How much is incorrect data costing you?

Every year, approximately 45 million Americans change their address.

The charge for sending something to the wrong location can be between $15 and $70, depending on the shipping method and the value of the item. For any company that sends out packages or runs mailing campaigns, it’s important to make sure that those items are sent to the right place. Having parcels delivered to the wrong address will not only cost money, but reflect negatively on a business, harming its bottom line. If a quarter of your mail was addressed incorrectly, the costs would add up and your business would likely be overtaken by competitors who send things out properly the first time.

Approximately 17% of Americans change addresses each year, representing about 45 million people annually.

For nonprofits, the harm from mail sent to the wrong location is serious. These groups often send out mass correspondence, and when people move away and forget to update their address, then the information won’t be delivered properly. Donors will miss out on newsletters that keep them updated about nonprofit happenings and could become less interested in making regular gifts. Schools have this same problem when sending newsletters to alumni. Financial institutions and insurance companies that incorrectly mail their shipments run the risk of fraud. They also look unprofessional.

Despite the high cost and high rate of errors, few organizations have put data protocols in place or adopt address correction software. Needless to say, if a company sending out mailing for advertising purposes were to try posting letters without getting the address right, the efforts to reach people would have been wasted. The best solution is to partner with a company that can offer intelligent address verification technology. Such a product would go through databases of addresses, updating and correcting them using CASS-certified software.