Marketing Information

Pre-Cleaning and Updating Addresses in Your Database


When you send a direct mail piece using the Addressed Admail reduced postage option, it can cost you anywhere from 60 cents to $1.25 or more for printing, mail production and postage. Items that cannot be delivered will be "recycled" by Canada Post resulting in your money going down the drain. Not only that, without updating your database you will continue to spend money on undeliverable advertising.

It makes $ense for you to spend time analyzing your database to check delivery information before sending it out for data processing and to update your list regularly.

How to Pre-Clean Addresses

No matter how large your list is please take some time to do the following:

  • Sort your list by city. Scroll through for obvious mis-spellings

  • Sort your list by province. Ensure you have the two letter designations for each province with no punctuation and match the city to the province.

  • Sort your list by postal code: a. Missing postal codes will rise to the top - look them up. b. Scroll through and check that all postal codes begin with a letter not a number. c. Ensure postal codes have one space between the first three alphanumeric characters - not a hyphen or two spaces. d. Verify that the first letter of the postal code is the right letter for the province. Here is a link to the Canada Post website to view a map of Canada showing the first character of the postal code for each province. http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/maps/fsa/ca01.pdf

  • By doing some "pre-cleaning" you will reach a higher percentage of accuracy and increase the odds of having your message delivered.

    Updating Address Information

    When a customer or prospect moves without notifying you, there are four ways to update your database.

  • Call each one and verify their address - very time consuming method but accurate.

  • Pay to have your list compared against a database of all registered moves within the last 5 years (NCOA - National Change of Address) - not very accurate as the name field must match exactly.

  • We recommend using the Return to Sender service initiated by printing the Return Postage Guaranteed postal indicia on your mail piece - you will receive undeliverable mail back. Cost: $0.75-$1.50 each. You can then delete them from your database or telephone and get the new address.

  • Use the Address Correction service by printing that postal indicia on your mail piece - you will receive it back with the new address or be given a reason for non delivery. Cost: $1.00-$1.75 each. This service is similar to the NCOA process in No. 2 above and we don't recommend using it. One reason is you will pay 25 cents more to get undeliverable mail returned only to learn they have moved if the post office cannot find a new address.

  • You may pay a little more for using a high quality data processing firm to handle your database hygiene but the results are in the output and deliverability. The better ones have compiled internal processes to catch as many problems as possible and will save you money in the long run.

    All About Mail is in the business of helping you save money on your direct mail costs.

    This report was written by Sasha Peters who has 16 years experience in the direct mail industry. She is the author of Smooth MAILING, a comprehensive guidebook for using Addressed Admail in Canada. Visit their website at www.bulkmailcanada.com for more information and learn how the new publication "Smooth Mailing" can help you! Tel: 604-729-1300 info@bulkmailcanada.com


    MORE RESOURCES:

    Marketing: 7 Lessons From Super Bowl Commercials
    Patch.com
    While spectators look forward to the commercials for entertainment purposes, I enjoy analyzing them from a public relations and marketing perspective to see if the company was on point with its strategy or if it failed miserably in promoting its brand.

    and more »


    XYDO Shifts Strategy Towards Email Marketing
    techrockies.com
    Park City-based XYDO, the startup headed by Eric Roach and Cameron Brain, said today that it has shifted its model to the B2B market. The company--which is venture backed by EPIC Ventures--originally was focused on social news, but says it is now ...
    XYDO Pivots to Pure B2B with Content Marketing PlatformMarketWatch (press release)
    Pivot Smart: Social News Network XYDO Goes Pure B2B With New Content Marketing ...TechCrunch

    all 10 news articles »


    Superbowl 2012 Breaks Social Records, Sets New Marketing Standard
    Huffington Post
    Brands that are most successful at garnering buzz before and after game day are the ones that are most forward thinking in their marketing strategy leading up to a big game. Asking for a "Like" for likes sake is no longer enough to entice fans to ...

    and more »


    The Hindu

    SIIA Survey: Marketing Executives Believe Social Media is an Effective Tool ...
    Sacramento Bee
    8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, today released "Marketing in Today's Economy"— the first SIIA publication to ...
    Conferences discuss social media & tourism, Web 3.0Bizcommunity.com
    Should blogging be part of your business marketing campaign?AmsterdamPrinting.com (blog)
    Hands-on conference teaches PR and marketing pros how to write social media ...PR NewsChannel (press release)

    all 140 news articles »


    Bella Marketing & Promotions Announces Its Collaboration With Code Purple ...
    MarketWatch (press release)
    NEW YORK, NY, Feb 08, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Bella Marketing & Promotions is proud to announce its participation in Code Purple Event NYC. The Event, which will take place on February 16, 2012 at the USS Intrepid from 7pm-11pm, will benefit ...

    and more »


    B2B Marketing Strategist Dawn Westerberg to Speak at Texas Association of CPAs ...
    Sacramento Bee
    8, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- B2B Marketing Strategist and President of Dawn Westerberg Consulting LLC (http://dawnwesterberg.com), Dawn Westerberg has announced that she will be speaking at the Texas Association of Certified Public Accountants (TACPA) ...

    and more »


    Market Leader Schedules Release of Fourth Quarter and 2011 Annual Results
    MarketWatch (press release)
    KIRKLAND, WA, Feb 08, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Market Leader, Inc. /quotes/zigman/112708/quotes/nls/ledr LEDR 0.00% today announced it will host a conference call and live Webcast to discuss fourth quarter and 2011 annual results on Wednesday, ...

    and more »


    Precision Marketing Solutions, Inc. Launches FoamRollers.com
    Sacramento Bee
    By Precision Marketing Solutions, Inc. HOLBROOK, NY, Feb. 8, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Exercise enthusiasts got a new resource today as Precision Marketing Solutions, Inc. launched FoamRollers.com. The new website features a wide variety of foam rollers ...

    and more »


    CIVCO Medical Solutions Announces Sales and Marketing Leadership Restructuring
    MarketWatch (press release)
    8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- CIVCO Medical Solutions is pleased to announce several promotions within its Radiation Oncology (RO) sales and marketing organization. "These organizational changes will improve operational focus and accountability ...

    and more »


    Aprimo Positioned as Leader in Analyst Firm's Magic Quadrant for Marketing ...
    MarketWatch (press release)
    8, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Aprimo®, a global leader in cloud-based integrated marketing software, today announced that it has again been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the "Leaders Quadrant" of the "Magic Quadrant for Marketing Resource ...

    and more »

    Google News

    home | site map
    © 2006