In November, the USPS will make all mail smarter & reduce waste

Facts the U.S.P.S. Wants You to Know• Each year, over 2 BILLION pieces of mail

are discarded by the U.S. Postal Service.• This makes U.S. Post Office the largest

recycler of paper in the world! • Effective Nov. 23, 2008 this will change!• All mail must go through Address

Correction within the prior 95 days.

Reasons for this problem?

•Recipient moves but list owner chooses not to update their file with USPS approved method.

•Faulty address - doesn’t match USPS database.

•Mailer uses inefficient, error-prone manual method to update addresses.

•Paper stock or design jams in postal equipment.

44 Million Address Changes

• Based On Addresses Processed by U.S.P.S.• Economics - Lower income move most

often but mid and upper move for jobs, better lifestyle.

• Geographics - From north to south.• Metropolitan - From city to suburbia.• 14% of households move annually per

U.S.P.S.• Up to 18% of those under 30 or over 55

move.

By Not Keeping Addresses Current, You Lose

Customers & Prospects

What Happens If 14% Move Each Year?

• YEAR 1 - 10,000 names, loss is 1,400

• YEAR 2 - 8,600 names, cumulative loss 2,604

• YEAR 3 - 7,396 names, cumulative loss 3,639

• YEAR 4 - 6,361 names, cumulative loss 4,529

• YEAR 5 - 5,470 names, cumulative loss 5,295

TOTAL FIVE-YEAR LOSS IS OVER 50%.

The Hidden Costs of Not Updating

Assumes 14% of 10,000 Have Moved

• 1,400 Did Not Receive the Piece

• Lower Response

• Higher Promotional Cost because you paid for printing, postage and mailing services.

• You lose past, current and future customers!

The Marketing Cost

• You Should Not Want to “Lose” Your Customers

• Best Prospect = Current Customer

• Next Best = Past Customer

• Next Best = Competitor’s Customer

• Next Best = A Prospect Who Matches Your Current Customer

The Economic Cost

• Wasted Postage, Printing, Mailing Costs• Pieces Mailed: 10,000; Moved 1,400• Postage Cost: 1400 X .10 Ea.......$140.00• Printing Cost: 1400 X .30ea......$420.00• Lettershop Cost: 1400 X .05 Ea......$ 70.00• Total Cost, Wasted Mail.............$630.00

NCOA: 18-month $92.00 / 48-month $152.20

Capturing Address Changes

The Post Office Offers Three Choices1. Address Correction Service2. Change Service Requested3. National Change Of Address / NCOA

If you are not using one of these options,you are wasting postage and printing, and not maximizing potential response

to your mailings.

Address Correction Service• Manual Cost: 50-cents ea. (+ 1 cent postage)

• Costly And Labor Intensive

• Error Prone: Notice sent carrier, who can make mistakes.

• Waste: Standard mail not forwarded, only first class.

• Paper: Changes come on paper

• Labor: Change has to be keyed by your staff which is an unproductive and error prone

Change Service Requested• Less Costly, Less Labor• Cost For Standard Mail: 3-cents each

first two notices, 18-cents thereafter A.NO PAPER: Done electronically

• Waste: Mailing not delivered because person has moved. However, First Class is forwarded

• Labor: No keying, only electronic update

Used by those who mail often

N.C.O.A. National Change Of Address

• Least Costly, No Waste• Cost: Varies with quantity and 18-month versus

48-month option, averages 3 to 10-cents each, less with very large quantities

• Paper: None. Done electronically, unless you want hard-copy comparison.

• Waste: None. Change made before mailing.• Labor: None, other than electronic transfer and

update.

18-month vs. 48-month NCOAPros & Cons

• 48 month NCOA - do if this is your first time or you have not been updating your file if a vendor has been performing NCOA. Tracks every move in past four years, provides current address.

• 18 month NCOA - Use if your file has been through 48-Month NCOA within past year.

Cost difference is about $5.00 per 1000 records

If You Have Never Done NOCA Then What???

• Do Your Addresses Meet USPS Standards?– If your database has been CASS certified by

your mailing service or a vendor but never imported back into your system, you need to be concerned about Address Standardization

• USPS has strict criteria on the elements that make up an address so it can be matched to the NCOA database. They cover spelling, abbreviations,

zip plus four, etc.

Are your addresses standardized?

Frequency Depends Upon Your Mailings

• 95 Days - U.S.P.S. requires N.C.O.A. within 95 days of mail date for all mailings earning discounts. So include this in your schedule.

• ALWAYS - Before a major campaign, mailing an alumni magazine, fundraising solicitation.

• Keep NCOA Documentation you will receive because you will need them when you mail.

• Must Be Done 95 Days Or Sooner Than The Date Of The Mailing.

• NCOA minimizes waste.• NCOA increases your marketing response.• NCOA eliminates keying address changes.• Minimize printing and postage costs by

knowing how many you should mail before setting your print order.

N.C.O.A. Becomes Mandatory November 23, 2008

How You Can Use N.C.O.A.

Aceware + Labels & Letters

Make It Easy.• Export your file.

• Go to aceware.com - Click LINKS. Go to dmi-mail.com - Clink NCOA. Complete the form, click EMAIL - Attach your file. Or,

• If super large, inquire about FTP.

To learn more about NCOA and how you can get your mailing list certified:

Email: waltheeney@dmi-mail.com

Web: www.dmi-mail.com

Contact Information