® 11 The ROI of Great Address Quality SANTA ANA DISTRICT PCC Scott Jones: Manager Business Mail United States Postal Service ® Jim Green: Postal Affairs Automobile Club of So CA.

® 22 Overview  What is a quality address  How address validation tools can help  ROI of Address Quality  Determining the right COA Process  Common COA Problems

® 33 Great Addressing Is Important! A quality address helps:  Acquire customers  Retain existing customers  Increase response rate  Keep postage costs in check

® 44 Why Address Validation Matters  Address Validation is one of the key components to your mailing process  Addresses that do not validate are at risk of non-delivery  Databases go “stale” over time without continually updating the information  There are many reasons an address can fail. You need to ensure they are: Complete Correct Current

® 55 Can You Recognize A Bad Address?

® 66 Can You Recognize a Bad Address?

® 77 What is a Quality Address? A quality address is defined when: All necessary elements are complete and correct… Pre-directional Primary address number Street name Street suffix Post-directional Secondary identifier Secondary number City State ZIP + 4 ® code

® 88 What Is A Standardized Address? Address elements are printed on envelopes in standard format:  Format all lines of the address with a uniform left margin  Uppercase letters are preferred on all lines of the address block  Fully spell out or abbreviate words using USPS ® standard abbreviations ribbs.usps.gov  Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards

® 9 CASS ™ Product  USPS ® certified benchmark  Sets minimum performance standards for commercial ZIP + 4 ® address matching software  Developers must pass USPS test for CASS certification  Address matching software attempts to match addresses against range-based records on USPS ZIP + 4 file  Pr ing process

® 10 DPV ® Product  Confirms the existence of a deliverable address  Identifies a commercial mail receiving agency  Improves address assignments  Helps to reduce UAA Is 249 High St in ZIP Code™ a valid address? Yes or No

® 11 Address Management – Ongoing Process  Each mailer is different – there is not a one-size fits all solution  Managing address changes is not a point in time event  The initial address capture is critical to all addressing processes including getting a COA hit  The Move Update compliance requirements have to be met but just meeting the requirements might not be the right solution to maximize your address quality  As with any business process, establish metrics to determine where addressing issues exist

® 12 Things To Remember About COA  Name matching criteria is different NCOA Link® has the strictest  The NCOA Link output provides a lot of data that can be used for metrics  Important to match against date the address was last changed when updating COAs  The process should validate that the new address DPV ® confirms  Full Service provides free ACS ™ for automation mailpieces

® 13 LACS Link® Product  Provides a database of municipality-introduced address changes  The data is provided by USPS ® through the LACS Link product Conversions come into the database from Postal carriers and municipalities  Updating the addresses using LACS Link data ensures deliverability and prevents further UAA mail

® 14 Scenario: LACS Conversion  LACS stands for Locatable Address Conversion System  It reassigns rural addresses to a more friendly format that is more easily accessible by emergency services Example: RR 2 Box 317 Beaver Falls, PA Becomes Halas Ln Beaver Falls, PA

® 15 Scenario: LACS conversion LACS also provides updated rural addresses when they expand an address range - usually because they have run out of numbers - and reassigns addresses within that area. Example: Forman Rd Polson, MT Becomes Forman Rd Polson, MT

® 16 Suite Link® Product  Improves address assignments to business addresses by adding known secondary (suite) numbers  Provided a business name and an associated ZIP + 4 ® coded address matches to a high-rise default, the Suite Link process will return the appropriate suite number when available

® 17 LACS Link® Return Codes A LACS Link Record Match - The input record matched to a record in the master file. A new address could be furnished. 00 No Match - The input record COULD NOT BE matched to a record in the master file. A new address could not be furnished 09 LACS Link Record Match: Highrise Default – The input record matched to a record in the master file, but the old address is a high-rise default. 14 Found LACS Link Record: New Address Would Not Convert at Run Time - The input record matched to a record in the master file. The new address could not be converted to a deliverable address 92 LACS Link Record: Secondary Number Dropped from Input Address – The input record matched to a master file record, but the input address had a secondary number and the master file record did not. The record is a ZIP + 4 street level or high-rise match

® 18 NCOA Link®  USPS ® licensed product using address change information when individuals or businesses inform the USPS of their move  Provides electronic Change-of-Address information  Average correction rate (with new address) – 3.21%  Three different license types  Variable costs  Pr ing process

® 19  A pr ing Move Update method leveraging USPS ® provided data  Data delivery from USPS to certified licensees  Four levels of usage for certified licensees: End User Mailer (18 months of data updated monthly) Mail Processing Equipment (MLOCR)(18 months of data updated weekly) Limited Service Provider (18 months of data updated weekly) Full Service Provider (48 months of data updated weekly) NCOA Link® Service

