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What data do I need to supply to Contact Marketing for NCOA48 Processing?
What is the NCOA Processing Acknowledgment Form (PAF) and why is it needed?
The NCOA Product matches names and addresses on your mailing list to changes of addresses filed with the USPS®. Address change information is derived from the PS Form 3575, Change-of-Address Order, filed by the relocating postal customer. When the name and address information on your mailing list matches the name and address information on the NCOA file, the updated address will be provided. NCOA Full Service contains 48 months of permanent address changes updated weekly. The file is maintained by the U.S. Postal Service®
With the national annual move rate being estimated at 18% along with the rapid competitive market rate increasing, NCOA is not something you can do without.
NCOA keeps your database up-to-date.
NCOA provides you with the service of the most current, updated address information on your clients.
NCOA eliminates wasted time, effort and cost on mailings and re-mailings to addresses that are no longer current.
NCOA makes sure your mail reaches your customer.
NCOA gives you that needed head start in today's competitive race
The US Postal Services' change of address (COA) file contains millions of permanent address changes for families, individuals and businesses. This complete file represents 48 months of data and is updated weekly. In addition, the USPS also provides a reduced file of 18 months of data, also updated weekly. NCOA18 have identical file layouts and using either service qualifies mailers for postal discounts. Naturally there are different prices for these services, but we leave the option to you on how you want to meet your change of address update requirements
What percent of matching should I expect?
It is difficult to predict a match rate until there is some info on the list processed . Several factors must be taken into account when looking at match rates :
How was the data gathered ?
This can indicate how complete and accurate the data may be provided. i.e. contest, important document; over the phone; etc.Was the data entered from a handwritten or typed sheet ?
There can be difficulties reading handwriting or there is a chance of typing errors .How old is the data?
Whether the data was provided within the past few months or years can make a difference.How often is the list updated ?
What methods of updating are used ?
If little or no updating has been done you will see that in your results.Who is the audience?
Younger people tend to move more often and may not file a change of address; older people tend to move less often; businesses move less frequently than people.
Contact Marketing range of matching is approximately 3.5 - 7 %
How often should I use the NCOA48?
Depending on your mailing schedule or list needs this could be anywhere from once a month, to every three or six months. At a minimum we recommend that you process your databases at least once in six month . We can help plan a schedule that works best for you
How far back does the processing go?
Your file is matched with the USPS NCOA database going back 48 months. Any person, family, or business that submits a Change of Address Form will be in this database. In the case of multiple moves, the moves are chained together and the most current address is provided
What file types do you support?
We can accept fixed field text files (with proper layout), ASCII delimited files (comma, tab or pipe) or dBASE files . Excel Question: How do I send and receive my completed files ? You will upload your file to our secure FTP site using the personal User ID and Password that we will supply to you. Once the file is uploaded, we will process your file and then place the completed file on the FTP secure server for you to download
Included in our service you will receive the USPS NCOA service which provides standardized addresses including move information going back 48 months. Also, you will receive (at no additional charge) CASS reports, LACS (LACS is most commonly used to change rural-style addresses to city-style addresses or the renumber of existing addresses.), DPV (Delivery Point Verification, this is necessary for barcode mailing discounts) and Gender Identification
No. We have learned that our customers will process over and over with us without a contract. This is because we offer the lowest prices, the best service, and quickest turnaround. However, the USPS requirement to fill PAF
What is your standard turnaround time?
Typically, turn-around is 1 to 2 business days depending on the time of day we receive the file and completed paperwork. Files are generally processed within a few hours. We utilize a first in first out process. Larger files over a million records may require more time
Contact Marketing offer NCOA48 months . Volume discount pricing begins at 100,000 records for files with standard input formats . NOTE: The price of NCOA services is neither established, controlled nor approved by the USPS®
What data do I need to supply to Contact Marketing for NCOA48 Processing?
Contact Marketing offer NCOA48 months . To process your file through NCOA you must provide a personal or company name, address, city, state, and ZIP CodeT. If you have additional fields that is okay; they will be returned to you unaltered. Many people provide a unique record identifier so it is easier to match the updated file back into their system
What is the NCOA Processing Acknowledgment Form (PAF) and why is it needed?
The PAF is the U.S. Postal Service requires recipients of NCOA (National Change of Address) service to complete once each year. It is to ensure that NCOA is used only for the purposes of mailing. All NCOA vendors are required to have a completed and signed PAF provided by the list owner. In no case may a broker, agent or third party sign as the list owner. Mailing lists cannot be processed until we receive a completed and signed PAF . Updates can not be processed until this form is returned to us. You can download this form here . Fax completed forms to 201.221.8581 for more details?
Is it safe to upload throw FTP?
No one else will have access to your files . Our secure FTP server can be accessed with an internal browser using the HTTP protocol; It does not require any FTP software to be installed
In order to process a file, the list owner or the list broker must sign the Processing Acknowledgement Form. When completing this form the USPS requires that you provide a full 6 digit NAICS code. This code describes the industry that your company is in. If you do not know your NAICS code, you may look it up here. We recommended that you fill out this form within Acrobat before printing it out. This will insure the legibility of the document. After completing the form it will need to be printed, signed and returned to Conatct Marketing Data via fax . Once we receive the signed form we establish a user account and password for our secure, FTP server. US Postage regulations require that we call you to provide the user password for our service . Our secure FTP server can be accessed with an internal browser using the HTTP protocol; it does not require any FTP software to be installed . You will upload your file to our secure FTP site using the personal User ID and Password that we will supply to you. Once the file is uploaded, we will process your file and then place the completed file on the FTP secure server for you to download
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