Review of postal users' needs
New research from Ipsos for Ofcom shows that people are still emotionally attached to the post, even though we are using postal services less and less at home and in small businesses.
New research from Ipsos for Ofcom shows that people are still emotionally attached to the post, even though we are using postal services less and less at home and in small businesses. The public think services should change to reflect our changing lifestyles.
Two different qualitative studies, completed in spring 2012 and published today as part of Ofcom’s review of postal user needs, reveal different aspects of the British public’s relationship with the postal services.
Through deliberative workshops with residential and small business customers, we identified eight core needs which the public want the post to fulfil. Currently the postal service is felt to meet needs in some areas, but because the ways we communicate are evolving all the time, the service may need to change to keep up.
Discussion groups with residents and interviews with small businesses explored what people expected and wanted from post. These conversations also revealed that participants felt the postal service should modernise and become better able to accommodate changing ways of communicating and working.
Sarah Castell, Head of Qualitative Methods, who directed the research on postal user needs, said;
“The workshops and groups gave a number of people the chance to discuss with one another how the post affects us all, to compare their own views with those of others, and to think about what everyone in society needs. The sessions were very discursive and this helped the public explore how the post plays a social as well as practical role.”
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