USPS Postal Customer Gateway…

Sat through a seminar last week for the Business Postal Gateway the USPS is offering and I found it fascinating as the speaker mentioned many times all the wonderful things we can do on it, but she wasn’t sure what our site actually looked like or how to Navigate it… cause hers is not the same… sigh…

Change in Postal Requirements for Business Mail

The United States Postal Service® reports that over 44 million Americans change their address annually. 

How many of these people are your customers? 

Keeping up with all that change may seem like a daunting task, but if you want to keep these customers you must insure that your mail reaches them.  DataMart Direct is committed to helping you get the most out of your mailing and the most effective way to do so is by staying current with postal regulations.  The latest change in postal regulations is the revisions to the Move Update requirements.

In 2004 the Postal Service handled 9.7 billion pieces of Undeliverable as Addressed (UAA) mail at a cost of $1.85 billion. An independent study revealed that Standard Mail® accounted for 62.8% of that UAA mail. These results are the primary reason for the addition of Standard Mail® to the Move Update requirements. (USPS®)

Since November 23rd to qualify for maximum postal discounts your mail must adhere to the new Move Update requirements. The new Move Update standards not only include Standard Mail® but also increase the minimum frequency of Move Update processing from 185 days to 95 days prior to the date of the mailing. Therefore now all discount First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® mailers (letters, flats, parcels and Not Flat-Machinables) must update their customer data using an approved solution within 95 days prior to the date of the mailing.

The approved method that DataMart Direct will be using is NCOALink . This process helps to reduce UAA mail by correcting addresses before the mailing is printed. Move Update predecessors such as ACSTM Service, National Change of Address (NCOA) and the FASTforward® system have been saving mailers millions of dollars, since 1986, by catching UAA that otherwise would have resulted in wasted materials and postage. NCOALink continues this trend and, like its predecessors, provides the following benefits:

• Reduces undeliverable mail by providing the most current address information for matches made to the NCOALink file
• Address correction is applied prior to the mailing preventing re-mailings after address corrections are received
• By using most current address information, mailer’s costs are reduced by reducing the number of undeliverable mailpieces
• Provides the opportunity for faster product/service marketing through accurate mail delivery

This change will cause additional processing, but you will ultimately save money by reducing money spent on mailpieces that never reach their intended recipient.

An address and an intended recipient are the two things all mailpieces have in common, regardless of size, weight, class or anything else. When both are current the Postal Service® can deliver them quickly and easily. However, if the address is incorrect or the intended recipient has moved the mailpiece could become undeliverable therefore becoming a waste of time, effort and money for you and the Postal Service®.

Besides saving you money by reducing wasted postage and materials DataMart Direct will return your list to you with all the necessary corrections made. For more information please give DataMart Direct a call at 630-307-7100.

Source: United States Postal Service®

The following trademarks are owned by the United States Postal Service®: [United States Postal Service®, The Postal Service®, USPS®, First-Class Mail®, Standard Mail®, ACSTM, FASTforward®, NCOALink].”