Most companies send out a lot of mail throughout the years of their business. USPS mail, though not as fast as email, is a great way to get people interested in your company or brand. Whether you are using direct mail or are mailing bills, reminders and other pertinent information, the name and address must be correct. Verification software is available so that all your mail is CASS certified, which means the address is included in the USPS list of approved mailable addresses.
Standardizing
If you find that addresses aren’t approved by the USPS, it will take longer to mail the items and you can’t use bulk mail and receive discounts. If you are a business that sends out a lot of mail throughout the months of the year, you will do well to purchase address verification software that verifies and standardizes your mail for you before you go to the USPS and mail your items.
Before the address is CASS certified, it has to be standardized, which means it is converted to a standard format that corrects the address and adds all missing information, including city, state, ZIP code and the ZIP+4 code.
Abbreviations are commonly used incorrectly in mail. Court, Haven, Road and Drive are all common address names that are abbreviated in many ways, but only one way will work for USPS CASS certification. You may want to spell out words like Haven, but HVN or Hvn may be the appropriate way to write it. Other common abbreviations include avenue (AVE) and square (SQ).
Spelling is another problem in addresses. Parkway is used for many roads, but the standard form is PKWY. In other cases, you may misspell words on accident and address verification software will catch and fix those problems.
Most people don’t use the ZIP+4 code, choosing only to include the ZIP code of five digits. However, most bulk mailings from the USPS must have a +4 code in order to receive discounts, which is yet another reason to use the address verification software available.
Valid vs. Deliverable
Many addresses are valid, meaning it is a physical location. However, this doesn’t mean it is also a deliverable address, meaning that people receive mail there. If the address has been listed as vacant, mail won’t be delivered. The same is true if the address is part of an apartment complex, but there is no apartment number listed. The mail will be delivered to the lobby or returned.
Address verification through the USPS is important to ensure that mail is delivered and you receive your discounts for bulk mailing. Consider Anchor Computer Software for this and more.