® 20 AEC & AEC II ®  USPS ® provided service for all customers  Resolves physical address deficiencies  Sent to the USPS on electronic media  AEC Cost - $20.00 per thousand Average correction rate - 28%  AEC II Cost - $0.30 per record Average: 88% resolution rate Average: 60% correction rate  Pr ing process

® NCOA Link® Total Records Processed and Corresponding Matches

® 22 UAA Mailpiece Disposition There are several options:  Return all  Dispose all as waste  Forward or return  Forward or dispose as waste

® 23 Mail Treatment  The default treatment for First-Class Mail ® is to be forwarded or returned with no additional postage paid and no address correction notice  Unendorsed Standard Mail ® or Bound Printed Matter is disposed as waste with no notice to the mailer  Standard Mail and Bound Printed Matter can be forwarded or returned but requires additional fees and a printed Ancillary Service Endorsement (ASE). For instance the weighted fee for a 1 oz. piece of Standard Mail that could not be delivered or forwarded is currently $1.14

® 24  CASS™ Report 3553 DPV ® LACS Link® Suite Link® Total ZIP + 4 ® Coding  CASS Summary Report  AEC Summary Reports  NCOA Link® Summary Report Documentation From List Vendor

® 25  Reduce postage costs  Reduce printing costs Example: 10,000 piece mailing X 5% (average UAA rate) equals 500 mailpieces with errors Saved postage at Standard Mail ® rate $0.29 X 500 = $145 Saved printing at $0.95/folded sheet X 500 = $475 Savings = Value of Correcting Your Data $620* That is what you saved, but what have you lost? *Money saved in postage and printing by not printing and mailing to bad addresses.

® 26 The Real Money is in Fixing the UAAs From previous example of 500 UAAs  Use AEC = $10.00 (there is a min., but you can group lists) $20.00/1,000 typically fixes 32% of UAAs 500 x 0.32 = fixed 160 now only 340 UAAs  Use AEC II ® = $ $0.30/resolution typically fixes 80% of UAAs 340 x 0.80 = fixed 272 now only 68 UAAs

® 27 The Real Money is in Fixing the UAAs From previous example of 500 UAAs  Upload remaining UAAs to List Company =$17.00 $0.25 x 68 fixing 50% of UAAs 68 x 0.50 = fixed 34 now only 34 UAAs remain Total spent fixing 466 records = A short demonstration about using a list company to correct addresses older than 4 years. (USPS ® NCOA Link® Full Service License database only goes back 4 years) $129.00

® 28 From previous example of 500 UAAs  466 records fixed for $  If the response rate was 5% and the average value of a sale was $150  466 delivered pieces x 0.05 response = 23 sales  $150 per average sale = $3,450 in sales  For $129.00, you generated $3,450 in revenue Would you rather save $620 by not mailing to those 500 UAAs or make $3,450 in potential revenue from those corrected addresses? This is a 1 to 26.7 ratio. If you mark it up 100%, it is a 1 to ratio The Real Money is in Fixing the UAAs

® 29  The quality of your address data directly affects the deliverability of your mail!  USPS ® provides an extensive suite of Address Quality products and services; check out ribbs.usps.gov.  USPS is committed to continuous address hygiene improvements to enhance the value of mail.  Small efforts can bring big results!

® 30 Hardcopy Address Correction  Either return of the piece with the correction or reason for nondelivery affixed, or  A separate address correction provided as an image of the piece with the associated old and new address or reason for nondelivery, PS Form 3547  Return postage or address correction fee may apply

® 31 #BWNFXZT #P X 7 # JOHN E SMITH 916 N 5TH ST APT 3 SPRINGFIELD IL ACS ™ Service  Post-mailing service provided by the USPS ®  Participants include an identification code on the mailpieces Traditional (printed participant code as shown left) OneCode ACS ® or Full Service (IMb ™ as shown on right) JOHN E SMITH 916 N 5TH ST APT 3 SPRINGFIELD IL

® 32 ACS™  Traditional ACS™, OneCode ACS ® or Full Service ACS  Provides electronic Change of Address notices for undeliverable mailpieces  Mailers apply a participant code and an optional keyline OR Intelligent Mail ® barcode to mailpiece  Requires an ancillary service endorsement  Can reduce costs associated with manual returns and manual keying of data  Centralized fulfillment option (SingleSource)  Post-Mailing process

® 33 What is a Service Type ID (STID)?  The Intelligent Mail ® barcode allows the 3-digit Service Type ID field to contain information that tells USPS ® which treatment you want for your Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail  These services include mailpiece disposition address correction options IMb Tracing™

® 34 STID Components  Mail Class First-Class Periodicals Standard Package Services  The Mail Entry Option you’re using Full-Service Basic Non-Automation  IMb Tracing™ Based on the retired Confirm ® product Destinating

®  Instructions to USPS ® for disposition of your undeliverable mail Forward Return Dispose as waste  Instructions to USPS for address correction format, if any Hardcopy ACS ™ STID Components

® 36 Table 4 Partial STID table from the Guide to Intelligent Mail ® Letters and Flats.

