We’re pretty proud of the array of features we offer to customers who want to increase address quality. If I had to list the top three ways to increase quality, it would be point-of-entry address validation, point-of-entry address validation and finally point-of-entry address validation. Not as catchy as the real estate mantra: location, location, location, but the point is if you put good information into your database, with a little maintenance, you will get high quality contact data coming out.

The Address Quality Gatekeeper

Point-of-entry address validation is like a gatekeeper for address quality. When a call center employee or website visitor enters an address, point-of-entry address validation protocols won’t let the contact information pass into the database (unless you decide otherwise) until the address is correct and known to exist.  Strictly speaking, point-of-entry address validation is really three features in one:

Address verification

Checks that the address exists in the USPS® database as a delivery point. This is great for websites that ask for contact information before giving a white paper or some other “free” download. Now you can keep nonsense addresses like 123 Abc Ave. NoneOfYourBusiness, WA out of your database.

Address correction

Ensures that any spelling errors are automatically corrected, abbreviations like Ave. or NE are corrected and placed in the correct format. Missing address elements like ZIP Code™ or apartment numbers are added.

Standardized address formatting

Converts addresses into your preferred address format. This is important for identifying duplicate addresses and change-of-address updates, all those maintenance things that are critical for keeping address quality at its best.

Direct mail campaigns are already hard enough; don’t let an address typo turn into a lost opportunity.

For more information about address quality solutions feel free to give your Satori Software rep a call at 800-553-6477, or check out the MailRoom ToolKit family of products.

address correction · address quality · address validation · data quality · mailing software · real-time point-of-entry validation

We’re back from sunny San Diego and another great National Postal Forum! While attendance may have been a little lower than previous years, this was likely more to do with the west-coast venue than a lack of interest. The buzz among attendees continued a more positive trend, as, perhaps not coincidentally, USPS executives seemed to be acknowledging the many difficulties mailers have been having with some of the new technology. And, as always, there were many great sessions to attend and lots to see on the expo floor.

News from USPS

The USPS uses NPF to announce new initiatives, and this year was no exception. Here are some changes to look for in the next year:

• A new advertising campaign will start this fall, promoting mail as a great advertising tool. The same group who brought us the successful “If it fits, it ships” commercials is testing out possible taglines for the new campaign, which will be debuting this fall.
• In early 2012, new options will be available to Full-Service Intelligent Mail users, including better mail piece and container tracking. Additional tracking will be available for parcels as well.
• Postage payment and mailing permits will be revised, allowing mailers to ship from any location with a single, universal payment account.
• A new schedule for USPS software releases (including PostalOne! and FAST) limits the number of changes to four per year.
• USPS presented a detailed plan for migration to 5-day delivery. While Congress has not yet approved this, many hours have been spent on Capital Hill talking about 5-day delivery and the savings that this will create.

The Latest Innovations

In addition to the dozens of new educational sessions, lots of new information was available on the expo floor. One of the buzz words this year is “cloud computing” — storing and processing data via the web. Processing in the cloud eliminates the need for software and data file updates, making your processes seamless and easier to maintain. We had several people asking about our Web Services, Satori’s cloud computing solution.

While POSTNET is still a valid barcode, Intelligent Mail continues to be a hot topic. USPS is adding more value for Full-Service mailers, and more options are available for piece tracking and ACS using the IM barcode from several vendors.

Mixed media, social networking and QR codes were other hot topics. Multi-channel marketing with social media tie-ins, email follow up and 2D barcodes for smartphones can really boost a marketing campaign and get some real-world results. USPS has recognized this as well, and introduced a summer “sale” for advertising mail that includes a 2D, or QR, barcode.

If you’d like to hear more about NPF, Intelligent Mail, or to learn about our cloud computing solutions, contact Satori Software for all the latest information.

barcodes · direct mail · events · Intelligent Mail · National Postal Forum · NPF · PostalOne! · USPS

This post continues our series in getting the most from your address list. To learn about address correction results, read Understanding Address Correction Results.

After processing your list through CASS and DPV, what can you do with the addresses to get the most out of your mailing? Here are some steps you can take to increase the quality of your mailings.

