There’s Something Worse Than a Postal Rate Increase: Undeliverable Mail

For many mailers, the words “postal rate increase” can strike fear into their hearts. Rising postage costs directly impact budgets and can force difficult decisions about marketing campaigns and customer communications. However, there’s a silent, often overlooked drain on resources that can be far more damaging than a rate hike: undeliverable mail.

While a rate increase is a visible, quantifiable expense, the true cost of UAA mail is insidious (read about UAA trends in our previous article), encompassing a range of hidden expenses and missed opportunities that can significantly erode a mailer’s bottom line.

The Invisible Burden of Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA Mail)

Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail refers to mail that requires additional handling by the USPS due to an incorrect or outdated address. Not all UAA mail is undelivered mail. Undelivered mail specifically means the mail piece did not get delivered. For example, Marketing Mail that is UAA is typically disposed of by the USPS without feedback to the mailer, meaning not only is it undelivered, but the mailer may not be aware it was not delivered.

Beyond the immediate costs and impacts of delayed and returned mail, undeliverable mail triggers a cascade of inefficiencies and lost value:

• Additional USPS Expenses: Every piece of UAA mail requires additional handling by the United States Postal Service. This additional processing can include forwarding, returning to sender, or treating as waste – all of which contribute to the USPS’s operational costs and, ultimately, can be reflected in future rate increases.
• Lost Opportunities: When a piece of mail doesn’t reach its intended recipient, the initial investment in its creation and postage is wasted. This means lost sales leads, missed marketing opportunities, failed customer service efforts, and ultimately, a diminished return on investment for your mailing campaigns.
• Damaged Reputation: Consistently sending mail to incorrect addresses can signal a lack of attention to detail and professionalism, potentially harming your brand’s reputation with recipients and the USPS.
• Data Degradation: UAA and especially undelivered mail is a clear indicator of outdated or inaccurate address data. Ignoring this issue allows your customer database to degrade, making future mailings less effective and undermining the integrity of your marketing intelligence.
• Compliance Risks: In certain industries, maintaining accurate customer addresses is a regulatory requirement. A high volume of UAA mail can expose your organization to compliance risks and potential penalties as well as increased fraud risks..

Beyond the Cost: The Impact on Your Business

The financial implications are just one piece of the puzzle. UAA mail also impacts operational efficiency and strategic planning:

• Wasted Resources: Beyond postage, consider the cost of printing, materials, and labor involved in creating and preparing mail that never reaches its destination. Contact center staff is also overwhelmed by queries about missing correspondence. These resources could be better allocated to effective campaigns.
• Ineffective Communication: If your mail isn’t reaching your customers, your communication strategy is fundamentally flawed. This can lead to decreased engagement, customer churn, and a disconnect between your business and its audience.
• Misleading Metrics: A high volume of UAA mail can skew your marketing campaign metrics, making it difficult to accurately assess performance and make informed decisions about future initiatives.
• Out of Sight, Out of Mind: The default handling for undeliverable Marketing Mail is disposal by the USPS with no feedback to the mailer.  As a result, mailers that are not requesting such feedback will waste pieces in future mailings and are missing out on vital data that can be used to refine the targeting of future mailings.

What Can Mailers Do? Two Strategies for Attacking UAA

The good news is that mailers are not powerless against the rising tide of undeliverable mail. By taking proactive steps, you can significantly reduce UAA and transform it from a hidden cost into a manageable, even preventable, issue.

1. Reduce the Volume of UAA Mail at the Source: The most effective way to combat UAA starts with ensuring that you have a complete, correct, and current address at the time of capture. Then, implement robust address quality (AQ) maintenance and mailing solutions and processes that verify and correct addresses before mail is even printed. This proactive approach prevents mail from becoming undeliverable in the first place. Finally, capture and apply information learned from a mailing to positively impact future mailings.  Consider integrating address data quality solutions into your data entry, customer onboarding, maintenance, mailing, and return mail processes.
2. Reduce the Impact and Costs of UAA Mail: Even with the best preventative measures, some mail will inevitably become undeliverable. For these instances, focus on strategies that minimize the financial and operational impact:
   • Utilize ACS™ (Address Change Service): Employing ACS™ allows you to receive electronic notifications of why the piece was UAA – including address changes so you can quickly update your database.  ACS™ allows mailers to get the information faster, to feed more efficient processes, and can eliminate the need for physical returns and associated handling.
   • Implement Secure Destruction: For sensitive or confidential First-Class mail that is undeliverable, mailers can utilize the USPS’s  secure destruction rather than allowing the pieces to incur additional circulation and handling.

Undeliverables Should NOT Be a Cost of Doing Business

The mindset that undeliverables are simply an unavoidable cost of doing business is outdated and detrimental. With easy access to advanced address quality solutions, undeliverable mail can and should be “addressed” immediately and proactively.

Understanding UAA volumes and root causes not only allows mailers to reduce waste and risks, but actually can (and have) lead mailers to sub-scenarios and sub-processes that increase response rates.

By prioritizing address quality and implementing smart UAA management strategies, mailers can unlock substantial savings, improve campaign effectiveness, and strengthen their relationships with customers. Focusing on these hidden costs is not just about saving money; it’s about optimizing your entire mailing operation and ensuring your messages always reach their intended audience.