How Healthy is Your Customer Data?
Your customer database is one of your business's most valuable assets — but like any asset, it needs regular maintenance.
People move. Businesses relocate. Contact details change. Duplicate records creep in. And over time, even a well-maintained database can become less accurate.
For businesses using customer data for direct mail and other communications, poor data quality can mean wasted print and postage, returned mail and missed opportunities to connect with customers.
The good news? A few simple data-health habits can make a big difference.
1. Review your non-mailable records
Before a mailing campaign is sent, your data should be checked for records that can't confidently be mailed.
These might include:
Incomplete or invalid addresses
Missing address information
Incorrect or missing postcodes
Duplicate records
Addresses that don't meet postal requirements
Records that require further investigation
Rather than simply ignoring these records for one campaign, use them as an opportunity to improve your master database.
Where possible, correct or update the information at the source. This helps prevent the same records appearing as non-mailable the next time you communicate with your customers.
2. Don't ignore returned mail
Returned mail isn't just an unsuccessful delivery — it's useful information about the health of your database.
When mail is returned, record the reason and update the customer's record accordingly.
Depending on the information available, you may be able to:
Contact the customer to confirm their current address
Update an outdated address
Flag the record for review
Suppress the address from future mailings until it has been corrected
The important part is feeding that information back into your master database.
Otherwise, you risk sending mail to the same incorrect address again in the next campaign.
3. Keep postal addresses current
A customer's physical address isn't always their correct mailing address.
This is particularly important for businesses and organisations that receive mail through a PO Box or Private Bag.
NZ Post has been phasing out automatic forwarding of mail sent to non-serviced physical addresses where the recipient should instead be using a PO Box or Private Bag.
That makes having the correct postal address in your database increasingly important.
When updating customer records, make sure you're capturing the address they actually use to receive mail — not simply the physical location of their home or business.
4. Make sure addresses are formatted correctly
Even when the information itself is correct, inconsistent formatting can cause problems.
New Zealand addresses should follow the appropriate NZ Post format for the type of address being used, whether it's:
An urban street address
A rural delivery address
A PO Box
A Private Bag
Postcodes are also an important part of a complete postal address.
For example, if you're using a PO Box or Private Bag address, it shouldn't be combined with a street address. Rural addresses also require the correct RD number and mail town.
Consistent address formatting makes your database cleaner and helps mail move efficiently through the postal network.
5. Look for duplicates and inconsistencies
Duplicates aren't always obvious.
You might have the same customer recorded twice because their name has been entered slightly differently, or separate records may contain an old and a new address.
Regularly reviewing your database for duplicate or inconsistent records helps create a clearer picture of your customers and reduces the chance of sending multiple communications to the same person.
6. Make data maintenance ongoing
Data cleansing shouldn't only happen when you're about to send a large campaign.
The healthiest databases are maintained continuously.
Build simple processes into your business for:
Updating returned mail
Correcting invalid addresses
Removing or merging duplicates
Recording customer address changes
Reviewing suppressed or non-mailable records
Periodically validating postal addresses
Small updates made regularly can prevent much larger data-quality problems developing over time.
Better data means better communication
Clean data helps your communications reach the right people, reduces unnecessary print and postage and gives you greater confidence in the quality of your customer database.
At Mailshop, data is the starting point for every successful direct mail campaign.
We can help businesses assess, cleanse and prepare mailing data before a campaign, identify records that require attention and provide information that can be fed back into your master database.
Want to know how healthy your mailing data is? Get in touch with the Mailshop team to find out how we can help.