Step 1: Process the list through additional services

Many mailers are familiar with NCOA^Link processing, which will update addresses for people who have moved in the past 48 months. This process can also identify records where the new address wasn’t available. We will cover NCOA^Link results in another blog post.

After NCOA^Link processing, additional services can help to get more information about the addresses in your database. These services are available outside the USPS data set, but can provide valuable data about the address, and even add more information to make the address deliverable. Services available from Satori include:

• Apartment append – this service is similar to Suite^Link, which adds a suite number to a business address. For individuals, Apartment append can look up the apartment number for incomplete addresses, making the address more deliverable. This service can reduce the number of addresses with DPV problems found during CASS processing. Having this data can also result in more valid moves found during move update processing.
• ECOA (Enhanced Change-of-Address) – this service is similar to NCOA^Link, but uses data from credit bureaus, magazine subscriptions and other sources to find people who have moved, but did not file their move with USPS. Depending on the list, this process can find up to an additional 20% of moves.
• Deceased person, correctional facility and Do-Not-Mail suppression – this service, called the Suppression Suite in Satori products, identifies contacts in your database who are unwilling or unable to reply to your mail piece. By eliminating these addresses from your database, you will ensure that your message gets to someone who can respond.

Step 2: Separate good addresses from questionable and undeliverables

After getting the data back from CASS/DPV, and any additional services, you can use this data to separate the clean addresses from those that need consideration. Here are some suggested groups:

• Deliverable addresses will consist mainly of addresses “matched” during Address Correction. In Satori Software products, these addresses have an error code of 90 or less. From this set of addresses, remove any addresses with NCOA^Link errors, DPV Vacant flags or any addresses that were found using the suppression service. In Bulk Mailer products, you can use the “All Deliverable Records” group to select these addresses. These addresses have a very high probability that they will be delivered properly.
• Questionable addresses contain addresses with DPV and other errors after Address Correction. In Satori Software products, these addresses have an error code of 91 or higher. Add any NCOA^Link errors to this group. These addresses were either not complete, or for another reason were not found in the USPS data set. These addresses need some additional information to make them deliverable.
• Undeliverable addresses include addresses with DPV Vacant status, records that have moved with no forwarding information (especially foreign moves), and any addresses noted during suppression. These addresses are unlikely to be deliverable.

Step 3: Triage questionable and undeliverable addresses

Depending on the type of mail you are sending, this triage process can take seconds or weeks. Here are some options to consider when running triage with your questionable and undeliverable addresses:

• For advertising mail, sometimes it makes sense to remove any potentially difficult addresses from your list, and mail only to the deliverable addresses. This process can be done quickly, and prevents any printing and mailing costs to addresses that are not likely to reach the target recipient.
• For invoices, bills and other personalized mail, use alternate contact information such as a phone number or email address to get updated address information. This process can take some time, but will get the best data back into your mailing list.
• Depending on the cost or content of the mailing, you may choose to mail to these addresses anyway. If you do, print “Address Service Requested” on the mail piece to get more information about the address if it is undeliverable. USPS will return these undeliverable pieces to you, with additional information about why it was not delivered. This process will likely cause an increase of returned mail and each piece returned to you will incur a charge.

Step 4: Send the mailing and update your source data

While many address problems can be corrected, the best practice is to get any changed data back into your primary database. Maintaining correct and current addresses can be handled automatically in some cases, but it is important to capture data from all sources. The least updated data comes from manually returned mail, as the address changes require manual processing to update. Once your source data is clean, it will be ready for you to use with your next mailing.

Step 5: Keep it going

Once you have a clean set of addresses, your work isn’t over. With over 17% of the United States reporting a move every year, over two million deaths, and constant re-naming and re-zoning of streets, addresses don’t stay correct for long. Create and maintain a process to keep your list updated, at least once per quarter.

Stay tuned for our next blog, where we’ll review the possible results from NCOA^Link processing, with some tips for how to handle the different return codes.

address correction · CASS · data enhancement · DPV · error handling · NCOALink