Data Processing

Proper list and address standardization, verification, and correction mechanisms can dramatically defray postage and promotional material expenses enabling businesses to put forth their best effort in managing various customer and potential customer communication channels. Further, it is the foundation for establishing a single customer view in order to support more effective customer relationship management and business intelligence initiatives.

We can offer you a variety of services tailor made to your situation which include (but are not limited to):

Data Standardization

Data Standardization is the process of making all data of the same type or class conform to an established definition to ensure consistency and comparability across different records and databases. This is especially important and necessary in a data warehouse environment that contains information from many different sources. Without data standardization, the ability to identify duplicates and otherwise establish a relationship between various data items for data integration and other reporting activities are severely compromised.

Successful data standardization initiatives must begin with data element identification, classification, and validation processes which incorporate business rules, data definitions, and both B2B and B2C based mechanisms that understand the complex nature of the source data items that are represented. A lack of attention to the data differences between B2B and B2C based data initiatives will only serve to generate corrupt data stores which in turn impact the success of data integration initiatives.

CASS, ZIP+4

The USPS ZIP+4 CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) is the process that assures accurate carrier route, 5-Digit, ZIP+4 Codes, LOT Codes, and Delivery Point Barcodes are recorded correctly in order that they may be used later to ensure deliverability and highest levels of postage discount for mailing applications.

ZIP + 4 processing can standardize address information; correct city, state and/or ZIP Code information; append +4 codes, characters required for Delivery Point Barcode (DPBC), carrier route codes, and Line of Travel (LOT) codes. ZIP + 4 can also help identify problem addresses on your files.

Further, CASS ZIP+4 coding and address standardization processes in turn sets the stage for successful data integration tasks including but not limited to Customer Relationship Management and other systems.

Delivery Point Validation

Delivery Point Validation DPV is a process to enhance address validation beyond what's possible when only the CASS ZIP+4 database is used. Without DPV, the ZIP+4 database is only capable of confirming whether addresses fall within the "low to high" address range specified within the USPS CASS database. Delivery Point Validation processes can confirm whether the individual address actually exists regardless of what the ZIP+4 database range implies.

In other words, with CASS ZIP+4 systems, you can only determine the proper ZIP+4 for any address. But with Delivery Point Validation you can also determine whether mail is actually delivered to the address.

Delivery Sequence File (DSF2)

The Delivery Sequence File (DSF2) is a data file that contains all domestic addresses serviced by the US Postal Service. Each address is a separate record on the file that conforms to all USPS addressing standards.

The individual address records include ZIP+4, Carrier route, Delivery Sequence, Delivery type and Seasonal Delivery information. Performing this process will produce a match or a no-match result against each DSF record and produce a series of result codes.

The DSF process does not provide change of address information. Rather, utilizing DSF maximizes mailing dollars by providing additional insight into customer and prospect databases enabling businesses to make more informed decisions about what to mail and when.

NCOA

Every year, millions of people and businesses move. National Change of Address (NCOA) processing is a service that provides address changes to your customer or prospect database for those that have filed a chance of address with the US Postal Service.

Address information is first standardized to conform with USPS CASS ZIP+4/Delivery Point requirements prior to being submitted for NCOA processing. Once the address has been standardized and the ZIP+4 Code applied, an attempt is made to match the address against the NCOA file. This file contains approximately 106 million records or 36 months of address changes filed by relocating postal customers derived from change of address cards. When a match is made with the old address information in the NCOA file, then the move information (new address) is provided in order that a correction to the database can be made. If an exact match is not made, but a similar match is found, then no new address can be returned but additional information may be provided which may prove valuable in determining additional courses of action that could/should be taken to confirm whether the addressee information is still valid.

NCOA reduces the amount of mail that may be undeliverable, returned, or delayed. This helps ensure that your customer or other promotional communication is delivered in a prompt and efficient manner. It also enables more cost effective management of your marketing and customer communication programs by reducing your cost of printing, mail processing, postage, and address correction change intervention by customer service personnel.

PCOA

PCOA (Proprietary Change of Address) can be used in conjunction with NCOA to discover even more change of addresses that can be used to update your mailing list.

Unlike the NCOA file which is maintained and controlled by the United States Post Office, the PCOA file is a compiled file that is created from multiple, private companies and sources. Approximately 26 sources are used in creating the PCOA file which contains close to 150 million address changes that go back for 4 years.

We have seen great results with PCOA. On average we can provide you with 50% - 75% more moves!

