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In This Issue:
Visual
Data
Systems Seminar
Wilmington NC
September 22
About Us
Visual Data Systems is a leader in Internet marketing,
technology consulting and World Wide Web design. As a pioneer in Internet
business, we've logged more than a decade of achieving customer satisfaction
and Internet innovation.
Visual Data Systems offers a wide variety of products
and services that can be customized to fit your unique business needs.
Let our experienced professionals polish your ideas and dreams to create
your distinctive Internet presence.
At Visual Data Systems, there are no barriers. Just Innovations.
News & Events
Catch Visual Data Systems at the upcoming Conferences:
RMS Users Conference Wilmington, NC, September
22-24
Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) National
Orlando, Florida October 11th - 15th
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May
2004 • Volume 2, Issue 1
Data Laundering— When Is the Last Time You Did the Wash?
by Linda
Kaczmarek
Data Laundering || NCOA Processing || NCOA
Case Study || Opt-In Advantage
Despite efforts you may have made to cleanse your
data in the past, maintaining a good set of customer information is
no easy
task.
With
the rapid growth of E-commerce, integration of multiple diverse data
collection systems, and the segmentation of data among various departments,
the problem has grown larger and more complicated. If you have more
than one person entering data into your reservation or order entry systems,
or you’ve combined data sources from your recent merger with
a former competitor, your customer data has a very high risk of being
unreliable.
According to a study by Data Warehouse Institute, companies spent nearly
$611 Billion in 2002 on mailings to addresses that were not deliverable.
This loss doesn’t even include the potentially larger value of
missed opportunities for marketing to the right audience. Your customer
data can give you a strategic advantage over your competitors, so it
should be considered a vital business asset. The healthier your customer
list, the fewer errors you will make sending out expensive catalogs or
delivering advertising campaigns to the wrong audience. Your email address
list is no less likely to cause problems. Should you use too many out-of-date,
bad addresses, you will likely find your company on the spammer blacklist
and it’s no easy task to get off of this list.
In the past, most data cleansing was performed as a hit-or-miss operation,
either using a systematic batch process that compared name and address
records for inconsistencies, or only on a case-by-case basis when a customer
complained about incorrect information. Now, there are better tools that
handle a multitude of mailing issues.
National Change of Address (NCOA) Processing & Mailing Campaigns
More than 44 million people moved and changed their official mailing
address last year. If your organization does not sync its customer
database with the most recent filed US Postal Service Change of Address
information you could lose money on marketing opportunities, postage,
and wasted mailing supplies.
The National Change of Address process verifies not only the address,
but the individual or business who claims to be at that address, dramatically
improving delivery service. It also provides additional benefits including
Address Standardization and ZIP+4 Appending, ZIP Correction, Carrier
Route Coding, and a CASS Report. Updating your list of client mailing
addresses reduces USPS returned mail and allows you to receive discounts
on First Class Mailing pricing through the USPS if you consistently process
your list of client addresses within 180 days of mailings.
The NCOA database is not posted to the general public due to the sensitive
nature of COA information. The USPS governs strict control over the NCOA
database to prevent fraud or misuse, and releases information to company’s
who are designated NCOA service providers.
Names and their respective addresses are processed and NCOA certified
by a non-exclusive, approved licensee of the USPS. The mailer’s
computerized list is matched with official Postal Service customer provided
permanent Change Of Address orders received from individuals, families,
and businesses within the past four years. Processing costs are normally
calculated per thousand addresses, and range depending on the number
of addresses being processed.
A Case Study: NCOA In Action
In January, Railey Mountain Lake Vacations approached Visual Data Systems
for marketing help on their upcoming annual postcard mailer campaign.
After evaluating the client’s audience and marketing goals, we
designed a series of 7 postcards, focusing on various themes of family,
romance, and fun, covering both the winter and summer seasons.
In addition to design services, we provided stock photography research
and purchasing, solicited bids from vendors for printing and mailing
services, and interfaced with the selected vendor through the NCOA and
final mailing process.
The NCOA process was performed on the lists provided by Railey Mountain
Lake Vacations for mailing, and identified and corrected over seven
percent of the existing addresses! The final result was a successful marketing
campaign that landed Railey Mountain Lake Vacations an influx of reservations
for the season, in addition to an up-to-date listing of their customer
mailing addresses and a smaller postage bill!
Visual Data Systems can assist you in the incorporation of the NCOA
process in any marketing plan, large or small. The Visual Data Systems
design & marketing department can analyze your goals, review your
customer lists, and design a strategic mailing campaign that targets
an updated client list, while working to retain current customers and
gain new ones. Contact Kelly Hurley at Kelly@vdsys.com for more information.
Opt-In Advantage Email Management Tool
Visual Data Systems’ Opt-In Advantage email management software
automatically records contact information as supplied by the user through
on-line contact and purchase forms. If the buyer selects the option that
indicates, he/she would like to hear from your company about “Specials,
Events or Other Information”, the buyer’s email and contact
information is recorded in the database that is used for sending direct
emails and mailings.
Opt-In Advantage allows market segmentation as well, so that targeted
emails can be generated according to the customer’s interests.
For instance, all customers who answered a question about enjoying skiing
might receive one message, all customers who answered the same question
that they enjoy skiing and golfing might receive another message.
When an email address is ‘bounced’ as undeliverable, Opt-In
Advantage automatically flags the customer’s record, so that future
messages will not be sent via email. This automation helps to prevent
blacklisting, although good email management is also crucial to prevention.
Remember that if you send too many messages to a customer each week,
you will be considered a spammer. It only takes one customer to complain
to an ISP for your company to be placed on a blacklist.
And you thought getting your linens clean for your weekend arrivals
was complicated. Visual Data Systems can assist your company with all
of your print and email marketing. Put our expertise to work for your
business! Contact Kelly Hurley at Kelly@vdsys.com for more information
on how we can help you market your business today.
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