Building an Address Quality Program

## Why a Program, Not a Project

Address quality is not a one-time cleanup — it's an ongoing discipline. Addresses decay continuously as people move, buildings are constructed or demolished, and streets are renamed. A program approach ensures sustained quality.

## The Four Pillars

| Pillar | Tool | Frequency |
|--------|------|-----------|
| Standardization | CASS-certified software | At entry + quarterly |
| Move updates | NCOA processing | Every 90 days |
| Deliverability | DPV confirmation | At entry + annually |
| Monitoring | Quality metrics dashboard | Continuous |

## Step 1: Baseline Assessment

Before building the program, assess current address quality:

- Run a sample through CASS → what percentage standardizes cleanly?
- Run NCOA → how many addresses have moved?
- Check DPV → how many are undeliverable?
- Calculate current undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA) rate

A UAA rate above 5% indicates significant quality problems.

## Step 2: Point-of-Entry Validation

The cheapest fix is preventing bad addresses from entering the system:

- Autocomplete with real-time CASS validation on web forms
- Address verification at POS terminals and call centers
- Reject or flag addresses that fail DPV
- Require apartment/unit numbers when DPV returns 'S' flag

## Step 3: Batch Processing Schedule

| Process | Frequency | Rationale |
|---------|-----------|----------|
| CASS standardization | Quarterly | USPS address database updates monthly |
| NCOA | Every 90 days | USPS requirement for discounts |
| DPV refresh | Annually | Catch demolished/new buildings |
| Deduplication | After each batch | Merging moved records |

## Step 4: Quality Metrics

Track these KPIs monthly:

- **UAA rate** — Target: <2% for active mailers
- **NCOA hit rate** — Expected: 8-12% annually
- **DPV match rate** — Target: >95%
- **Duplicate rate** — Target: <3%
- **Standardization rate** — Target: >98% matching USPS format

## ROI

For a database of 500,000 addresses with a 10% UAA rate:

- 50,000 undeliverable addresses × $0.50 wasted postage = $25,000/mailing
- CASS + NCOA processing: ~$1,500-3,000 per run
- Annual savings: $100,000+ (assuming 4 mailings/year)
- ROI: 10-20x