Address Element Correction : AEC

Satio Solutions Address Element Correction service is a process that corrects and standardizes address elements, specifically those that were not able to be matched to the CASS ZIP+4 database through dQ-Address processing. An address that has not been ZIP+4 coded is a candidate for AEC processing.

By design, AEC focuses on inaccuracies such as misspellings, non-standard abbreviations, improperly ordered elements, address lines containing non-address data in order to transform them into accurate, standardized addresses, which in turn creates a CASS certified, ZIP+4 appended record. This enables businesses to take full advantage of postal automation discounts in combination with improving deliverability of communications.

After resolving address element issues, AEC matches the address against the ZIP+4 Product using CASS Certified address-matching software, resulting in a correct, standardized address. The correct address is returned to the customer as both a complete address and a parsed address separated into individual address elements.

LACS

Increase your deliverables using the new street names of your rural route customers and prospects. The Locatable Address Conversion System (LACS) was developed in response to local 911 systems to convert residential rural route and some business route addresses to street-style addresses.

Because the residents and businesses do not actually move when they receive a new address, change of address forms are not filed. These permanent address conversions typically involve renumbering and renaming rural route, highway route and box numbers as city-style addresses. The changes are updated monthly, and, after a period of time, the rural route addresses are considered undeliverable. LACS processing identifies these addresses and provides the new, updated address information.

Merge/Purge : B2B & B2C

Streamlining duplicate records from multiple list and data sources is the method to reduce marketing costs and maximize returns. Eliminating duplicates and dropping unlikely/undesirable prospects reduces production and postage costs, and potential losses. Merge/Purge services from Satio Solutions are designed to be thorough, accurate and flexible. Our proprietary matching systems with adjustable logics enable duplicate identification processes to be more accurately controlled with less likelihood for false positives to reduce or eliminate over-combining.

Further, a proper matching system should accommodate the complexities associated with business contact and address situations in order that proper comparisons can be performed. Additional services include capacities to identify and group contacts at the same company location and/or branch offices through customized algorithms designed based upon 20 years of experience in managing B2B marketing situations.

B2B Corporate Family Linkage

Satio Solutions Corporate Family Linkage and Chaining services incorporate a set of processes which begin with proper data element identification, classification, and standardization in order to set the stage for matching algorithms which enable links to be established between multiple contacts at a given corporate site location, branch offices to corporate parent, and other aspects of defining a corporate family.

The business rules for determining when a match and link has occurred are flexible in order that they can be adjusted to address the need of a given client situation. Corporate Family Linkage of what might otherwise be disparate items of information enables more targeted and effective sales initiatives in combination with creating an aggregate view for both customer and prospective customer situations.

Database Design

The best foundation in the design of cost effective customer management and prospect marketing systems is based upon proper planning and analysis. Planning defines the goals of the database, explains why the goals are important, and sets out the path by which the goals will be reached. Analysis involves determining the requirements of the database. This begins with examining existing systems, processes, documentation and interviewing potential users of the database system(s).

Database Design techniques should completely and accurately represents the data requirements of the end users. They should be simple enough to be understood by the end user yet detailed enough to be used by a database administrator to construct and manage the database. The design process eliminates redundant data, it is independent of any hardware and software constraints, and can be adapted to changing requirements with a minimum of effort.

Database Integration

Once you have completed the map for design, there remains the operational task of database development. There are a variety of tasks which must be executed in order to streamline data gathering and data integration from the multiple sources from which data is gathered.

The identification of data sources normally creates the need for some level of data conversion, data reformat, and data standardization. This process could be simple or very complex depending on the quantity of data sources and data types to be integrated into the database.

Proper planning will aid the development process in order to maximize the resource of information to be assembled and so that it may be used to its fullest advantage.

There will often be multiple data suppliers and data users of the database. It is important to plan for the integration of these database input components from the variety of sources in order to provide efficient conversion mechanisms and cost effective operational flow of information.

Promotion Segmentation

Promotion segmentation is the practice of dividing an outbound marketing base into groups of individuals or businesses that are similar in specific ways relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests, or spending habits. Using segmentation allows companies to target groups effectively, and allocate marketing resources to their best effect.

Promotion segmentation may also included procedures and process which address historical purchase or promotional database transactional activities in order to make creative or other outbound material adjustments driven by what is known from previous marketing campaigns and promotions.

For more information about Satio Solutions Data and Professional services, click here or you may contact us by telephone at 866-717-2846 or 817-375-8822, or send an email to info@satio.com.