Batch Address Validation: What Is It And How Can You Benefit From It?
Every business organisation has, at some point, struggled with separating the accurate customer data from the bad or fake ones. The inaccurate data can come back and bite you in more ways than one. Perhaps, the only way to save yourself is to use batch address validation to protect yourself from this “bite.”
It doesn’t matter if your business is big or small because customer data is integral to every business. Furthermore, it is painstakingly slow to verify your customer’s information individually.
No one wants to spend hours, days, or even weeks carrying out bulk address validation manually only to find countless errors. So then, what is the solution to this problem? How can you ensure the deliverability of your addresses without spending hours of manual labour on it?
Here we discuss the answer to these questions. Furthermore, we also discuss how you can use Royal Mail address verification to enhance satisfaction and ensure a lasting customer experience.
What Is Batch Address Validation?
As the name implies, batch address validation involves ensuring the validity of addresses in a batch or extensive address database. The validation process requires you to take the address you want to validate and compare it against a verified, reliable, and up-to-date address database.
A business organisation’s address or customer database may contain hundreds, thousands, or even millions of addresses. When it comes to bulk address validation, employing a manual process is not even an option anymore.
A batch address validation service is the only practical way to validate your addresses in bulk. But don’t take our word for it. As we proceed further, we will present you with the benefits of using an address validation service and the different ways you can apply the technology.
Royal Mail Address Database For Batch Address Validation
Suppose you only need to validate a dozen addresses. In that case, you don’t need batch address validation, and you can make do with manual verification. But even with a manual validation process, you still need to find a relevant address database first.
And who better than the biggest postal service provider in the UK – the Royal Mail to get valid and up-to-date address data. Here are some reasons why Royal Mail is the best choice for your business’s Royal Mail address verification process.
The Postcode Address File or PAF
Did you know that the Royal Mail keeps an accurate and up-to-date file on the address data? If the answer is no, then it is high time you familiarise yourself with the Postcode Address File or PAF. It is the official address database of the Royal Mail.
30 Million UK Postal Addresses
The Royal Mail PAF contains a mind-blowing 30 million UK addresses. And yes, this includes every UK residential, commercial, and even PO Box address. PAF is perfect for your company’s bulk address validation as it statistically has the best chance of validating your addresses.
Up-To-Date Address Database
Around 90,000 postal workers postal deliveries to every nook and corner of the UK. Due to this, Royal Mail can update its address database consistently and make changes to it. It results in 3000 to 5000 changes to the address data daily. Hence, it is perfect for Royal Mail address validation.
How Does Batch Address Validation Work?
We know that batch address validation involves verifying the address data of a company by comparing it against a reliable address database. But now it’s time that you learn how the validation process works, including the nifty details.
One thing you should note about address validation is that even small businesses may often deal with large address databases. It means batch address verification is not just for large companies but businesses of all sizes. And the validation process remains the same for small and large companies.
The bulk address verification is not some magical software. It does not instantaneously return deliverable addresses from thin air. A lot is happening behind the neatly arranged verified address data you receive from solutions like PostGrid. Two of the processes that are unavoidable in address validation are
- Address Parsing
- Address Standardisation
Address Parsing
The first step in a Royal Mail address validation process is address parsing. Address verification tools like PostGrid breaks up your addresses into their constituent parts. In other words, the address verification software splits each postal address into constituencies such as
- City
- Regions
- Postcode
- And so on.
Parsing may be an integral part of the bulk address validation process. However, different address verification tools may have different versions of parsing. Hence, address parsing and verification accuracy can also vary depending on your solution.
Address Standardisation
After the parsing process, the addresses go through a standardisation process. The standardisation process further includes a formatting process. It involves aligning the postal addresses in your hand with the standard address format defined by the Royal Mail.
An advanced international address validation tool like PostGrid does something magical in this step. It fills in any missing data and checks for spelling errors or typos. So, if your address is missing a letter or number in the postcode, PostGrid will automatically fill it for you.
Of course, in reality, there is no magic involved in this. It’s all about intelligent programming, but every program has its limitations. In other words, the bulk address verification tool can’t do much if an address does not resemble the PAF data.
Address Verification
It is only after the parsing and standardisation processes that the actual address verification begins. Since the addresses are now in the standard format, it becomes easier for the system to compare them against the PAF.
In other words, you can carry out the bulk address validation process faster with or without an automated system. If the system finds a match for the address in Royal Mail’s PAF, it is a valid address; if not, it is marked undeliverable.
Why Is Batch Address Validation Service Important For Your Business?
If you are a business owner or a marketer, you would naturally want to enhance the effectiveness of your business communication. It may come as a surprise to you. Still, bulk address validation can do more for your business than just validating your address database.
Several applicational uses to address validation services can help your business in ways you may have never thought possible. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves. Before we reveal the intriguing ways you can use an international address validation service, let’s go through the basics.
Batch Address Validation Service Is Flexible
You can quickly access advanced international address verification tools like PostGrid through its web interface, or you can integrate the API into your system. It means you can access the address validation service whenever you want it.