® 37 Resources for Service Type IDs  A Guide to Intelligent Mail for Letters and Flats New, fully loaded Table 4: uments/tech_guides/stid.pdf  Appendix A: Ancillary Services – Service Type Identifier (STID) Detailed Explanation: nts/tech_guides/AncillaryServices_STID_Detailed_E xplanation.pdf  IMb Tracing ® home page: confirm/landingConfirmLaunch.jsp

® General Advice  Do not request forwarding for Standard Mail ® (Forwarding Service or Address Service Requested) unless you really want to pay x the single piece price to get it back.  Do consider allowing First-Class Mail ® that you do not need returned or you do not want forwarded to be disposed as waste.  Do use both Table 4 for the quick lookup and Appendix A for all the details around the STIDs, associated endorsements, constraints, and what will happen to the piece if the barcode isn’t read.  Do use the general Ancillary Service Endorsement Electronic Service Requested when requesting a service for the most flexibility in use of your Mailer ID.  Do plan for STID changes and updates in your mail preparation software.

® 39 Physical Address UAA Missing Apt or Ste Number Incorrect Number Incorrect Recipient Missing Number Missing RR or Box Number Incorrect Street Name ACME PRODUCTS 4759 WESTERN ST NEW YORK NY CARL SHULER 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL CARL SHULER 1914 LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL CARL BROWN 1414 LAKE ST APT CHICAGO IL CARL SHULER LAKE ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL CARL SHULER PO BOX CHICAGO IL Millions of Pieces CARL SHULER 1414 LARK ST APT 3A CHICAGO IL Common Address Quality Problems Millions of Pieces

® 40 USPS ® has determined that up to 23% of all mail contains addressing errors. Common errors: Addressee moved …………………………………2.4% Directional/Suffix missing ……………………… % Street name/Number incorrect/invalid ……… % ZIP Code™/City incorrect …………………………4.8% Apt number/Rural Box number missing …………4.5% Total23.6% USPS—AEC and AEC II ® User Guide, p. 3

® 41 Bad Addressing Issues  Inconsistent filling of fields  Missing gender indicator  Trailing space after name or address  Misspelled words/Improper abbreviations  Missing or wrong street, directional, prefix, suffix  City, state, or ZIP Code™ missing or in conflict  Missing or incorrect secondary address information  Incorrect company legal name or reference name  Dual names  Extraneous information in name field

® 42 Move Update describes the process of periodically matching a mailer’s address records with customer- filed Change-of-Address orders received and maintained by the Postal Service™ Move Update = Fewer Forwarded and Returned Mailpieces What is Move Update?

® 43  Presorted or Automation discounts for First-Class Mail ®  Standard Mail ® discounts  Addresses on mailpieces updated using an approved method within 95 days prior to the mailing date  First-Class Mail or Standard Mail mailpieces with exceptional or an alternative address format are not required to meet Move Update requirements (Note: mail is not forwarded) Or Current Resident Postal Customer Who Must Use Move Update?

® 44 Four Pre-Approved Methods:  Ancillary Service Endorsements  ACS™, OneCode ACS ®, and Full-Service ACS  NCOA Link®  NCOA Link® for Multiline Optical Character Readers Move Update Methods

® 45 DPV ® –Identify inaccurate or incomplete addresses LACS Link® –Locatable Address Conversion System. Automated process of obtaining new address when the address has been changed by the local planning authority or building management Suite Link® –Improves address assignments to business addresses by adding known secondary (suite) numbers AEC –Address Element Correction. Corrects and standardizes address elements on the worst addresses not resolved by CASS™ NCOA Link® –National Change of Address. Aids mailers in identifying address changes before mail enters the mail stream ANK Link® –Attempted Not Known. For NCOA Link® limited service providers and end user mailers. ANK Link® is an enhancement to the existing 18 month NCOA Link product. ANK Link provides an additional 30 months of COA information. ACS™ –Cost effective means of obtaining accurate change of address information UAA –Undeliverable As Addressed Glossary

® 46 Questions?