Address Standardization Impacts on Data Driven Marketing

Address standardization began as a requirement for postal discounts in the early 1990s. If the address wasn’t standardized, there was no postal automation discount. This period was also the advent of postal barcoding. The barcode was derived from the address and ZIP Code^®. If the address wasn’t accurate, the barcode wasn’t correct, so again, no postal discount. Shipping a package or a mail piece to a non-existent address doesn’t help anyone. Marketing intelligence that includes incorrect or undeliverable addresses not only lacks value, but it may prove to be a hindrance.

This article helps marketers understand the effect address correction has on their campaigns.

 

The CASS – Marketing Connection

USPS^® Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS™) software processes a mailing list and enforces address standardization. Addresses across the country are continually updated. The USPS and local municipalities often add new roads, change street names, or re-draw ZIP code boundaries. When marketers correct their data files, CASS processing produces deliverable addresses recognized by the United States Postal Service^®.

Address validation and direct mail has never been more important for marketing. Prospecting for sales using the telephone is increasingly limited. No one answers their phone. It’s easy to move a message to voice mail where it is never returned. Likewise, the email marketing channel has its own challenges. Email has little permanence. Push a button and it’s deleted. Marketers are returning to direct mail to cut through digital clutter and take advantage of the channel’s impact and superior response rates. A high touch mailed postcard gets attention and can remain in the household for weeks.

 

Beyond Marketing

Address correction is not just for mailing anymore. Businesses rely on accurate address information for a variety of uses including tax computation, physical store location decisions, staffing, and more. Digital elements of multi-channel marketing campaigns also rely on correct postal addresses to choose among variable messages, images, and offers.

 

What CASS™ Address Software Does

CASS software fixes address files. If “Elm Blvd” appears in a data file and the USPS recognizes only “Elm St” in the same ZIP Code, CASS software will make the correction. In addition, records listing “Boulevard” in street name fields would be changed to “Blvd” as per postal standards and accepted abbreviations. CASS has no idea if an addressee actually lives at the corrected address. CASS Certified™ software knows addresses. It doesn’t know people.

 

Address Quality Benefits

Address standardization software allows mailers to exclude records with bad addresses, avoiding the waste and expense associated with mailing undeliverable mailpieces. The USPS destroys undeliverable Marketing Mail-your prospects never see it. The Postal Service returns First Class mailpieces to the sender, where handling and manual address correction efforts are time-consuming and expensive. Proactively correcting addresses before mailing improves deliverability, reduces waste, and improves marketing campaign ROI.

 

Address Checker

Did you use a spell checker on the last letter or document you wrote? Of course you did. The same quality control should apply to postal addresses. Think of address standardization software as an “address checker”.  Checking the addresses every time you execute a mail campaign is a winning strategy.

Communication by high-touch postal mail is seeing a new life. During the pandemic, direct mail helps people feel good… it’s secure, and it’s reliable.  A well-crafted direct mail piece has a more profound and lasting effect on the prospect than a vanishing email.

 

Delivery Point Verification

CASS software products verify an address in a range of addresses. If an address in the database falls within a range of addresses defined for a geographic area, it is coded as being accurate. For more precise validation, you can also use the actual delivery point data provided by the USPS. Commonly referred to as Delivery Point Validation™ (DPV^®), CASS software with DPV validates with precise delivery point information. For example, an empty lot has a valid address, but the USPS can’t deliver to it.  A closed business or an empty house for sale also has a valid address, but you shouldn’t send mail there either. Again, DPV doesn’t guarantee the presence of anyone at the address to receive mail, but it confirms an actual point where mail can be delivered.

 

The Better the Data, the Better the Campaign

CASS Certified software can flag data records when address details like apartment numbers or suite numbers are missing. This gives marketers and mailers opportunities to correct the deficiencies before mailing. If you were mounting a campaign to sell roof gutters, sending mail to apartment renters would be a waste. CASS software helps marketers focus on their best prospects.

Since most marketing campaigns today are personalized or highly segmented, data accuracy plays a huge part in the message, image, and offers presented to each prospective customer. The postal address pinpoints a geographic location which marketers can use to establish other data points such as average home ages and values, single family vs. multi-family dwellings, and proximity to physical stores or branches. Your marketing campaigns have a lot riding on the accuracy of your address data.

 

Where & Who Data Quality

Software that corrects delivery addresses is a great first step to increasing mail deliverability by validating the “where” component of the address. For the “who” component of the address, other software options, including National Change of Address (NCOA) capability, can improve database quality. CASS Certified processes determine if an address is a place that can receive mail. The “who” is not as important if there is no “where” to deliver. Address checkers for mail are essential. Just like a spell checker for your documents, they should be deployed as a part of everyday correspondence to improve the quality of data used for marketing and mailing purposes.