® 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 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

® 33 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

® 4 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

® 55 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?

® 66  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?

® 77 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

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

® 99 Great Addressing Is Important!  Keep postage costs in check

® 10 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

® 11 Can You Recognize A Bad Address?

® 12 Can You Recognize a Bad Address?

® 13 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

® 14 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

® 15 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

® 16 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

® 17 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

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

® 20 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

® 21  Reduce postage costs  Reduce printing costs Example: 10,000 piece mailing X 5% (average UAA rate) equals 500 mailpieces with errors Saved postage at First Class rate $0.435 X 500 = $217 Saved printing at $0.95/folded sheet X 500 = $475 Savings = Value of Correcting Your Data $692* That is what you saved, but what have you lost? *Money saved in postage and printing by not printing and mailing to bad addresses.

® 22  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!

® 23 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

® 24 #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

® 25 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

® 26 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™

® 27 STID Components  Mail Class First-Class Periodicals Standard Package Services  The Mail Entry Option you’re using Full-Service Basic Non-Automation  IMb Tracing™

®  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

® 29 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

® 30 Questions?