Furthermore, you also have the flexibility to decide whether you want to validate the whole list or just a part of it. That’s not all. Advanced systems like PostGrid lets you integrate their address verification API to your website and apps. It makes the address verification even more flexible for your business.
Batch Address Validation Service Is Fast
With an international address verification service like PostGrid, no one has to go through your entire customer database to verify every single address. Almost all address validation services today use an automatic system that can carry out the validation process in a matter of seconds.
It is not just the Royal Mail address validation process you can speed up using automated software like PostGrid. You can speed everything from personalising to printing your marketing or communication material with an automated system.
Batch Address Validation Service Is Error-Free
The error rate of bulk address validation can vary depending on the service you choose. But, systems like PostGrid that use a fully automated validation system provide you with error-free addresses. There is no scope for error because the system directly compares your data with the PAF data.
With a manual process, there is always the possibility of someone misreading or miswriting the address data. An automated system reads and compares the address data without any fatigue or error that humans experience. Hence, there is no risk of error when using a bulk address validation service.
Batch Address Validation Service Saves You Money
You might think that employing a new service might cost you more money. Here’s the thing: manually validating addresses, especially in bulk, could take days, weeks, or even months. And no matter how hard you try, there will always be a few errors in your manual validation.
A fully automated bulk address validation like PostGrid eliminates the scope of error. As a result, you no longer have to waste money on resending mail. Furthermore, you also save money on resources, including the personnel required for validating the address manually.
And if that’s not impressive enough, you can also get special UK postage rates when you send bulk mail with PostGrid.
Batch Address Validation Service Enhances Customer Satisfaction
Imagine you send a sensitive document to your customer, and they never receive it because of an error in the address. It is even worse for retail and eCommerce companies whose entire reputation depends on deliverability.
A bulk address verification tool for retail and eCommerce businesses can help in more than one way. For example, address verification tools like PostGrid offer additional features like Address Autocomplete. It automatically suggests verified addresses using the IP address and the data your customer types into the form.
Such features significantly improve customer convenience making order placement easier for them. Similarly, there are several other features that you can implement using a batch address verification system.
Batch Address Validation Service Enhances Conversion Rates
Yes, bulk address validation can increase the conversion rate of your business. How? Well, as we discussed above, address verification tools like PostGrid and their advanced capabilities can enhance the user experience.
Let’s take the example of the retail and eCommerce company and the Address Autocomplete feature again. Many users abandon their cart once they see lengthy address fields they need to fill to place their order. Hence, batch address verification effectively enhances conversion rate with the help of features like Address Autocomplete.
Batch Address Validation Service Ensures Clean Data
Companies go through all kinds of trouble to ensure that their mailing list or customer database is clean. Business organisations must keep close track of their customer database and update it regularly. An international address validation tool like PostGrid is perfect for accomplishing this.
Suppose your address database consists of a significant number of wrong addresses. In that case, your business will spend money on marketing and communication strategies that never meet its goals. While bulk address verification lets you clean up your address data, Address Autocomplete enables you to ensure the quality of new address data.
Batch Address Validation Service Enhances Decision Making
You don’t need us to explain how big a role quality data plays in a company’s decision-making process. Without accurate data, businesses can’t make the right decisions. And at this point, you know as well we do that batch address validation is all about obtaining clean data.
Using batch address verification tools like PostGrid lets you clean up your customer database within seconds. Address verification and added features like Address Autocomplete and geocoding allow your business to make better business decisions.
Innovative Applications Of Batch Address Validation
You might remember that we mentioned bulk address validation has several applications from which a business can benefit tremendously. Listed below are some ways your business can use address validation to your advantage.
- Prevent Fraud And Scams: Address validation can help prevent fraud and scams by identifying fake addresses/customers. You can block specific contacts and ensure they do not return to your business.
- Determine Customers Within Service Area: Advanced address validation tools like PostGrid come with geocoding capabilities. It lets you see the location of your customers using their address data.
- Ensure Localisation: Localising your marketing or communication efforts is a great way to ensure that your message connects with the target audience. You can use Royal Mail address validation and features like geocoding to create and deliver impressive marketing campaigns.
- Collect Customer Data: An advanced address verification tool like PostGrid for collecting customer metrics. These metrics are often related to the demography and geographical area of the target audience.
Conclusion
Business organisations of all sizes often deal with extensive mailing lists and customer address databases. However, it can be quite a handful to manage and use such large amounts of data. Your inability to manage such extensive data manually can affect various aspects of your business.
Hence, businesses must use batch address validation software. Advanced address verification tools like PostGrid go way beyond checking the deliverability of your addresses. It comes with some nifty features such as Address Autocomplete and geocoding capability.
Hence, batch address verification software like PostGrid goes beyond its scope. As a result, you can access fast, cost-effective postal mail communication with your target audience. More importantly, it lets you enhance the customer experience in the most cost-effective way possible.
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