Did you know up to 40% of all address changes are not reported to the USPS? Demographically, millennials are three times more likely to move, and make up a large number of those who don’t file address changes - yet they also value receiving direct mail. In fact, according to Statista, in 2022 direct mail held a bigger ad revenue share than its other printed counterparts – newspapers and magazines. In addition, more than a third of marketers in the United States still turn to direct mail as a marketing channel for their campaigns. Making sure addresses are correct and up-to-date is a step worth taking to ensure maximum customer reach.
How does National Change of Address (NCOA) processing work?
NCOA processing works by comparing the names and addresses on your mailing list against the USPS NCOALink database of over 160 million change of address records for the last 48 months, and the Canada Post NCOA database of over 10 million change of address records for the last 72 months, or both. This allows businesses to:
- Save money by reducing Undeliverable-as-Addressed (UAA) mail
- Stay in touch with customers who have moved
- Meet USPS Move Update standard for postal discounts
Going beyond NCOA for address accuracy
Tapping into a multisource change-of-address (mCOA) and proprietary change-of-address (pCOA) as standard operating practice is an effective way for marketers to minimize UAA mail. These proprietary options contain millions of records from sources such as magazine subscriptions, catalog houses, insurance companies, credit bureaus, mail-order retail management systems (RMS), and others. Data processed against both NCOA records and pCOA and mCOA tools results in a greater number of records that are correct, updated, and enhanced.
Acknowledging the shift in traditional paths to improve customer connections
Direct marketers must keep up with lifestyle trends to stay connected to their customers. Between the increase in remote and/or hybrid work arrangements and the number of millennials who move each year, maintaining accurate addresses is more important than ever. Complementing NCOA processing with proprietary options to complete the picture helps businesses ensure clean, accurate mailing lists and enables them to leverage psychographics, demographics, socioeconomic data, and real insight to reach valuable customers and prospects.
How can Melissa help marketers stay connected to customers?
As a provider of global data quality and address management solutions, Melissa is an NCOALink Full Service Provider licensee of the USPS. Our MAILERS+4 postal automation software is USPS PAVE Gold certified to presort mail to qualify for postal discounts on First Class, Marketing Mail (Standard Mail) and Periodicals. For more information on our direct mail solutions and high-quality mailing lists and sales leads, visit https://www.melissa.com/direct/ or connect with a member of our team by calling 1-800-MELISSA. Don't forget to subscribe to our blog for everything related to data quality!