly that letters are important when conducting official business; and 69% consider mail an excellent means of assuring confidentiality, according to a poll by the Wirthlin Group, a New York-based opinion research firm, conducted for the U.S. Postal Service. The survey covered sales, marketing, human resources, finance, and accounting departments from corporations of all sizes.

Other key findings indicate that 87% of executives in firms with revenues of $1-10,000,000 use first-class mail once a day or more. Seventy-four percent of human resources executives indicate that job seekers initially should contact prospective employers by mail, rather than by telephone or fax.