Accurate Addressing: Beyond Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

By Adam Collinson

Close Enough Is NOT Good Enough For Accurate Addressing.

When I entered the Address Quality world over 2.5 decades ago, I was surprised to learn that over 25% of mail submitted to the USPS was undeliverable as addressed, with more than 70% of these issues related to Change of Address.  Shockingly, most of this mail still got delivered thanks to the extra efforts of USPS carriers and clerks.  When the address was “close enough,” there was a high probability that the piece would still get delivered consistently. Today, relying on that method is ill-advised and no longer as reliable.

The USPS tracks and reports on the volume and cost of what is forwarded, returned, or treated as waste.  However, they do not report on the volume and expense of what is figured out by the carrier and ultimately delivered, which requires knowledge and time, and ultimately incurs additional costs to the USPS.

Over the years, the USPS has made many changes to encourage (or force) improvements in address quality, to reduce USPS-related expenses, or transfer those expenses to mailers to help cover the additional processing costs, including:

• • Expansion of the Move Update requirements to include Marketing Mail
  • The creation of PARS – to automate  the interception and processing of pieces with a Change of Address
  • The introduction of DPV® and the subsequent elimination of discounts on additional pieces (where the individual address is not recognized as a deliverable USPS address) 
  • The introduction of SuiteLink® to add or correct secondary address information on business addresses
  • The introduction of Secure Destruction (SD) and the promotion of Green & Secure processing

Most recently:

• • With CASS™ Cycle O – the elimination of R777/9 records from qualification for postage discounts
  • The elimination of some manual (high-cost) Address Correction Services

After all, the main factor in getting many of these pieces delivered is dependent on the carriers and clerks having both the necessary time and knowledge. For years, you could see proof of this by looking at changes in Undelivered rates during times of high vs. low volume and high vs. low staffing.

The Growing Cost of Undeliverable Mail

Over the last few years, particularly the last 6-12 months, many mailers have experienced a steady increase in the rate of undelivered mail, with the most notable increases occurring on pieces and packages with address deficiencies.  This also means increased UAA costs for the USPS.

Three Steps to Better Address Quality

The cost of UAA is not negligible (and must be addressed). Want to fix it? It’s easy if you follow this mantra: Get It Clean, Keep It Clean, Keep it Current!

1. Get It Clean: 

• • Have address quality tools in place at the point of data entry to make sure that the address collected is complete, valid, and represents the type of address that you are after (mailing, shipping, and/or physical).
  • For cases where you are receiving lists and not handling the data entry, there are many ways to detect and correct many common addressing errors.  Which ones make sense will vary from mailer to mailer.

2. Keep It Clean:

• • Address information changes over time, especially Carrier Routes, ZIP+4 codes, and even ZIP codes. As you have a clean address to start with, keeping it clean is relatively easy, when you properly use available tools and apply the necessary changes.

3. Keep It Current:

• • Of course, the first thing is to ensure the recipient’s current address information is updated when they have moved (Change of Address).
  • Additionally, there are times when no one has moved, but the mailing address associated with a specific location changes – changing street names, house numbers, and even PO BOX numbers.  Again, so long as you have a clean address to start with, keeping it current as to these changes is relatively easy.

The USPS continues to supply the mailing industry with tools, data, and even incentives to promote good address quality and a reduction in Undeliverable As Addressed mail (and its associated costs). As mailers, we need to do our part in helping to reduce these shared costs and ultimately improve the deliverability of our valued messaging. 

Need Help With UAA? 

Need help? At Grayhair Software, we help the world’s top mailers optimize their postal investments and deliver “maximum, disproportionate value” by enabling:

• • Elevated Marketing Performance: Achieve higher response rates, leading to more leads, sales, and a greater return on every mailpiece.
  • Superior Customer Experience: Deliver personalized, timely communications that foster loyalty and significantly increase customer lifetime value.
  • Mitigated Risk & Fraud: Proactively identify anomalies and ensure compliance, avoiding substantial financial losses and penalties.
  • Strategic Foresight: Gain real-time insights and predictive analytics to make informed decisions, accelerate growth, and avoid costly mistakes.
  • Reduced Operational Costs (Beyond Mail): Optimize broader operational efficiency, from reducing call center volume to streamlining workflows.

Ready to meet the GrayHair team and build a plan for streamlining your postal spend?

Connect today!